[Bob Cole]

Daniel, I’m wrestling with the same question. There are a number of issues, including speed, cost, etc. Some of the differences are almost impossible to measure, except by your purely visual “feeling.” I have heard one experienced DSLR shooter say the D5 image is just “meatier” and “stronger.”

For me, the main issue is shallow depth of focus. The full-frame sensor allows shallower DOF, with the proper (low f/stop) lens. OTOH, it would be silly to pay extra for the 5D if it means you won’t then have $ for fast lenses.

Using some online calculators, with a distance setting of 5′, with focal lengths yielding similar fields of view (55mm on the 5D is similar to 35mm on the 7D), here are some numbers:

5D with 55mm lens @ f/2: 0.29′ DOF
7D with 35mm lens @ f/1.2: 0.27′ DOF
7D with 35mm lens @ f/2: 0.46′ DOF

Check out https://www.dofmaster.com and https://www.digified.net/focallength/ if you want to check out other focal lengths and apertures.

My question for the group is: without using ND filters, how easy is it to shoot on either the 5D or 7D at maximum aperture, in bright sunlight?

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[john sharaf] “It does however come on a 32Gb SxS card”

I wonder whether Sony would actually make more money, from selling these cards, if they came with a great firmware upgrade for an extra $100 – instead of an extra $3000 or so.

Does Sony care whether the same firmware purchase is used on multiple cameras?

[Bob Cole]

re the firmware upgrade for the F3: is this something that “comes with” the cameras that you can buy now, or is this an option that must be added, even to new cameras?

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

I just came across a neat website, dofmaster.com, which provides a depth of focus calculator. So I guess I already have access to the technical answer to my question. But I would like to know what you DSLR experts think, so here it is:

What is the “minimum maximum” when you’re looking at a lens? iow – for a Canon 7d, would you automatically reject a lens with a maximum aperture less than, say f/2.8? Ditto, for a full-frame camera?

Thanks.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[Martin Phillips] “SxS doesn’t seem to mind what you do”

I love my SxS cards. They cost too much, and they’re worth every penny.

[Bob Cole]

[Jeremy Garchow] “dvcpro hd or avc-I p2 compatible MXF file”

DVCPro HD sounds good. That one appears in the list of FCP export formats, but the latter, I’m not familiar with. I wound up yesterday exporting Motion-JPEG, and putting the whole show back on tape for good measure. Nothing in my inbox this morning … yet.

Which format do you think delivers the best combination of quality, small file size, and universal (whatever the OS or NLE) functionality? I’d rather just settle on one.

I know, everyone SHOULD have ProRes, but anything that requires the recipient to be current — forget it.

[Bob Cole]

[Shawn Miller] “Other software companies could really learn a lesson or two from you all.”

Isn’t that the truth!

Bob C
potential immigrant from FCP

[Bob Cole]

[Tim Kolb] “I honestly have a difficult time seeing any modern facility being so behind as to not have up-to-date QT drivers to read ProRes.”

Me too. But these are facilities which produce weekly nationally-televised shows, and I’m here to tell you…

[Bob Cole]

[Vince Becquiot] “If on the other hand, these were wrapped as Prores, you can download the PC codec here.”

Hi Vince,

I don’t have Premiere on a PC, so I can’t test this, but which exact codec are you talking about? Is it the “Apple ProRes QuickTime Decoder 1.0 for Windows”?

Thanks.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Tim – sorry – I did ask about Premiere, and lapsed into an older issue, which was with Avid. My bad. I believe you of course. But you can’t rely on your end-user having the updated QT codec, whether that end-user is a huge tv network using Avid, or a freelancer running Premiere. Perhaps I need to include the links for QT updates with my files from now on.

The reason I lumped the Avid and Premiere issue is that I have another editor, today, who can’t seem to use my ProRes 422 files on a PC-based Premiere system. I wound up exporting Photo-JPEG.