Focusing
Traditional video camera practice of zooming the lens in | setting focus | and zooming back out does NOT work with canon lenses. The lens is not designed to hold focus. Repeat the focus will not be maintained.
Instead you must use the DIGITAL zoom in.
The digital zoom is 5X and 10X.
You will go through the traditional practice with the DIGITAL ZOOM located in the upper right of the back of the camera body.
Exposure
Use a wide aperture to isolate the subject.
Press 1/2 way on the shutter to check the meter.
Never trust your eye.
Always check your Histogram.
Depth of Field
Depth of field is the area between the closest and farthest points from the camera that are in acceptable focus. When the focus is set at a given distance, there is a range in front of and behind that distance which remains in focus. You must understand how to calculate the depth of field for a given shot, and how to expand and shrink that depth of field, as necessary.
Depth of field is used as a creative tool. In many scenes, there is so much depth of field for the viewer, that it is sometimes difficult to isolate where the audience should be looking. By using depth of field to control the image, you can isolate the character from the background.
3 Factors effecting DOF
1. Aperture Size/ F-Stop
The size of the opening within your lens that allows light to hit the image sensor. The lower the F-Stop number, the bigger the aperture and more light is able to reach the image sensor.
A low F-Stop number (large aperture) results in a shallow depth of field. Fast.
A high F-Stop (smaller aperture) gives a deep DOF.
You want fast glass for low light. The light drop off from stop to stop doubles. For example:
f/1.4 transmits twice as much light as f/2.0, f2.0 twice as much as f/2.8, f/2.8 twice as much as f/4.0, etc.
2. Focal Length
The focal length of a lens is the distance between the optical center of the lens and the image sensor. Determines the angle of view or perspective seen through the lens.
Shorter focal length makes the shot appear deeper. Exaggerates depth and distance.
Longer the focal length makes the shot appear flatter.
Full Sensor Camera such as 5D
Wide Angle Lens 16mm -- Will emphasize the foreground and make it look larger than the background. Makes background objects look farther away. Be careful. Will cause distortion.
Standard Lens 50mm -- Helps to balance the subjects and depth of field. Foreground and background are of relative size. Distortion nor compression are an issue. Things will appear "normal".
Telephoto 200mm -- compresses the background and foreground. Things will flatten out.
Cropped Sensor Camera such as the 60D
All focal lengths must multiplied by 1.6
16mm on a cropped sensor = 25.6
50mm on a cropped sensor = 80
3. Camera to Subject Distance
ISO
ISO = Gain
ISO is the light sensitivity of the sensor.
Higher the ISO the more "noise" you add to the image.
Keep your ISO as low as possible.
Good ISO's -- use multiples of 160:
160, 320, 640, 1250, 1600 -- don't go above 1600
Avoid at all costs:
125, 250, 500, and 1000. These setting add noise and make footage look grainy.
Keep your ISO consistent. Look at the bottom of your frame at the info -- double/triple check before recording.
Shutter Speed
Shutter speed huge difference when moving from still to motion photography.
You can not play with shutter as you can with still photography.
If we think of the 3 factors we are used to adjusting with still photography:
Shutter -- Aperture -- ISO
With motion shutter speed is gone.
When setting your shutter you want to use a multiple of the frame rate you are shootin.
Use:
1/50th when shooting 24fps
1/60th for 30fps
Do not go over 1/125th.
Stick with 1/50th.
It is very easy to mistakenly adjust/bump/etc. the shutter speed on the 60D.
Check your info every time before you shoot the shutter speed setting.
White Balance
The process of capturing the correct colors for the type of available light.
We have to tell the camera what white should look like.
We will begin with presets available in the quick menu - then follow with K for fine tuning.
Picture Style
Select Neutral.
Neutral provides greater flexibility during post-production during grading/color correction.
Digital Sharpness = Evil
Cameras ship on 3 -- we want to set to 0
Contrast
Set down all the way. This will help to maintain details in the highlights and lowlights
Saturation
We can set this down 2 notches as saturation ships to rich.
Frame Rate
Most Common Frame Rates:
24, 25, 30, 50, 60
NTSC:
24 fps will give you a film look.
60 fps -- you can only shoot at 720 -- gives you a slo mo look in post-production. We will not be shooting 60 fps in Course 1.
30 for TV
PAL:
25, 50
PAL vs. NTSC
Europe = PAL
USA/North America = NTSC
Difference is due to electricity.
Menus
Select M From Dial -- Select Menu Button Above Joystick
Expo.comp./AEB -- set to 0
Auto Lighting Optimizer - Disable
Picture Style -- Neutral
White Balance -- K5200
Custom White Balance -- leave alone
WB Shift/BKT -- 0,0/+0
Color Space -- Adobe RGB
C.Fn I: Exposure:
Exposure level increments -- 0:1/3-stop
ISO speed setting increments -- 0:1/3stop
ISO expansion -- Off
Bracketing auto cancel -- On
Bracketing sequence -- 0:0,-,+
Exposure Safety Shift -- Disable
Flash Sync -- Auto
C.Fn II: Image
Long exp. noise reduction -- Off
High ISO speed noise reduct'n -- Disable
Highlight tone priority -- Disable
C.Fn III and IV -- Leave alone
Select Film Camera From Dial -- Select Menu Button Above Joystick
Movie exposure -- Manual -- you may not use Auto
AF mode -- Select Live Mode
AF w/ shutter button during Camera icon -- Disable
AF and metering butt. for Camera icon -- No change
ISO speed setting increments -- 1/3 - Stop
Highlight tone priority -- Disable
Movie rec. size -- 1920X1080 24fps
Sound Recording -- Auto (For Now)
Silent shooting -- Mode 1
Metering timer -- 16sec.
Grid Display -- Your choice -- off/none or rule of thirds may be applied
Exposure comp. -- set to 0
Auto Lighting Optimizer -- Disable
Picture Style -- Neutral
White Balance -- Set to K (you may scroll though settings on info menu)
Custom White Balance -- leave alone
Quality-- L
Beep -- Disable
Release shutter without card -- Disable
Image review -- 2 sec
Peripheral illumin. correct. -- Disable
No Adjustments need to be made to this menu
Highlight alert -- Disable
AF point disp -- Disable
Histogram -- Brightness
Image jump w/ -- 1
Slide show -- leave alone
Rating -- leave alone
Ctrl of Hdmi -- disable
Auto power off -- set to 8 min
Auto Rotate -- on
Format -- you will use this after you have copied your card to your hardrived
File numbering -- continuous
Select folder -- leave alone
LCD brightness -- Leave between 4 and 5
Date/Time -- Make sure this is accurate as it will help managing media easier
Language -- English
Video System -- NTSC
Sensor Cleaning -- Auto Cleaning Enable
Lock -- Disable
