Have you ever found yourself wishing your Canon DSLR had a few extra features on the video setting? Probably, video on DSLR is far from perfect. Now is your chance to voice your opinion and change the future of filmmaking with DSLRs as we know it, again.
I was trolling Vimeo and came across a great interview from the PVC with Chuck Westfall, Canon’s media spokesman. (Go to 4:18 for the relevant portion)
There’s a quote in here that should put every single cinematographer that’s ever used a Canon HDSLR into immediate action:
“Customers who are interested in [digital cinematography] should be thinking about two things, 1) if they haven’t told [Canon] what they’re looking for, by all means let us know and 2) they should be aware that we are very responsive and we’re going to do our best to make sure they’re happy.”
-Chuck Westfall, at 4:18 on http://vimeo.com/22594205
Holy. Cow. Canon wants to make us cinematographers happy. Doesn’t your heart beat a little faster?
Visit Canon’s 5D support page to send an email with your feature requests. They will automatically route your email to the “appropriate party” from there. Email them, they’re listening.
*Update: Thanks to Pablo from HD Cam Team for letting me know that you can email your feature requests directly to canon at carecenter@cits.canon.com
This isn’t the first call to action! In fact, remember back about a year ago when the Canon 5D DIDN’T have 24p? People had to use the Magic Lantern firmware to get 24. The online community spoke up. Names like Vincent Laforet posted blogs with droves of people requesting 24p. Sure enough, Canon listened and 24p arrived. Not only on the 5Dmk2, but the 7D, 1Dsmk4, T2i, 60D, and now the T3i.
The downside is that we may not hear anything on the 5D mk3 until Q4 2011 or LATER. However, this is our opportunity, the online filmmaking community, to send our requests in to Canon by the thousands.
No doubt they’ve received many emails already. We finally arrive at the title of this post: why the 5D Mark III could revolutionize everything again. This is my biggest feature request:
Clean Video Out, 10 bit 4:2:2 or better.
Add a $2000 AJA KiPro Mini to a 5D Mark III with clean video out and you’ve got an unbelievable setup. Especially if you combine the new technicolor preset into the equation. The KiPro is broadcast quality. It records readily-editable prores AND has XLR in with great preamps. Your audio is synced and you’re instantly ready to edit (on the incredibly new fast FCP X). For me, that makes the whole system: 1080p log 10 bit 4:2:2 Prores WITH great audio with a full frame sensor. SAY WHAT??!!! That easily encroaches on the F3 which costs north of $20k (no glass).
The revolution is self-explanatory. The DSLR video market already exists, so those of us with working setups would only have a small transition. PLUS, the 5D mark ii (or other) still makes a great B cam with perfectly matching picture profiles. How’s that for a win-win?
Send your emails now!
Please Canon…. clean video out……
Comments
Indeed community request had significant impact in the past.
Although 24p was never achieved by Magic Lantern, it (ML) was another force to “push” and encourage Canon to give additional features to customers.
There are LOT of possible improvements, even in the current line of EOS HDSLR cameras (AGC is a very simple example of that).
One List of Fixes & Improvements, mostly possible via Firmware Updates on current high end models:
http://5dmark2.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/canon-firmware-updates/
Interestingly, some of those features were implemented in latest low end models, but the much more expensive one still remain without them…
What can make a change is the mass of customers requesting features to Canon. Unfortunately big names can’t do as much as the entire community of Canon users requesting and sending feedback. That has been already proven.
Send e-mail, Call Canon, send your request by website forms and ask them to be forwarded to the appropriate department. That’s something everyone can do, and that CAN make a difference, as it did in the past.
Here is some additional information that we have been posting for more than 1 year:
– USA: 1-800-828-4040 | 1-866-261-9362
– CANADA: 1-800-OK-CANON (1-800-652-2666)
– UK: 0844 369 0100
– USA e-mail Support:
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=SupportMailIndexAct&fcategoryid=
– Europe e-mail Support:
http://www.canon-europe.com/Support/Consumer_Products/contact_support/Index.aspx
– Europe Telephone Support:
http://www.canon-europe.com/Support/Consumer_Products/Telephone_Numbers/telephone_numbers.aspx
REMEMBER: Community efforts do bring results!
Best regards.
Awesome, thanks for the reply! I guess I was mistaken about 24p in Magic Lantern, I never ended up using it on my 5D. Should have done my homework 😉
— RAW 10 Bit image capture.
— Anamorphic viewing support.
— Dynamic range improvements.
Such a very useful post. Very interesting to read this article.I would like to thank you for the efforts.
http://ukhelpdesknumber.co.uk/canon-printer.php
60fps 1080P
RAW 10 Bit image capture.
— Anamorphic viewing support.
— Dynamic range improvements.
multiple cropped sensor choices (full-frame, super35, aps-c, 2/3″ etc) all from the same sensor
this would effectively make prime lenses zoom lenses since u could choose a smaller crop of the image and not lose resolution
That’s an awesome idea. Might be a tough sell on a lens manufacturer like Canon, but nonetheless a really cool idea. Reminds me a little bit of the RED One with choices between 4k S35 and 2K crop sensor, effectively S16.
thx james,
yeah i’m keeping my fingers crossed that canon or nikon does this, then the other one will have to. I’m buying whichever one does 1st!
Also, I would love to see an official sdk for the camera, so projects like magic lantern don’t have to spend their time reverse engineering button codes. Magic lantern adds soooo much to the canon camera’s and if it was officially supported or atleast encouraged it would be amazing.
also, i’ve heard rumors of a new 4:2:2 10-bit codec and I would love to see that too. I do tons of green screen and I see the h.264 4:2:0 8-bit codec break down before my eyes all the time.
also, please make the white zoom box disappear until i hit the d-pad. so annoying.
also, I’d like to see magic lantern features make it into the official firmware. their magic zoom is great. false colors. clean screen by holding zoom out button. lots of crop marks. (releasing an sdk would bring all these features.)
That is a great idea, similar to the 1:1 crop mode we have been requesting to Canon since so long, but with more flexibility of resolutions.
That should indeed minimize or avoid moire and aliasing artifacts, besides letting you use normal lenses as tele or super telephoto lenses.
I heard the same thing about the 4:2:2 Codec. That would be killer! I hope Canon adds pro video tools to the next HDSLR, like false color as you suggested. Nobody will need an Alexa 😉 Thanks for the feedback!
My first attempt at green screen here
Used a 550d turned sideways so I’m shooting vertically/portrait mode at 1080p and edited in ae for 720p output. Used the new technicolor profile with lut. Much more work is needed but looks ok for first go? Now to reshoot it and colour grade it etc.. I haven’t on this as we need to reshoot Monday now we got a feel for it.
greenscreen test
http://vimeo.com/23580618
Pwd: dragon
great work for a first go around! I haven’t been brave enough to do green screen with a dslr, but I’m glad to see you’re having success with it 🙂
The new 600d does exactly this… And ml for the 550d is working on trying this out also..
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