New Toys.

I jumped aboard the HDSLR band wagon and picked myself up a Canon 5D Mark II. Seems like such a simple concept. Put a camera function in a high end DSLR, but no one was prepared for what happened next. HDSLRs blew up, and boy did they blow up big! Now TV shows, documentaries and even Hollywood productions are using these cameras.



The appeal for me lies in the fact that despite being a video camera, they still look like a still camera. This low profile look bodes well when recording clips in risky locations. For example, say you need to get a scene at a nice restaurant, but the restaurant won't allow you to film there. Just tell them your taking pictures and shoot your entire scene without ever getting noticed. Eventually people will catch on, but for now, bask in primitive glow of the future.

I bought the camera from Adorama (refurbished) along with three great lenses: the 15mm f/2.8 fisheye, 50mm f/1.4, and the ridiculous 16-35mm f/2.8. The first day I got the camera I had to shoot something. With all the camera stuff I have lying around, I figured why not shoot what's accessible? It seems like everyone who does a so called "camera test" always films their pets, so i kind of wanted to shy away from that and do something new.

Enjoy my first short short film shot on my Canon 5D Mark II



After the second day of owning this camera, the liveview function started to get buggy... mind you it is refurbished. I had a warranty so I sent it in for servicing. What I hoped would be a simple routine fix turned into a month long waiting period where I was without a camera. I still had my Nikon D200, but that's no fun! Finally, one day it unexpectedly showed up at my door, fixed and all. I wouldn't be surprised if the original camera was so messed up they had to replace it with a new one. Regardless, I have been shooting on religiously since I got it back

Another fun toy I got was an intravolometer. This device allows you set electronically set the camera to take pictures on a set interval, which is perfect for timelapses!

Here's a boring timelapse of me washing my car with the 5D + intravalometer



To really test limits of this camera, I brought the 5D up with my girlfriend and me on our last snowboard outing in Tahoe. I must say, this camera can take a beating. Cold, water, moisture, wind, everything that came the cameras way didn't hinder it in anyway. Filming with the 15mm fisheye also helped with notorious"rolling shutter" problem and makes handheld footage actually... watchable.



I am currently shooting a new film entitled Sara on this camera with my housemate Nick Rood and Jennifer Kehl, so stay tuned!