Canon Rebel T2i video - confused about lack of continuous focus

[kalrith]

Update 05/16/11:

Ordered refurb Canon T2i with kit lens for $544 after tax with the Canon Loyalty Program.

According to the DCResource review on the T2i:

The camera cannot focus continuously, though you can press the shutter release button to have the AF system kick in (which you will both see and hear in your movie).

First of all, I'm confused about the AF system being seen and heard in the movie. Also, I'm wondering what the real-world impact of no continuous focus will have on movies.

My wife and I are torn between spending about $300 on a superzoom (like the Panny FZ35, Canon SX20, or SX30) and $520 on a T2i refurb with kit lens on the Canon Loyalty Program. The $520 would be a stretch of our budget, but we've been wanting a DSLR for a couple years, and I'd hate to spend $300 on a digicam and still yearn for a DSLR.

The camera will do double duty for stills and videos (probably 25% video), mostly of our 2yo son. I compared T2i videos to FZ35 videos, and the former is very noticeably superior. However, zoom was not used in the videos.

Cliffs:

So, I'm wondering if anyone can enlighten me on how well the T2i does with zooming or with lots of movement while shooting a video.

 

[AkumaX]

forget about shooting movies with motion with the t2i/t3i/60d/7d. if you change the distance between you and the subject, the best thing to do is MF, and hope you can fine-tune your focusing skills

IS noise on 18-135mm, so you can hear the clicking - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h3abS9eB90

AF noise while shooting video (+ contrast detection on a 'dark' subject) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVyXtSX5hic

---

technically the best "dslr" for shooting video would be the sony a33/a55, and its technically not that great (only good or very good). the best 'dslr-type' of 'great' would be one of the micro 4/3's, i think the GF2?

 

[CptObvious]

Lack of continuous AF isn't much of a problem if you shoot with manual focus set to infinity. However, if you're going for a shallow depth-of-field look in your videos (i.e. sharp subject with blurry background), then continuous AF would be very helpful. The T2i doesn't do it in movie mode, my D3100 does it but it's pretty much useless. Plus the focusing noise is very noticeable in most DSLR video, so you may eventually want to get an external mic or recorder.

According to reviews, the best DSLR for shooting video is the Panasonic DMC-GH2, but it's $1000 and in limited supply. The only other DSLRs I've seen good continuous AF in are the Sony A33/A55 as mentioned above.

 

[kalrith]

I'll have to watch those videos when I get home. Thanks for posting them and the info.

I will say that the quality of stills are much more important to us than the quality of videos. And while anything has got to be better than our crappy P&S, we still want to get something that will shoot good video when we want it to (with HD, 30fps, stereo sound).

I'll have to look into some of the micro 4/3's. I welcome any other input as well.

 

[kalrith]

CptObvious,

I was planning on getting an external mic anyways since the T2i only comes with a mono internal mic. Does that make a difference for the AF sound issue?

$520 is severely stretching our budget (I'm still not sure if my wife will go for it), so anything above that is completely out of the question.

 

[CptObvious]

Yes, the external mic should take care of the focusing noise, especially if it's a directional or shotgun mic.

 

[nboy22]

The t2i has no autofocus during movies, same as a lot of pro cameras out there.

You can use manual focus with a follow focus device.

You can pick up this follow focus for $130-$160 or so, and it's pretty good quality: http://jag35.com/new/products/dfocus/

If you were to pick up that follow focus, you'd probably have to buy a rail-mounting system which could end up costing you another $300-500. If you want to just buy a follow focus without the need for a rail system, I would recommend the IDC follow focus for the t2i, which will run you like $350 or so.

as for your budget, you're probably better off getting a sony handicam-like device if you're going to be shooting video. I say this because $520 is already pushing your budget. You'll still get noise in the internal mic even by using manual focus. If you're not accustomed to manual focus, you'll probably end up screwing up a lot of your videos. If you want to get rid of the focus ring noise in the internal mic, you'll have to buy an external mic. In this case I would recommend the Rode Videomic, which is a shotgun mic priced at $120.

Even with the external rode videomic, you're going to get a horrible hissing noise due to the Automatic Gain Control that canon doesn't let you change by default. The only way to turn AGC off is to basically install a firmware hack onto your SD Memory card. The firmware hack, called "Magic Lantern", may be something that you will not be comfortable doing to your camera.

So around $550 for the t2i, at least $350 for follow focus, and $120 for a mic, you're looking at a figure way over your budget. Of course there are do-it-yourself solutions. If you look up on youtube there is a follow focus for the t2i that some guy built for about $1. Of course it doesn't look very professional, but it still works.

The t2i was a great buy for me, because I work in a studio and a lot of the cameras we use are manual focus, so I'm accustomed to manually focusing. I wanted something that could take pictures, and had the capability to take great video. The t2i can take great video, but to push the audio to pro quality and add a few other useful video features, you'll definitely want to install the Magic Lantern hack.

 

[AkumaX]

^^

Wow, I didn't know Magic Lantern unlocked a whole bunch of other features. I thought all it did was turn of AGC. Focus Assist looks VERY useful, and an ISO 25600 option is intriguing.

 

[nboy22]

^^

Wow, I didn't know Magic Lantern unlocked a whole bunch of other features. I thought all it did was turn of AGC. Focus Assist looks VERY useful, and an ISO 25600 option is intriguing.

Yep.. there's a ton of awesome features. Check out my thread I made a week or two ago about it and I highlight some of the finer features of the Magic Lantern firmware: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2159394

 

[Cattykit]

forget about shooting movies with motion with the t2i/t3i/60d/7d. if you change the distance between you and the subject, the best thing to do is MF, and hope you can fine-tune your focusing skills

IS noise on 18-135mm, so you can hear the clicking - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h3abS9eB90

AF noise while shooting video (+ contrast detection on a 'dark' subject) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVyXtSX5hic

---

technically the best "dslr" for shooting video would be the sony a33/a55, and its technically not that great (only good or very good). the best 'dslr-type' of 'great' would be one of the micro 4/3's, i think the GF2?

Technically, A33/55 is the worst of current vDSLRS. It lacks manual shutter speed control (very crucial) and its bitrate is way too low. Although it offers very fast AF speed, its using phase detect AF system isn't good for video. It causes framing issues and AF hunting mixed with still lenses that change FOV looks terrible.
Technically, Panasonic GH2 is the best out of all. It uses contrast detect AF system which is suitable for video, offers full manual control, and bitrate is decent enough. On top of all that, it does not have aliasing/moire/false color/detail problems that all the other vDSLRs suffer.

 

[kalrith]

Update 05/16/11:

Ordered refurb Canon T2i with kit lens for $544 after tax with the Canon Loyalty Program.

I kept looking at our options and comparing PQ between $200 P&S and $400 P&S, and couldn't see a ton of difference, although I like the manual options and the features on a $400 P&S. The difference between a $400 P&S and a $544 DSLR, however, were definitely noticeable. We also already have a P&S that we can use when a DSLR just isn't an option.

That being said, I think the T2i was our best option in spite of the video-recording issues. Since stills are more important to us than video, we'll live with the video-recording issues for the benefit of better stills.

Now time to start researching photography and how to use a DSLR

 

[Lotheron]

Movies can be done with the t2i. Check out my buddy's website, www.foursandyfeet.com. Everything on that site was done with the T2i. For the longest time, the only lens he used was the 50mm f/1.4. He recently added at 24-70L to that, but i'm not sure if any of the videos on there are using that lens.