Blaise Douros
Forum Replies Created
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There is no bezier-based motion vector data for the pixels in your video. Each frame is exposed individually, so that data doesn’t exist until you track motion in After Effects or Motion.
The only way to smooth out motion the way you describe is to either (a) have an incredibly advanced interpolation software (which doesn’t really exist), or (b) shoot it at a higher framerate to begin with.
You could always investigate plugins like Twixtor, but really, it’s only marginally better than optical flow effects built into Motion or After Effects. If that doesn’t do it for you, you will probably need to re-shoot.
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In this case, “best” is more of “least bad.”
I’m sure you can find a way for it to be decent enough for what you’re doing. The key is to get a signal into the t3i that is as hot as possible without clipping the levels-that way, you can reduce the volume enough to make the hissing inaudible. That will take a lot of experimentation on your part, and very careful monitoring and tweaking of your levels before shooting any setup before you hit the record button.
I think you may find that any time you save in post may be negated by the amount of on-set tweaking you have to do to make sure that the audio is properly levelled to eliminate the noise. If I were you, I would rather spend extra time in post with clean audio instead of spending extra time on-set to get mediocre audio. Best of luck.
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The answer to your question (Is Quality Audio Possible In-Camera for a Canon T3i?) is a resounding no. You’ll need to record your audio separately on your Zoom recorder if you want it to be decent. The t3i’s audio preamps are hissy, are not properly equalized, and have a very low dynamic range. Magic Lantern can’t fix that.
I own a t3i and H4n in my kit. When I was using it as a primary camera, I could once in awhile get away with using in-camera audio tethered from the H4n, but only in louder environments where the hissing was covered. For interviews, it’s not a feasible solution. You might get away with it if you have the ability to control levels to where your primary audio is so much higher than the hiss that you can use a gate to cut the hiss. But frankly, that’s more of a pain in the ass than just syncing with the recorder audio.
If you are editing in Adobe Premiere, do a quick search on building Multicam Sequences–there’s a fast, automated way to sync camera audio with your recorder’s audio. Otherwise, just clap your hands before each take, and use the audio spike to sync the sound. That’s the sad reality of shooting with DSLR!
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Odd that on video mode I can’t adjust aperture but can in image mode using the same dial.
Again, try the other dial. On some Canon cameras, the aperture control shifts from one dial to the other in different modes.
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The T-stop issue clouds the whole thing for me again however because what I understand you saying is that the exposure may still darken as you zoom in despite the F-stop staying the same. The reason why that happens you explained quite well but then I have to ask, aren’t you then losing one of the benefits of paying for a more expensive fixed aperture lens – at least when shooting in manual mode?
Not quite. There’s a great discussion of it here.
Re: 30 vs 60 fps: You don’t want to use 60 fps unless you intend to post-process for slow motion. You will automatically cut in half the amount of light entering the lens, which you can’t afford anyway, and it won’t do you any good motion-wise. For a static shot, even one with lots of subtle movement in it, even 24 would be fine.
As for shutter speed vs framerate: The Saving Private Ryan example is referring to shutter speed only, not to framerate. That footage was shot at 24fps with a 45 degree shutter, which ends up being something like 1/192. This means that the action is not slowed down or sped up, but each frame is super crisp, with no motion blur. It ends up looking really choppy and harsh.
A lot of guys get hung up on shutter speed vs framerate; just remember that your framerate is how many images your camera is taking per second, and your shutter speed is how fast each of those images is being exposed. The faster the shutter speed, just like in photography, the less motion blur there is in the image.
For Tom’s purposes, he doesn’t need anything other than a standard shutter speed and framerate. So 24 fps @ 1/50 or 30 fps @ 1/60 should be your starting point. If you’re really in a bind, 24 fps @ 1/40th might get you a little extra light, at the expense of a bit more motion blur in your subjects.
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Yes, all of the apertures are available at all focal lengths–the key on a fixed-aperture lens is that it doesn’t change when you zoom in. It’s a nice-to-have feature, but not all of the L lenses have it–the 70-300 L, for example, goes from a max aperture of f4 to f5.6 when you zoom it in.
Note, of course, that this does not mean that you’ll have an equal T-stop 🙂 f4 at 24mm lets in more light than f4 at 105mm, simply because there is a wider angle of view at 24mm than 105 mm for the light to enter the lens. Thus, as you zoom in, less light gets in, and the image will darken noticeably as you zoom in, even at a constant aperture.
If I remember right Steve, you tend to favor Sony and Panasonic, and as far as I know, not a lot of their lenses are constant aperture (but “as far as I know” isn’t very far when it comes to those lenses!), so you can be forgiven for not knowing Canon’s terminology.
You are correct in stating that there are lenses out there that have a totally fixed aperture, but these lenses are usually hyper-telephoto, usually fixed around f8, and are intended more for use in telescopes–often they’ve been adapted for photographic use.
Tom, I just noticed that on my 5DIII (I don’t have the 6D in front of me), when I switch from manual to Av mode, the aperture is controlled by the other dial. So double check this on your setup if you’re really sold on using Av. I still recommend using manual.
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The answer is to not use any of the program modes when shooting. You need to expose this scene manually if you want it to work. Av and Tv modes are not as smart as you are when it comes to what in the scene needs to be exposed correctly. Additionally, they will make automatic adjustments to the brightness of the scene, which is undesirable.
If you can’t change your aperture in Av mode, there may be a problem with your camera. I have the same camera and lens, and have no problem doing exactly what you describe. Make sure you’re not making a bonehead mistake like trying to use the wrong dial for the aperture. Or, make sure you’re not trying to adjust it using the exposure compensation setting.
In the case of the 24-105 f4L, the fixed aperture means that your lens can shoot at a maximum of f4 at any focal length; other lenses will automatically change their maximum f-stop (almost always to a higher number) as you zoom in. It does NOT mean that you can’t change the lens from f4. You can dial the lens to f8 if you want, or f22, whatever, at any focal length. But it doesn’t mean that f4 is its only aperture.
In this case, here’s what you need to do: go into manual mode. Set your shutter speed to double your framerate (1/60 for 30 fps, 1/50 for 24 fps). Set your aperture to a midrange number like f8, to get you some depth of field. I would suggest zooming out, and placing your camera slightly closer to your audience; a wider angle on the lens means a deeper DOF, so you won’t have to stop up quite so much to get more DOF. Now, set your ISO. Find a balance of ISO and f-stop that works to get you enough DOF, without having to set the ISO too high. In my experience, the 6D’s ISO can go pretty damn high without too much noise; 2000 or 2500, even 3200 can be perfectly acceptable.
Consider adding additional light on the audience. This will help you better control your exposure.
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Is it different on the camera monitor, or different on your editing rig? If it’s different on the camera monitor, then I’m at a loss as I don’t know Sony DSLRs very well. If it’s on the edit machine, then it could be a simple case of monitor calibration.
If your Sony has an exposure histogram you can put onscreen while shooting, call it up and see if it matches your histogram in your edit monitor.
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A lot of the time, modern DSLRs will leave their lenses wide open until the shutter is pressed. They do this because it is often harder to see the darkened image with a narrower aperture. Whe the shutter is pressed, the aperture goes to the correct setting, and the shot fires. I know for a fact that Canon DSLRs do this, and they include a Depth Of Field Preview button that shows you what it looks like with the aperture at the correct setting. I can’t say for sure that this is what’s happening on your Sony, but it sounds likely.
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