Very enticing. But since I do a lot of weddings, the 12 minute (4 GB) per scene limitation isn't ideal.

Either way, it's still a great price. That's basically the same price as the previous Rebel, but you'r e now getting so much more.

I agree that the 12 minute limitation stifles most options. At that price, though, I'm almost thinking of picking one up just to practice working with the HDSLR medium for future ventures.

Having purchased the 7D I am very pleased with Canon's line up (always have been though for both photo and video). While there are limitations, its points to the future.

Chad

Clearly a DSLR is not meant to do wedding videography. The shape would be impossible even without the 12 minute limit.

The 12 minute fits nicely for cinematic production. I seem to remeber that a full magazine lasts about 12 minutes :)


KK

err.. why would you shoo tthe entire wedding with a vDSLR? This is what i dont get.. people also pay for DECEN audio and MPG2 was an issue in itself with HDV, these cams are even worse with crap audio functions...

IN addition, i fail to see the need to shoot an entire 12minutes STRAIGHT unless your shooitng a ceremony or speeches from beginig to end, which SHOULD be done with a REAL VIDEO camera for teh sake of archiving. If anyone tried to give me teh bread and butter of a wedding in bits and pieces, then Id say take a hike.

These camsa re great for effect only... DoF has been around forever but these cams just make it easier to attain that look. In a year, it will be another wow factor thing thats worn off, much like colour pass filters and old film effects...

FYI the ile size limit is specifically due to file size limit, its not a sensor issue. U can stop and start within 1 second, and also shoot stills on card while its recording video (at least u can with a 5dkmII)

FYIO the T2i only shoots 20fps in 1080p and 30fps in 720p unless theyve changed the spec...

im the first to admit im wrong, but this is obv a differnt cam to the one i was looking at..
so my comment above in regard to frame was NOT for the moel in question here..

decent HD video recording with 50p 720p would make for a wonderful crashcam or backup unit...

i was going to go a 7d, but no need if the video functions are identical.. tehn again this wont have the same ISO cleanliness as a 7d.. and the 7d is cleaner than a 5d... hmm..

Video spec is The Rebel T2i DSLR captures video in both NTSC (National Television System Committee) and PAL (Phase Altering Line) standards at selectable frame rates including Full HD 1920 x 1080 at 30 (29.97), 25 or 24 (23.976) fps, and HD 1280 x 720 or Standard Definition 640 x 480 quality video, at 60 (59.94) or 50 fps.

For $799.99 For great audio add $299 for a zoom H4N. Keep it real, the better kit costs a whole lot more than that price point.

The 12 Minute limit has nothing to do with file size anymore and everything to do with EU tax code. I don't think you can buy them yet but the SDXC card spec is for 2 TeraBytes.

Canon is not trying to kill it's pro video division. It is doing a great job competing with Nikon and they are both doing a great job killing Scarlet and the whole 35mm adaptor crowd like Letus.

I agree that the DSLR body has limitations for long form "live events", put this on my wish list. (perhaps there is an engineering limitation though).

Take a Canon XHA? body, put in the 7D or equivalent sensor and image capturing method and then include your audio features from a typical prosumer video camera. Leave an open ended mounting ring for user preference to choose the proper lense. Resolve the auto focusing challenge and introduce a means of capturing for longer period of time.... theres your future camera.

Chad

Canon will do exactly that as soon as Nikon and all other manufacturers have done it, so they know it's a sound concept.

Canon is conservative in the extreme. The different development groups have their own budget battles, and there is no supreme leader with a bull whip to get everyone in sync to work towards one goal.

I've been using their cameras for more than 4 decades and find no major fault to speak of other than now wishing they would focus the company on creating the next generation of video cameras.

The #1 challenge is physical: people want long zooms but those get large, heavy and expensive when you up the sensor size from 1/3" (Canon XH-A1) to about 2" (Canon 5D).

Check out this amazing footage from the 550D in 1080p:

To address some of Chad's recommendations above, here is a few comments from this http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/digital-video-industry-news/472473-new-canon-rebel-t2i-digital-slr.htmlDVINFO[/link] post: 1) auto focus: "For easier video recording operation and familiar functionality for beginners, the Rebel T2i's autofocus can be operated before or during video recording by pressing the shutter button half-way down in video mode." 2) Audio features: may have to use an XLR adapter to go from the included audio jack.

Also, I'm reading that the file size limitation is something that will be removed this spring. What would you have then, about 30 minutes available?

I know I'm stating the blindingly obvious. Shallow DOF is what the dSLR format does best. There are many applications where you don't want shallow DOF. It's a problem Scarlet is also going to run into. I know that a lot of younger newbies don't have a full grasp of how iris, shutter speed and sensor size work together. Just because you traded emulsion for a sensor, if they are the same size the lens needs to stay the same size.

Konrad, Im thinking that for summer (bright part of year) outdoor event shooting in good light, I could set the iris to about F8 for deep DOF and have a cheap C, D, E tripod mounted static cam. If the time limit were removed that is. And battery life supports an hour of video.

Still gonna be another $1K for a good lens though. That's getting it close to other B-Cam territory like the HMC-40 and some others coming out.

And just buy some ND filters and use a bigger aperture, if want to shoot outdoors and you don't want a shallow DOF.

>> The 12 Minute limit has nothing to do with file size anymore and everything to do with EU tax code. I don't think you can buy them yet but the SDXC card spec is for 2 TeraBytes.

BZZZZT! WRONG! You can store lots, and lots of data on SDXC cards etc, but you can NOT store any files larger than 4G. That is a FAT32 limit. The EU tax you are talking about is at 30 minutes so has nothing to do with a 12 minute limit.

If ya missed it in the other thread I posted my first little out of the box test shoot with the Canon T2i:

Dog Park - Canon T2i Test Footage

Overall I love it, had lots of fun, waiting on another lens and some other toys before I go do another test, hopefully have something up by next week. I will say that the main problem I saw was lots of jello/rolling shutter. It seems to be real sensitive to that, any little wobble/bump and it shows. But for the price, a great second camera and a blast to shoot with.

- Ray
Underground Planet

I haven't been following the "Canon 5D, 7D, T2i MP4 file issues" thread to closely so missed your vid. Glad you posted it here.

From a totally amature perspective, I must say it's really good for being quickly put together. I really like your style, the dog angles and high energy vibe. The DoF shots really make the video. Quality is really nice from what I can tell.

Just curious, How do you like the low light performance? If possible can you provide some demos?

Thanks!
Byron

Thanks Byron, will work on it. I've been waiting on the battery pack and a new lens to go out and mess around some more but will try to get something up with night stuff soon. =)


- Ray
Underground Planet

This low light short http://www.vimeo.com/8595246Here[/link] was shot with the 7D, but from side-by-side comparisons online, they're extremely close.

Isn't it possible to connect the camera directly to a computer (laptop or otherwise) and capture the video without any limit?

No. It's not.