I found my 5D defective after owning since last April.  So Canon will fix it because I’m still under warranty.  But I’m letting you know so you can check your 5D Mk III.

According to Canon the HDMI cable should carry audio from any video files being played back in the camera.  Mine doesn’t. Nothing. Nada.

Canon tech rep courteously suggested I send it in for repair.  I said I didn’t want to be bothered.  That my Mac is also supposed to carry audio over the HDMI cable but doesn’t.  So, I told him I thought it was in some sub-menu somewhere. He said it wasn’t.  I courteously thanked him.

I didn’t want to lose my camera for a week and get a note when Canon returned it that “nothing was wrong.”

So, I called Canon again.  Got a nice chap. He actually took the 5D Mk III he had at hand, found an HDMI cable, walked across the building to find a TV monitor with HDMI in, recorded a short video, played it back and told me “Yes, you should be able to hear audio coming over the HDMI cable out of the camera when playing back a video file.”

So I’m sending it in to Canon.

Be sure and check your HDMI out on the Mk III. If your’s doesn’t transmit audio, send it in while you’re still under warranty.  If you need to send it in go to “Product Repair” on the www.usa.canon.com site. They’re cordial and prompt.

There’s a screw on, close-up lens for the 70-200mm f 2.8 lens that enables breathtaking close-up shots.

It’s the Canon 77mm 500D Close Up Lens. It allows you to take stunning close-ups for commercial productions, food shots, electronics, wedding rings….  Getting ultra close really opens a whole new world of drama in the shots.

This close-up lens allows you to fill the frame and really get in close to the subject.

But with the 500D close-up lens you can see even more magic coming out of the 70-200 lens.

The look of this close up lens may make it one of the bargains of the year at $149 !  It certainly seems sharp as a tack.

You can order through EVS online.  Tell them Fletch recommended you call.  I don’t get any $ but EVS is kind enough to provide studio space for our boot camps. Call Casey at EVS 800 238-8480.

Johnson Liv took our Pro Level I Boot Camp in May of 2011 and is still reaping the benefits today. Thanks for the update, Johnson! We look forward to seeing more of your work in 2013:

Hi Fletch and Canon Boot Camp team,

Took your beginner's course in early 2011, but met you guys mid 2010 at the first PhotoCine show. I switched from a Nikon D90 to 7D immediately after PhotoCine. The Canon DSLR video craze has really spread and everyone owns one, however not all know the full potential settings, I still get other owners coming up to me asking for advice on certain settings, ways to approach audio issue, picture profiles, etc. I've already had plenty of return investment from the course alone many times over and still working today with an online site. The studio just happened to own two 5dmk2 , and also three Panasonics which sees occasional use. I have recently sold my 7D and confidently purchased the 5dmk3 and looking forward to putting it to use. Thanks to the great team and hospitality, Snehal, Tom, Fletch, Chris and the Boot Camp family.

Here's the latest vid I got to shoot using the 5dmk2:

Name: Johnson Liv
Company: nineoutof10
City: Los Angeles
State: CA

Which lens is the sharpest for HDSLR digital filmmaking?

We can’t answer that definitively.  But it’s a close race.  On a large movie theater screen we could see certain lenses pull into the lead.  But for now, on the internet, we’ll have to settle for the best resolution Vimeo offers.

(above – The imagery we put up to test the lenses.)

These tests came about because I wanted to see, like most digital cinematographers, what’s the sharpest lens…especially when you’re shooting with the full-frame Canon 5D Mark III.  We were tired of listening to internet “reviews” and “opinions”. We wanted to see for ourselves.  We compared the “average” lenses in use today with the top drawer Zeiss CP.2 85mm and a lens I bought in college, the Nikkor 28mm f 2 prime. (It cost me $279.  In Obama dollars that Nikkor cost me $2,790.)

