Finally took tank video with my 5D mkII

[Recty]

I have only dabbled with video after I got my 5D mkII. I hadnt tried any macro footage yet and was pretty pleased with these results. I'll throw a couple pictures in the thread as well. All of this was hand held, it's a small tank at my work and I dont even have a way to put a tripod down where the tank sits on my desk.

I wish my mantis would have came out while I was filming, I'd love some good macro footage of him.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/c3GxwIQPMbg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://www.photerrific.com/share/greenbutton001.jpg

http://www.photerrific.com/share/greenbutton011.jpg

http://www.photerrific.com/share/greenbutton015.jpg

[Misled]

Nice vid and pics. Love crabs!!!!

[Recty]

Thanks, me too! And so does my mantis... I dont know how long the emerald will last in that tank, it's a little bit of an experiment. I fed some scallop to the mantis Friday (the crab was added Thursday) and hope he will be full through the weekend. I also got the biggest emerald crab I can find, he is pretty large in comparison to my little G. smithii so I think he might survive a couple months at least. I had added a smaller emerald, at least 1/3 the mass of this guy, a couple months back and only saw him for two days then never again.

I wish my mantis would come out when I have my macro lens ready, I really want some great macro shots of it.

[Reef Bass]

Nice job with the handhold. Clearly you don't drink a lot of coffee! ;)

I like the idea of macro video and your mantis would be a great subject.

I haven't done much work with video on any of my cameras either. There's something about a single image that I find more compelling. Maybe it's an older photographer thing. :dance:

[Recty]

I feel the same way, I've taken like 10 videos in the last year, AT THE MOST. They were all speciality things I just thought "oh, that would make a cool video" or testing out how a new lens does for video.

Anyway, I need to get more into it. It's something that "the masses" like, it doesnt appeal so much to the photographer in my but people like seeing video, and so if you like to share your media with people, video is a pretty big thing.

[Recty]

Nice job with the handhold. Clearly you don't drink a lot of coffee! ;)
And just a BTW, it was handheld but what I would call "prop assisted" handhold.

The tank is on the edge of my desk, about 4 inches from the edge. I held the camera in one hand, the lens in the other and the lens hand I snaked out my pinky finger and used it on the desk to help hold the whole setup steady. That is why there isnt a lot of bouncing up and down. Also, Youtube takes some of the shake out for you, they have a digital IS they employ and it does a pretty good job.

But yeah, I actually like being handheld for video better than a tripod for this type of thing. I focus as close as possible, then just move in and out with the camera to focus on different points in the frame. So that's pretty cool and guarantees you have the biggest image possible since you're always focused as close as you possibly can be to whatever you want your subject to be.

If I was using a tripod, I'd either have to scoot in and out with it, which would be incredibly chunky in the video, or else focus farther in, which would make the relative size of the subject smaller in the video, which in turn would lead to less detail.

So yeah... I probably explained that horribly. I like to set the focus as close as possible and then just handhold and move in and out to set the final "destination" focus. This keeps the 1:1 ratio the lens provides working as I want it.

[Reef Bass]

I get your "set the focus once and then reposition yourself" thing to control the position of the focal plane. Makes sense.

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

Awesome piks. . .

[Recty]

Awesome piks. . .Thanks :)

5DMII is the way to go! ;)Well, I'd prefer the mkIII if I had my choice ;) But I cant really justify the extra $$$ for the body since my mkII does everything I need!

[dendronepthya]

Recty, I love shooting video with my Canon. Keep it up. I remember when the mark II came out I was debating whether to get it or the Nikon D700 which didn't have video. I figured who knows, it might come in handy some day. Boy has it ever. I shoot about 10x more video than stills with the camera now, and I love it.

I have to say though, that for video, the mark III was a bit of a let down especially considering the sort of stuff Panasonic and Sony are doing. Still, that extra ISO performance would be a welcome addition :)

[Marcoss]

Looks nice. What kind of settings did you use for this video?