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Shooting and Editing HD Video with the Canon 5D Mark II on Windows

With a  full frame sensor, 21 megapixel resolution, and outstanding lenses, the Canon 5D Mark II takes superb photos. Please see my SmugMug page for numerous examples. The 5D also marks the first appearance of full HD on a DSLR. Although the HD quality from this camera is stellar, and rivals much more expensive camcorders, its design and implementation have presented some new challenges for both shooting and editing. However still photographers and videographers have begun to combine their efforts, and scores of very expensive systems have been developed in order to make this camera as easy to use as a full-fledged HD camcorder. But most of them are quite expensive, and many are just too cumbersome for the casual photographer.

Over the past few months I have scoured the web looking for practical solutions for people like myself, a still photographer, who also wants to dabble in 5D HD videography, without spending a lot of money.  Below is what I've found so far, and I'll continue to update this page as I learn more. Two useful sites with respect to 5D video are Cinema5D and DV Info Net. Also be sure to visit The Best of Canon 5D Mark II Video to see the spectacular video quality this camera can produce. Also check out these two groups on Vimeo: Canon 5D MKII and Gadgets for 5D Mark2.

A. Update your camera: the latest firmware gives full manual exposure control. The download page also tells you how to use it.

B. Buy an external microphone: the internal microphone picks up a terrible grinding noise from the IS (image stabilization) motor, as well as all other minor adjustments and manipulations you make with the camera. There are cheap and very expensive microphones, but I am very happy with the Audio-Technica Pro-24CM.

 C. Stabilize the camera: for studio and still work this is pretty simple, use a tripod. And you are supposed to use a "fluid tripod head" if you want smooth panning. I tried a monopod for action and it was unacceptable. For action shooting I settled on a Varizoom VZ 1 Shooter shoulder mount system, and I am very pleased with it. Here is my first action video shot with it. After trying to alternate between shooting stills and video I bought a Stroboframe Camera Auto Quick Release "QRC" Mount to quickly snap the camera on and off the VZ Shooter. It consists of two plates that snap together, one is attached to the VZ Shooter (or tripod) and the other is attached to the camera. Some people also add an eyepiece type viewfinder like this, or this.

D. Playback of  5D HD video: The 5D HD video comes in H.264 QuickTime .mov format which is difficult to both playback, and natively work with on Windows PCs. No matter how powerful your computer and graphics card, you will be frustrated with the native output! The video will probably not play smoothly on your computer in the QT player, however, it plays perfectly well via the Canon Zoombrowser EX program included with the camera. 

E. Editing 5D HD video: Dozens of "workarounds" have been posted for editing the 5D video on Windows, and some are quite elaborate. Explore the "Editing on a PC" forum at  Cinema5D at your own peril. Basically, Windows has a very difficult time with the H.264 QuickTime .mov format and I have yet to see anyone post that it is smoothly editable in native format via any Windows based video editing program, regardless of how powerful their computer is. But I have found two very simple editing solutions, one is free (if you already have Adobe Premier Pro) and the other costs a little bit, but it will create files useable in any Windows video editing program.

1. Proxy editing with Adobe Premier Pro CS4: Presumably other video editing programs support proxy editing, but here is how I do it in Premier Pro. I create much smaller .avi files (proxies), a native Windows format, use them for video editing, and when finished substitute the original 5D .mov files before final rendering. It is pretty simple and free, but the conversion of many .mov files to .avi can take a lot of time.

A. Create a folder for all your native 5D .mov files.

B. Open Adobe Media Encoder and drag all those .mov files into it.

C. Batch process those as AVI NTSC DV Widescreen files to a subfolder, e.g. "Proxy". These will be your proxy  files.

D. While waiting for AME to create the proxy files go get a cup of coffee, mow your lawn, or paint your house, depending on how fast your computer is and/or how many files you are batch processing.

E. Create a new HD project in Premier Pro using your desired settings and resolution.

F. Import your newly created proxy .avi files into the Premiere Pro project and create your video just as you normally do. They will not fill the preview screen, but don't worry, they will after final HD rendering. You may adjust their appearance in the preview window if desired.

G. Save that project as "Proxy", then do Save as... and save another copy using your final HD output file name. [Do this because you will invariably find fault(s) after your first HD video is created and you will still be able to tweak the proxy project, rather than the full HD project.]

H. After you are satisfied with your proxy editing, individually right click on each .avi file in the project panel and select Replace footage... move up to the main project folder [containing the .mov files] and select the .mov file with the same name to replace it. Do this for all the .avi files. Be careful to select the same file!

I. Render your video (formats discussed below).

2. Transcoding with Cineform Neo Scene: Most serious Windows users, and even some Mac users, transcode their 5D video using Cineform Neo Scene (1st time customers get $10 off list price). I resisted for awhile, but it is so quick and easy, I finally gave in and bought the program. If you do more than an occasional video, it is well worth the price. There are many explanations for what is going on, but apparently the H.264  files are just "rewrapped" in an .avi container. The file sizes expand considerably because, many claim, their quality is even better than the originals. You then use these transcoded files to create your video as you normally would. Being native Windows format, these .avi files are just like any you've used before and they require very little computing power. Neo Scene is quite simple to use:

A. Open Neo Scene, click on convert, and select all the .mov files, or just select the entire folder.

B. Choose high quality output under the preferences tab, select a destination, and then click to convert the files to .avi format.

C. Here is a screenshot of this very simple, but very powerful program:

D. Neo Scene also installs the Cineform codecs, which become available as options in the Adobe Media Encoder. However, I stopped using AME for two reasons:

1. It crashed a lot (I have all the latest updates).

2. There is some confusion about 30 vs. 29.97 frame rates with Neo Scene vs. AME. I spent a lot of time reading about it, but the bottom line is that with AME my sound tracks quickly become out of synch with the video, even in videos only 15 seconds long! I got tired of experimenting with the AME settings and I saw no advantage to it over the simple Neo Scene interface anyway. Neo Scene creates 29.97 .avi files, so be sure to set up both your proxy and HD projects with those settings.

F. Video formats: Both Vimeo and SmugMug recommend rendering as H.264 .mp4 format for uploading. But be advised they will probably not play smoothly on your Windows computer. So for playback on my own computer I choose the highest quality/bitrate Windows Media Video HD video format at 1280x720. Both Vimeo and SmugMug have file size restrictions so read their instructions prior to rendering. Here are the .mp4 settings I've used to upload to SmugMug (also at 1920x1080) and Vimeo. However, I uploaded my first video to Vimeo as WMV format and I could not tell the difference. Here is a screen shot of my personal WMV "for desktop playing" settings.

G. Email me if you have constructive comments or useful materials to add to this page.

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