We tested five lenses: three Canon Zoom (the EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM , and the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM),  the Zeiss 85mm CP.2 prime and an oldie but goodie Nikkor 28mm f2 prime.   Note the white fine hair, which sometimes makes it much easier to pick a leader.

Which one is the ultimate focus winner? What’s the best wine? What’s the best city to live in?  We don’t like to tell people what to think.  Decide for yourself.  Let us know your pick in the comment box below. If you have your own test results you’d like to share, email trevor@theassociation.tv.

Of course, if you are shooting a feature with critical focus shifts, the Zeiss CP.2 will trounce the other lenses. It focuses like butter in tiny increments unmatched by most lenses.  Of course, if you’re not shooting a feature yet but want your film to look like a feature, it’ll make you look very good.

We’ll review the Canon “L” series lens next.

Choosing Your Canon Lens.

Spinal Tap is one of my favorite movies.  In it, Michael McKean makes the point that his amp goes to eleven.  (Even though “11″ is really the “10″ on the dial.)   There’s a parallel between Michael and the filmmakers who insist their lens must be an f 2.8 lens.  Let me explain.

The worship of an f 2.8 lens is a holdover from film days.  Film only went up to about 500 ISO.   An f 4 just wouldn’t do.  That was certainly true back in the day, because film stocks, with their relative low ISO’s begged for fast lenses.  Probably the epoch of this era was Stanley Kubrick and the lenses he had made to shoot ‘Barry Lyndon’.  (They are on exhibit at LACMA, which we’ll visit next week for another report on Lens Worship.)

But things have changed at least for digital SLR filmmaking.   Digital still photographers still need faster lenses because they’re shooting at 1/150th of a second.  Video lives between 1/60th and 1/50th of a second.  So digital filmmakers have less need for f 2.8 and f 2 lenses.  Since we now have Canon enabling clean digital film shots at ISO 2500 on the Canon 5D Mk III, we can live happily with an f 4 lens.  Here are some other pluses to consider before you choose a lens:

1) The f 4 lens lets us have an extra inch or two depth of field over the 2.8 lens. Isn’t that a blessing?  Or would you rather be out of focus more often and hope the director was so impressed with you bringing that big heavy 2.8 lens with you to the shoot that he won’t fire you?  Maybe if you supered across the bottom of the out of focus shot, “Pardon the fuzzy picture. But just so you know it was shot with a very expensive lens.”

2) if you really need to go to 2.8 and your lens only does f 4 you can always take your shutter speed from 1/50th to 1/30th and open up 2/3 of a stop.

3) If you check the MTF charts on the Canon site you’ll find that the f 4 lenses are better performers in microcontrast and resolution (according to Canon).

You want dotted lines close together.

So as you shop for your next Canon lens, don’t close the door on the f 4s.

I’m convinced f 4 is the new 2.8.

And if you still have the thirst for f 2.8, I have some stickers I can send you to paste on your lens.  You can be like Spinal Tap with an amp that goes to eleven.

EXTRA BONUS

We take our DSLR Filmmaker training seriously.  So we always ask at the end of each Canon Boot Camp for feedback and comments, to take the training one step further.  This past weekend saw the conclusion to our December class. Here’s a couple interesting question we asked each participant, and some of the responses:

“What goals did you set for this workshop?” and “Did you achieve your goal for the workshop?”:

Goal: How to operate the Canon 5D Mark II. How to achieve a cinematic look. Different types of lenses and what look they have.

Achieved?:  Yes I did.

Goal: Getting to know and being able to sue the canon 7D. Learn about possible set-ups with rigs and sound.

Achieved?: Yes! I still need much more practice, but I got the tools to go out on my own now.

Goal: (Not stated)

Achieved?: Absolutely!

(Hey, that just shows that even if you aren’t sure what you’re doing with your camera, you’ll still achieve something worthwhile by coming to the Canon Boot Camp! It’s that good.)

