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Build your own Canon 5D MKII DSLR Package Checklist and Prices for December ‘09
Welcome to the first Don’t Touch That Button “Build it yourself DSLR Package” Checklist. I’ve had a couple of colleagues ask for a list of what to get to pull off a shoot with the 5DMKII and I am finally finishing up this list. It’s literally been shrunken down in my task bar for the last week as I’ve worked on it on and off. Thanks everyone for your patience and enjoy.
Image Necessities: Basically you have to have the camera and some batteries in order to shot anything. You also have to have something stable to put the camera on unless you have really steady hands and are only shooting really wide hand held. Get a real video tripod and head. A photography tripod, while cheap is not going to cut it when you need smooth pans and tilts or, gasp, diagonal movements in your shots.
Canon 5D or 7D body or kit with lens |
Genuine Canon Batteries (2) |
Video Tripod with fluid head |
Compact Flash Card with at least 233x speed |
Lenses (at least one good, fast lens like the Tamron AF28-75mm F/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) |
Remember that there are lots of affordable primes out there in pawn shops. And get UV filters as well. |
The third party Magic Lantern firmware is loaded onto the 5D MKII camera temporarily depending on if you need it’s added functionality for your shot. This incredible add-on allows for volume monitoring, zebra peaking, focusing aid, and selection on internal or external audio input. So far has been completely safe to use but it will crash on you so make sure you can do a reshoot of a scene if necessary. Magic Lantern is not currently available for the 7D. |
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Audio Necessities: Ok so now you need to capture some audio. There are times you can go with the actually decent built in mic. Hey, it’s about as useful as the onboard microphones Panasonic puts on their 200, 170, and 150 cameras. You have two routes to choose from depending on how you want to work. You can record sound externally and then sync the audio in post or you can run the audio into the external 1/8 inch microphone inputs on the 5D and 7D.
 Recommended: The Zoom H4n is a four channel high quality independent recorder. It includes a stereo pair of microphones. You can visually and audibly monitor your audio through headphones. You could also take the audio out to the 1/8 inch right into the Canon camera to create synced audio onto the mpeg4 videos along with a separate higher quality audio recording on the H4n itself. It records to SD cards.
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The JuicedLink CX231 Camcorder XLR Audio Adapter/Mixer/Preamp is another alternative. This box can mount to the bottom of the camera. The CX231 will take either dynamic or condenser microphone inputs and run it right into your Canon camera. The audio does not require syncing and the quality to pretty good. I own one and it works great. |
Viewfinders and Loupes: While the LCD displays on the 5D and the 7D are pretty sharp, you might want a solution that provides the shade necessary to see in direct sunlight. A viewfinder that incorporates image magnification is also helpful. It also provides another point of contact with the camera for more stabilization. Here are two that should fit the bill.
 The LCD ViewFinder turns your 5D or 7D LCD screen into a huge electronic viewfinder for precise image evaluation and shake free hand held operation. This runs for $159 which makes it a nice compromise between the options for value. It features a 2x magnification factor but lacks a diopter so you’ll need to keep your glasses on. I would try this first based on the reviews. |
The Zacuto Z-Finder is the best 5D and 7D viewfinder available. It is also priced accordingly at $395 and comes with a lifetime warranty. It features 3x focusable magnification, a 40mm diameter Schneider Optics lens, and a field of view perfectly matched to LCD screens. The Z-Finder can firmly attach to the camera body. |
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 The $80 SockLoupe is a good product and very reasonable prized. If offers magnification and a bellows style diopter. The SockLoupe attaches to the camera by way of elastic Velcro bands that don’t quite work with a batter grip attached. If you are looking to one up used leave me an email! |
The HoodLoupe 3.0 is about also around $80. It offers shielding of your LCD for quick checks but doesn’t offer image magnification |
5D MKII Battery Grips: A battery grip will change how you hold your camera and offer you much more comfortable portrait shooting angle. You will now have both horizontal and vertical grips. You will also have twice the battery life for longer shoots. Finally if you are using the extremely useful but crash prone magic lantern firmware along with Juicedlink adaptor mounted to the bottom of the camera, you will have a much easier time removing the batteries and putting them back in to reset. Otherwise you are have to remove the audio adaptor to get to the battery compartment and then put the adaptor back on after reinserting the battery. This is not the most professional situation to be in when you are in front of a client. As far as I can tell the 7D does not have battery grips yet available and someone please correct me if they are purchasable.
The third party Flashpoint battery grip is a solid piece of equipment and the grip I use at every shoot if possible. |
The official Canon 5D MKII Battery Grip is as good as it gets but crazy expensive. You can almost get three Flashpoint grips for the price of this Canon piece of equipment. |
My first (and probably last) shoot at the Jaguar’s stadium
This video project was a quick turn around for Christ’s Church. We went out to interview the RV Park tailgaters who have been gathering all week for the big Florida/Georgia game.
We were shooting person on the street, quick and dirty interviews with the Canon 5D MKII.
The camera, juiced linked adapter, and all wireless equipment fit in a small camera bag. It was a big difference from shooting with a larger Panasonic HVX 200 kit. We went with no tripod, instead shooting with the el cheapo shoulder mount bought off eBay. The opening and closing shots needed stabilization but the turn around time would not permit it.
None of the shots had color correction applied, but I did underexpose all of the shots to protect from blowouts. I adjusted the levels in post.
This was my first (and probably last) shoot at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. We got a call after we left saying that security thought we were filming the Jaguar’s practice and that security was searching for us. If you are reading this Stadium Security, we were NOT filming an NFL team practice.
Sorry and enjoy!
First Production Footage from the Canon 5D MKII
Well I’ve shot a couple of events with the Canon 5D and the images are much better than I remember coming from my older Panasonic HVX200. The trade offs so far are worth it. The 5D is not a production video camera, but with the Magic Lantern third party firmware the 5D can hold its own. I’ll have to cover the current 0.1.6 beta release in an upcoming post.
One of the first projects I used the Canon on was a Small Group Promo for Christ’s Church in Jacksonville, FL. The 5D was used for my B-roll cut away shots due to a mix up with a 32 gig compact flash card not arriving in time. The fact that my Juicedlink adaptor hadn’t arrived yet either also factored into my using a Sony FX1 for the outside long form interviews.
To my frustration, I found that my wonderful AKG D5 microphone was missing after a shot earlier that day (and still is!). I had to use my Mackie mixer to power the Sennheiser ME66 shotgun microphone because the FX1 camera lacks any audio XLR connections or phantom power. Basically everyone had to pass around the ME66 attached to a long microphone cable. The outdoor shooting didn’t begin till around 7:20 PM. With the sun going down quick, I had to get some compelling interactions and answers from twelve people I had never met before. Let the fun begin!
The Canon 5D and my two 4 gig compact flash cards worked really well for the short video shots later on that evening in the couple’s home. The home was much darker and crowded and the small, inconspicuous still camera allowed me to slip in and out of positions (and even eat at the same time!) without making the small group members feel awkward. I don’t think any of them even realized they were being filmed. Check out the sample still from a clip of the cheese cake. Good stuff.
The finished product turned out well enough and was well received by the church. There definitely will be more posts concerning the 5D soon so stay tuned.
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