Messages

FPS is very likely to do it especially at reduced FPS. Digic V alternates FPS somehow and I think its to reduce load on the sensor... otherwise why

Ok, fixed it.. its still recommended to load configs (but bitrate-5d3 doesnt work!), they are in this thread. You can probably just do fixed QP tho since its CF and all, read the other posts.

http://www.filedropper.com/magiclantern-tragic2013dec095d3113

Link doesn't work?  and I'm still catching up on load configs....what is this for?  Fixed QP?

Thanks 1%,

Yoda

Interesting.  Ok, I'll def not do fps over ride....was only doing 24 exact, lol.

I'll load the latest build and read up.  You totally rock for the awesome support man! 

Cheers,

Yoda

Fyi, I loaded your build from Dec 08, no bit rate controls showed up.  Only h264.ini option was there.

On the over heating, I disabled all the global draw stuff except for live view.  Maybe I should disable that as well.  I was using FPS over-ride, and some basic parameters in exposure over ride for iso, shutter, etc, but nothing out of the ordinary.  Hmm....

Sorry bout that mate.  But I will def check it out and report back.

1%, Side note:  Do you have a thread to share where I can report back some results using the latest 5D3 nightly build?  I got some near over heating after recording just 30 seconds on RAW. (51 degree C light popped up).  I thought perhaps I might share my info in case it would help the dev effort. 

Cheers,

Yoda

Alex, that would be awesome if you put it back.  #hero #awesome #bitrate   

So if the 5d3 nitrate controls aren't coming back, anyone know of the last build with the nitrate controls in?  I really liked this feature on the 550D, and I just picked up my 5D3, and loading the latest nightly build, noted that it's gone.

Raw is awesome, and even when having a solid infrastructure to support the post-production workflow, I find it's practical to have a high bit rate control for h264/MOV.  Stuff like birthdays, events, or demo-type of footage has its uses, and fast turn around time has it's advantages. 

Cheers,

Yoda

Folks, I'm having a hard time getting an answer to my queries using "search"...so I'll just ask.

Anyone know how much the bit rate is on the 6D using the ALL-I?  Also, anyone know how much the cbr/qscale helps with the 6D?  Raw is nice, but a pain in the rear in POST......seems more logical to get a better bit rate using the standard codec.

Also, anyone know if 6D can get uncompressed HDMI out?  Can't seem to find an answer.

Cheers and thx in advance,

Yoda

Anyone know what the read/write speeds are for this card?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/extreme-pro-64gb-compactflash-cf-memory-card/1614323.p?id=1219057246591&skuId=1614323&st=cf%20card&cp=1&lp=1

Just asking because I keep seeing everyone talk about 90mbs.....and I'm curious if better write speeds are available with these new breed of CF cards at are 160mbs?

Gents, quick question.  I'm considering moving up to a 6D, I wanted to get a feel on how you guys are liking RAW on your 6d?  I have it on 550D, but I want full frame.  I checked the forum online for max resolution for 6D, but it was blank.  Where are we at with max resolution for 6D in RAW?  Reason IM asking is because I'm wondering if 1900x810 is possible at 24fps?  Im looking for an "anamorphic look" using raw.

Thanks,

Yoda

Looks fun, but I'll buy a real one.  Plus I'm about to upgrade to a Black Magic Cinema Camera.  At $2K...the price is unbeatable for camera performance, and I can spend the extra $1K in building a rig that I'd have to spend for a 5D Mkiii.

Btw folks, I shot a short film yesterday.  Here are the details and the link.

Frame Size:  1152x490 (gets about 30 seconds recording time)
Aspect Ratio:  2.67:1 (I think)
24fps
Lens:  17-40mm f/4.0, 40mm f/2.8
NLE Project size:  1280x720

Note:  I experimented with some post grading in some of the shots.  The ones that are pixelated heavily should just be ignored.  I also tried using a suitcase as a dolly on pavement.  Too jittery.  Outside of that, I need to work on my sharpening technique in post production, and get a steady cam for less motion jitter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r38xeDdjgn0

The only problem with that approach is that when I go to record, my pictures always get stretched horizontally, and then I have to stretch vertically in post to fix.  When I restretch vertically in post, it seems to pixelate regardless of where I perform this (e.g. Quicktime, FCPX, etc).