Goal: Further improve my knowledge of DSLR

Achieved?: Yes

Goal: Learn more about the camera’s settings, how to smoothly change focus, what some lighting setups are.

Achieved?: Yes!

We’ve caught wind in the past that some classes about filmmaking tend to be a bit on the ego side, where the main topic is what the instructor has done in the past. We work hard to ensure that the class is about the students, not about the teachers.

This attitude is carried through by the entire Canon Boot Camp team. Just to be sure, we ask a final open question, “Anything else we didn’t ask you about, but you’d like to say?” So here’s a few parting comments that reflect the overall attitude and “air” of the Canon Boot Camp:

A big thanks to Fletch and all the other instructors. You were/are very helpful. Also, thanks to Nancy for the nice food spread.  R.R.

The instructors and support staff were great! Very friendly and helpful. I’m glad that we had a good ratio of students and instructors.  M.L.

Everyone was extremely accommodating & nice beyond my expectations. Thanks you! You treated everyone like family. A.H.

Thank you so much! This has been great fun, an exceptional atmosphere and a lot of valuable information.  C.M.

As always, we enjoyed having all y’all at our “home” and we’re looking forward to your future exploits, be they short, feature or commercial. All the best!

Your Canon Boot Camp Team

If you’ve seen the Canon Boot Camp short, “The Sonnet”, you might not expect the plot of our newest short, “Killer”. These two films are worlds apart. While “The Sonnet” is sentimental and sensual, “The Killer” is bloody and thrilling.

This short took three Canon Boot Camp workshops to complete. With the intricate script, twists, and action sequence, we wanted to make sure that we’d get it right. This even included us going on location to a cemetery, a first for the Los Angeles workshops. As you may or may not know, “The Rose” was shot entirely on location in Prague by the Prague Canon Boot Camp. We hope to go on location more often with the workshop, especially since we are working with such lightweight and flexible Canon cameras.

In total, we had 24 filmmakers shoot this film with amazing and patient actors Anna Easteden, Carlos Reig-Plaza, and Hector Hank.

Join us for our monthly Canon camera classes and be part of this fun filmmaking experience!

The Canon Boot Camp is produced by The Association and is located in Burbank, CA.

Teachers, coaches and mentors can often be quoted saying “practice makes perfect.”  Unfortunately, the thought of practicing a weakness makes people wince, especially when the practice is focused around one monotonous and similar task.  Blogging is different.  It gives people the opportunity to write differently every day.  The content, layout or even writing style can vary which can provide relief from drilling away a.

Our new intern, Thomson, helped us out at the November 8 screening event we recently held at the Canon Hollywood Professional Technology and Support Center. Here’s what he had to say about the rig we hooked him up to. The rig included a DVTec MultiRig, and a juiceLink riggy micro hooked to a mic.

“Last Thursday I had the pleasure of handling our production team’s DVTec Multirig and, boy, was I impressed. The Association held their Boot Camp premiere at the Canon Hollywood Professional Technology and Support Center  and I had the responsibility of covering the event. I never handled a DVTec MultiRig before and was uneasy that I very well may capture three hours of useless footage.

“To my astonishment, the DVTec Multirig was easy to learn for any beginner and relieved my concerns. The MultiRig was compatible with most DSLR so propping on our Canon 5D Mark III was not a problem. I was even able to secure a juicedLink riggy micro and mic along with it. The juicedLink preamplifier offers quality recordings for anyone capturing sound with a DSLR. I could simply adjust the sound levels to limit distortions and it eliminated the hiss you would typically hear from the camera’s mic.

“Having one was essential for tonight if I needed to interview any of the participants. The rig came with an adjustable waistband for your convenience and a handy shock-absorbing stabilizer. This stabilizer equips to your waist making it painless for anyone holding the camera for prolonged hours. The combination of the three (shoulder rig, waistband, and stabilizer) produced smooth effortless footage. With a few simple lock and snaps I was ready to go in seconds!”