More Wide Angle in RAW Mode on 600D / T3i

[TonyPitzicatta]

Hello everybody,

I was very excited and still am, when i read about RAW for the 600D. After a few days of try an error, i final got the "six thirty" tragic lantern build and shot some RAW footage.
I was blown away by the dynamic range and filtering color noise, not to mention the lack artifacts (except the hidious pink frame once in a while).

I have absolutely no problem with the smaller resolution, but there is one thing that really makes me cry. The Angle, or better: the loss of my wideangle
When i read about the resolution for RAW on the 600D i wouldn't have thought that it would just use the pixels in the middle and simply cut the rest away. I hoped it would use the whole sensor and simply jump to every secound pixel or something like that. Isn't that what the camera does normally when recording 1280x720?

So, am i doing something wrong, or does anyone else feel about this aspect the way i do? And is there maybe somekind of feature for this problem on the way?

I'm often shooting inside and without a proper wideangle it's almost impossible to get an establishing shot. Best thing i could do was take the widest aspect ratio like 1088x480 or use it in 720p mode to get an vertical anamorphic resolution of 1408x352. I really can't recommend the last one because you get really ugly aliasing and moire effects.

Looking forward to your answers
Tony

[maxotics]

Hi Tony,

You must not have spent much time on the forum   EVERYONE is bummed about this issue!

You are right, when the camera takes video in its normal focal length it skips lines.   This creates aliasing and moire issues but you don't see them usually because of the compression.  That great dynamic range you're seeing comes with a cost--hideous moire.  Unless you're shooting a scene will few hard lines, or the lines are out of focus.

Solutions

1. 5D3
2. VAF filter from Mosaic Engineering
3. Crop mode (which uses the center pixels but increases focal length past wide angle).

I use a Sigma 10-20mm in crop mode, which is like 45mm lens.  I wish it were wider!

So back to the forum you go!  Seriously,  welcome the club!

[TonyPitzicatta]

At least i'm not alone 

- 5D3: no can do, sir 
- VAF, Crop mode: I'v seen the much better quality, but especially in crop mode even more...well... crop and less wide angle.

I already have a 17-50mm lense, so there isn't much space to go wider on the lense part.

[ShootMeAlready]

The best solution for an establishing shot on a 600d is to use lower fps in anamorphic (2.39:1).  This works best if you have very slow to no motion.  If your establishing shot is very wide, then this might be livable (although limiting).
If you use a 12fps, you can obtain a 1600x670 in anamorphic continuous, that's 70% of the 1920x800.  The sacrifice in motion, is made up by the superior resolution and picture quality of what you do have. 
You can try and interpolate using software to get some frames back.  This can be done with AE, but I have seen some Twixter simulations as well.   This is an area I want to experiment with (but honestly black magic pocket camera at 500USD may be less hassle than money / time spent on interpolating software and clips).

I think for fast motion however, you may have to simply use h264 MOV, and work the lighting with ETTL approach & post colour correction. 
If you must shoot fast motion in raw dual iso, I suggest you use anamorphic(2.39) 1142x482, as that's continuous on a 600D.  I would also use a Loupe 3X magnification while shooting. 
If you consider that in 16:9 aspect ratio max is 960x549, which is 25% of the FHD area of the 1920x1080,
simply by switching to anamorphic you get 1142x482 which is 36% of the 1920x800, you actually have gained 11% more closer to max anamorphic picture size.  The anamorphic crop bars are your friend.