Anyone have any success doing slow motion with 550D?

I tried doing 60fps override, but I only got 24fps.  I used "exact fps" method.  Only 24fps was captured.  boo.

Ok, total fail on trying the 1280x720 test.  I know why now, and will retest tomorrow.  1) when viewing in Live View, even on 1280x720, your live view screen is bigger than 1280. So if you set your screen aspect ratio bigger than 1280 (say 1600 like I did) your shot will look stretched and deformed.  Booo, and double boo because this should've been obvious up from. It's what I get for helping engineers debug complex transactional middleware infrastructure and then try to shift into camera mode. 

Moving on....

Um...quick question to everyone.  Has anyone tried using the "Q" button to set their view. As 1280x720 instead of 1920x1080?  Seems I'm able to record longer times and my live view covers way more real estate.  Pretty good stuff.  I'm looking forward to checking out some new stuff. Recorded today!

Go to Home Depot website.  Type in this:

EcoSmart 30-Watt (120W) Bright White CFL Light Bulb (1-Pack)

Great bulb, gives off yellowish color, which doesn't matter because when recording in RAW...white balance can be over ridden to suite ur flavor.  What matters is the 2100 lumen outputs.  More lumens = lower ISO = less noise + better shot.

One other thing.  If u can get one, the EF-S 10-22mm lens should prolly be the best lens u can use for wide screen and decent RAW filming.  The pure wideness of the shot will make up for the extreme cropping that takes place say when u do 960x540 or 1280x320.  However, with that in mind the price u spend on that lens could net u a 50D which has a much bigger memory buffer and screen output.  Decisions.....

***EDIT:  I used 1280x426 mode, I think its 2.67:1.  I do not use "crop mode".  24FPS over ride.  Im not sure if its continuous, but i think I get around 15 seconds or more.  Best way to find out, record a quick test vid at any rate.  after it stops, ML will then "estimate" any options you select to give you a frames est you can record.  Rule of thumb:  24 frames is one second, 240 is 10 seconds, 720 frames is 30 seconds...etc.

Hey BrotherD!  Good idea on "verse by verse". 

I used the EF-L 17-40MM f/4.0 USM.  THis scene in particular was ay 17MM on the lens (which when applied to the 1.6 crop factor is 27.2MM). 

The light used was mostly "natural light" style light bulb form the ceiling with a diffuser, and a light on the side which pumps out 2700 lumens.  You can get them for $10 a bulb (really helps ISO, I bought 3, and for indoor shoots, I can do 200 ISO with proper lamp placement.  Using $3 crappy lamps I picked up from Salvation Army!!!!)

As far as the color grading and "softness" I did that in Adobe Light Room.  Very easy to do.  I should say Lightroom is AMAZING for the price you get...much cheaper than DaVinci Resolve or even full Photoshop.  All I did was:

*  Increase exposure
* Change Contrast
* decrease highlights, whites
* increase shadows
* minimal sharpness increase
* increase luminance and masking
* apply proper lense correction for distortion

Thats it.  After, I "sync" the rest of the TIFFs in the module, then export for reassembly in whatever tool you want.

Note:  ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS try to shoot in less than 800 (prefer less than 400) ISO.  Better lighting = softer picture, less noise.  You wouldn't know it, but the original video was LOADED with noise.  I had to get jedi with my color correction technique. 

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Yoda

No, you can use Blender.  I used to useFInal Cut Pro X for the import/render to movie sequence.

HOWEVER....

I would strongly recommend spending the $30 on Quicktime Pro.  It runs on Windows...not limited to Mac.  Mixing down to H.264 ultimately is best for a Youtube stream, but you lose any flexibility for futher work in an NLE.  If you mix down into H.264, and try to make movies off this format, it iwll ultimately be "remixed" again as H.264 is not an accepted movie render format.  H.264 is typically for the "finished" product as it is a lightweight coded with powerful compression.

