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Doing something very wrong with Mark II video :(
Hello everyone. I am currently playing around with a Mark II and and the 16-35mm lens from Canon. I believe I am doing something very wrong as my video is not very clear at all. Please watch this short video in 1080p:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa6NfxzIITo
My in camera settings are set to Philip Bloom’s recommended flat settings. I am using Adobe Premiere and added some sharpness back using the unsharp mask. I have the shutter set to 50, aperture in this video was set to F16 (although F8 was not crisp either), and ISO was either 160 or 320. I am currently focusing using the X10 zoom method (X10 zoom, press AF, and shoot). In the video above the focus was set to the middle of the road, between the first car on the right hand side and the car on the opposite side.
How do I achieve that sharp, critical focus?
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13 Replies
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What exactly are you trying to achieve? What do you mean by “sharp, critical focus”?
My hunch is that you are trying to achieve the shallow depth of field that so many people want out of DSLRs. Do some research on f-stop and how it relates to depth of field. You are not going to achieve a shallow depth of field with your f-stop at 16 or even f-8.
John
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I am not trying to achieve a shallow DOF at all. I am trying to do the opposite actually: get the entire picture in focus (which is why I am using a small aperture with a wide angle lens). I want the picture to be clear and crisp aka achieve critical focus for the entire image. The video, even at 1080p, is muddy/not clear, don’t you agree?
Thank you for the response, however, I appreciate it.
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Yeah I think you were trying to focus on “air” that was too far away….keep the camera in the same spot pick something like the stop sign, focus on that, keep your aperture at F8 or higher and you should get a deep depth of field….you need a physical object to focus on, at least I can’t focus “between” things only “on” things 🙂 Raise your ISO one click too….remember too that the Phiillip Bloom settings have you turn the sharpness all the way down to zero so don’t expect huge sharpness, besides sharp video is well….video, not film, a little softness is actually good!
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
Mr. Crow thank you so much for your reply. I will give it a try this weekend after work.
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Also, you describe your image as “muddy/not clear”. Could also be a result of your image having a lot of bright highlights and a lot of dark shadows and not much in between. You could try shooting in more even light and then evaluating your image.
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You could also use a DOF calculator, to set your focus point, agree that f/8 or higher will give the best (better?) results, also contrast in this is dark/light and not much else.
HTH’s
Rob
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Peter, I experience the same thing as you (started my own thread here). I think the picture in the introduction in this article visualize my problem well.
I’ve tried numerous settings without getting a sharper image (even played around with the bitrate (Magic Lantern) but no luck). The only time I’ve gotten a better image is when I had massive light to play with and zoomed in a bit while stepping back.
Apparently a faster shutterspeed will give a sharper video but not that I noticed.Another reason for the blurry image could be the lens. You have an L lens but looking at the MTF score over at Photozone.de it’s not very impressive.
This guy gets amazing quality. Look at the pores in the guys face at 01:51. Amazing.
Now, he’s using a really good lens and…the GH2.
Check this article that compares quality of the GH2 with a Sony and a Canon.Finally, if you shot alot of stills then do not expect the same quality. 🙂
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Thank you all for responding. I will try shooting in better lighting and try out a focus/DOF calculator. I was particularly interested in Lars Martin’s comment. I believe the reason for the blurry/softness is due to user error. I am going to give the benefit of the doubt to the Mark II and the 16-35L although it would be so much easier for me to cast the blame on the hardware. I am just really waiting for that “AHH” moment when I realize what is causing this hit in image quality. I most definitely think it is something that I am doing wrong. I think the issue is either focus and/or post processing since the in-camera settings are dialed down.
If anyone can help, please do!
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I soo hope for usererror too. Keeping an eye on this thread. 🙂
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Peter, I got help solving my issue.
Don’t know about Bloom’s settings but try upping your sharpness a tad (sharpness set to 3 made a great difference to me).
Have a look at the Cinema Picture Style.Applying sharpness in camera together with fast shutter speed (=>1/250) and zooming in just a bit while stepping back should do something to your blurness. 🙂
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