OT: Canon 5D extreme macro shooting

Coursedesign wrote on 10/6/2009, 8:24 AM
Amazing what you can get with a "vanilla" Canon 180mm macro lens on that camera:





The above are just a collection of test shots in nature, but they really show what kind of video you can shoot with this combo.

I saw a recent interview where Canon reps said they had 35,000 of these cameras on backorder...


There are of course snout-lenses that allow 2/3" video cameras to shoot this close, but they are way way more expensive than this setup.

Comments

Patryk Rebisz wrote on 10/6/2009, 10:41 AM
This video is also an example of people inexperience in terms of cinematography. Step down the lens! The blurry background works for a medium shot of an actress but doesn't work here, just because one can get such an extreme DOF doesn't mean one should use it here.
Coursedesign wrote on 10/6/2009, 11:00 AM
I agree, that's why I specifically flagged that these were test shots. Probably his first footage.

It isn't quite as easy to get a lot of DOF at that magnification, but it certainly is possible.
FrigidNDEditing wrote on 10/6/2009, 12:43 PM
Patryk, I'm going to disagree with you to certain level here, though I thought the DOF was too shallow on some of these shots. But there were some shots here where it worked just fine, and you're taking out freedom of choice here by saying that it's not good in a situation like this. I could see this being what he wanted to do, to prevent the busy foreground and background from taking away from the ant in the very very shallow focal range. Granted for some of these, I think a person could say the focus wasn't right on if they're going to run that shallow of a DOF, but I think that a person could certainly use that shallow of a DOF in this situation and it could work just fine.

Dave
Patryk Rebisz wrote on 10/6/2009, 1:49 PM
Personal preferences.

I felt like i need to go to eye doctor as everything is fuzzy.

That said though that the epidemic of shallow DOF is real. I see many many productions using the new advances (affordable 35mm adapters, RED, DSLRs) but with the technology doesn't come cinematic experience thus you have shots with shallow DOF but crappy lighting for instance, or you have DOF so abstract (like in some of the shots above) that we loose the sense of space. DOF is a tool like many others and it's great that finally we have access to it without having to shoot on 35mm film, but in hands of inexperienced people it can easily become really comical (see the eye doctor quote above) as people try to get the DOF as extreme (i guess in their mind as "filmy"as possible).
farss wrote on 10/6/2009, 2:02 PM
Never ceases to amaze me how this biz is driven by fads.
The early cinematographers biggest nightmare was getting enough DOF. If I can't get my eyes to focus on something I go see my optometrist. Bigger cinema screens with larger angle of view cause the audience to look around the frame more. Having to turn your head 45deg to find something in focus creates a problem for the audience.

Lighting is the clue to macro work. Just ordered some bits to make a ring light for my EX1 for this purpose. The next problem is getting the talent to hit their marks. Darn bugs, worse than kids and animals :)

Bob.

Coursedesign wrote on 10/6/2009, 2:06 PM
I don't think this guy was even thinking of DOF when he shot this, it was just the way it came out on his first try.

I used to do a lot of macro shooting a long time ago, and remember that it required a lot of planning to get it to look its best.

As for lack of experience with cinematic tools, the all time world record I ever saw was a short movie at a film festival, where the obviously very new DP had gotten his hands on a dolly and track and pondered how to get most camera movement. The most astonishing shot was of two people sitting on a park bench, as during their dialog the camera rolled back and forth sideways in front of them with no obvious justification other than "gotta move the camera!" It was close to unwatchable.
FrigidNDEditing wrote on 10/6/2009, 2:18 PM
LOL @ Course's comments about the dolly'rifick speaking shot. that's too funny.

Fully agree with you saying how just because it's available doesn't mean you should use it, and that one thing is not going to make a great film when there isn't overall skill. Just wanted to point out, that I think that many of those shots could have worked with that shallow DOF had it been done with some purpose and skill.

Dave