If Blender can accept ProRes, you should be set if you buy QUicktime Pro 7.  Another option would be to export as uncompressed 8 bit video.

Bottomline:  For simple clips like the one I did, using H.264 isn't going to run you down.  If you want to up your game, and not spend crazy $$, or do any kind of semi-pro video editing....get Quicktime.  The savings in time rendering alone was amazing.  Much faster than doing it in NLE.

Cheers,

Yoda

Here is a video I did this morning that shows "the results" using the method I just described.  Even though it is only 720p, at full screen it looks way better than a scaled 960x540 vid on 1080p.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1j3g9KjibA

I should say one more thing. and this is just "my $.02".

Because of the hardware limitations of the 550D, I do not believe you can upscale any video to 1080p with any decent quality.  HOWEVER, you CAN use a 1280x720p project, and get great quality.

Example workflow:

* Capture in 1280x320 at 24fps (use FPS over ride on ML)
*  Convert RAW file to DNG files
*  Import into Lightroom (or After Effects)
*  Apply color grading and other desire effects
*  Export as TIFF files, no compression, best quality, using original dimensions (1280x320)
*  Import image sequence into Quicktime Pro ($30).  Export to .MOLV (Apple ProRes 422 codec), use original source for frame size, frame rate, etc.
*  Open any NLE (FCPX, Premiere, etc).  start new project.  Use 1280x720 as your dimensions, 24fps.
*  Import your .MOV File.  Apply to video track (or in FCPX, the timeline).  Video should look anamorphic at this time in the preview pane.
*  Export (or share) movie using same Apple 422 codec.  Do not change any quality settings.
*  If desired for Youtube sharing, you can use any conversion utility such as Quicktime Pro, Compressor or other software to convert it to the h.264 desired format for streaming.
*  Done.

Note:  You CAN export to h.264 directly from your NLE, but the conversion process usually takes longer vs using a dedicated utility.

Hope this helps.  Works for me, and unless you have a trained eye (or are horrible in your capture/post processing technique), no one will know you even used a 550D when they see "the results".

If it looks good for you, thats all that matters in the end.

Cheers,

Yoda

You can't upscale a 960x540 file to 1080p and expect great quality.  If that were the case...we wouldn't need better equipment for 2K, 4K, etc.  In addition, how you manage the files in post processing, any compression applied, will greatly affect the outcome.

I read your example and tried an experiment.  I recorded a 960x540 RAW, tranformed to DNG files, imported in Lightroom, applied color grading, and exported to 1920x1080p. Then used Quicktime Pro 7 to create the movie file.  Went terrible.  Pixels, looked like a bad VCR recording (if you are old enough to know what that is).

Suggestion:  If you wan a "full screen look", you might try using one of the anamorphic aspect ratios (2.35:1, 2.67:1, etc).  I used a 1280x320, and got continuos recording at 24fps.  There is a trade off.  The wider you go with your aspect ration, the shorter the height will be on your video.  Wide look works for me, because when you export at the same aspect ratio your file was captured in, it will automatically look anamorphic when imported into your movie software (Premiere, FCPX, Avid, etc).

Bottom line:  The 550d raw capabilities at this stage of the game are VERY limited.  If you want more picture "real estate" (aka screen size), get a better camera.  The 50D has a much better hardware, and you can get them used on Craigslist for about the same price as one of the Rebel cameras.

Cheers,

Yoda

Good question.  I used a workflow and exported to both JPG and .TIFF.  HUGE DIFFERENCE.  You can see it in the overal picture quality, really shows up in lines.  But, it alos depends on what you are going for.  If you arent shooting art, or something that requires clean/soft presentation, you can get away with JPG even at 80% quality (20% compression).

As for the color...again, using TIFF just makes everything look better, especially in low light shots.

At this point, shooting RAW on 550D is easy.  The key is obviuosly a really fast SDHC or SDXC card, and a post production setup that allows a streamlined workflow.  The only real decision to make is the frame size (1280x544, 960x540, etc).  One doesn't need continuous FPS to get good shots.  24fps at 10 seconds is 240 frames recorded.  More than enough to do get good shots, and move from subject to subject, shot to shot, etc.

In terms of "post processing", speed can be obtained by switching to an SSD drive, getting more RAM, and having minimum 2 procs, preferably 4 proc setup.

Cheers.

Yoda

Something for folks to consider.  It is possible to use a 1280x720p workflow with the 550D.  The camera CANNOT record 1280x720p continuos at 24fps, but it CAN record 1280x426 at 24fps (3:1 aspect ratio) for just over a minute.

This is really awesome, because recording in a 3:1 or a 2.67:1 aspect ratio provides the ability to essentially record native anamorphic.  When the RAW file is converted to image sequences, you have a bunch of DNG files at 1280x720.  These files, which in turn, are then imported into an editor like Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere, will natively display in "anamorphic"....IF YOU SET YOUR PROJECT to 1280x720p.  This is HUGE...because it means no rendering of any "letterbox" type of effects, and you aren't losing video like you would with a letterbox effect.

Also, for those with slower computers, I highly recommend using .JPG vs. .TIFF when exporting after the color grading in your photo software (e.g. Lightroom, Photoshop, etc).  I exported a set of DNG files to.JPG at 80% quality, and each file came to 637kb.  This is great for the import/stitch process when using your movie software...as the file footprint is not nearly as huge (i.e. less RAM used, faster computer and export processing).  But...the trade off is some loss in image quality (not lots but some).  Still....native anamorphic with color grading IMHO is better than using .h264 standard codec with 720p on the camera board.

If you have the guts and patience, then using .TIFF is the only way to go.  The image quality is top notch.  Just takes a while to render during the import process (regarding your movie software).

For rich folks, Im sure a Mac Pro quad core with 16GB RAM would eat this stuff up alive. 

Cheers.

Yoda

Here is my first video from RAW.  Be sure to watch on "1080P" mode.  Video can be watched at full screen resolution.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVrrXbsbJiU

Workflow:

Shot at 960x518 2.35:1 ratio, 23.997fps.  RAW file converted to DNG files via RAW2DNG.  Files imported into Adobe Lightroom 5.  Processed one frame, then "sync'd" to rest of frames to have consistent post-processing/color grading.  Exported all frames (all 1879) to .TIFF format.  Created FCPX project at SD 960x540, 23.997fps.  Imported frames into event & project.  All frames set to duration of 00:01.  Created compound clip for grouping.  Exported to "Master File" at Prores 422.  Created 2nd FCPX project at 1080p, 23.997 fps.  Imported "Master File" and resized to 60%.  Exported to 1080p H.264 codec, uploaded to Youtube.  Voila!

I will say this video, shot at ISO 1050, Aperture 1.4, Shutter speed 1/24 (359 degree), had tons of noise prior to processing in Lightroom.  Regained so much of the shadows, and increasing the clarity/vibrancy, using "Luminance" to reduce noise helped tons.

That said, for this one minute video, FCPX was the biggest RAM hog and slow to operate.  My system is dual core,  2.33GHZ with 8GB RAM.  Not the greatest, but not too shabby for a 2010 Mac Mini.  Still beats purchasing an EOS C-100.

As a lesson learned, I might try to export DNG files to .JPG next time.  .TIFF files are huge.  1897 frames with .TIFF amounted to 5GB in files that had to be imported into FCPX.  Grr.....

No sound carried over though.  Will have to explore a mobile sound setup for the future.

Cheers,

Yoda

Success!

Maxed out write speed at 19.9 MB/s, read speed at 21.1 MB/s.

Was able to record 960x540 16:9 for days.

Tonight I used the EF 50mm 1.4 USM lens for a low light test, but tomorrow, I will take out my 17-40MM EF-L for some wide screen shots in the sunshine by the park.  With the zoom, I should be able to get some nice pics, and in addition, perhaps try some 2.35:1 shots to get some near anamorphic videos.

Fyi, Best Buy is doing price matching.  This card I bought was listed at $97.99, and it is on B&H Photo for $60.67.  Got $30 off.  Good stuff.

Cheers.

Yoda