Cedar Point fall video

I got a new camera, and took it out Saturday night to experiment a little. I wouldn't call this an "official" PointBuzz video because most of what I shot I hated, but I wanted to share at least some of it.

http://vimeo.com/7254711

For the camera nerds, the camera and lenses used are listed on the Vimeo page.

Wow. The video out of that thing is gorgeous. Patiently waiting for Nikon to up their game on the video until I upgrade my dated D50.

Not bad video for an SLR Jeff..

I was looking at upping my Canon to a higher SLR model, but I its just purely for the SLR aspect (for stills). Im not a big fan of using SLRs for Video.. Just seems unnatural. However the quality is quite impressive.

Apparently someone is already spending their new paycheck ;)

Well I'm still trying to sell the HVX. :)

SLR's doing video is awesome because of the lenses. Being able to capture that short depth of field is pretty much the holy grail of what indie film nerds have been trying to get since the days of VHS.

Looks great! Crisp and clear!

Most of what you shot was interesting too. I tried to pick out the parts that you might not be so happy with, and I couldn't figure that out.

To bad my fast DSL connection can't keep up with the slow HD download speed. It doesn't make much sense why it wouldn't.

I love the video, Jeff. Thanks for sharing.

The vid ain't bad Jeff! I loved that shot of Dragster!

Jeff said:
Well I'm still trying to sell the HVX. :)

Dont for a second think its still not on my mind. However some of us like to settle into our new salaries for a bit before splurging. :)

I also have a turning 30 years old birthday bash to pay for thats is costing me more than your camera..

Btw.. Never make an open bar when some of the invitees are Busch people..

I haven't had a salary in like seven months. But I can assure you that I've unloaded enough of my crap to more than pay for the new camera. Besides, American Express, among others, are paying some bills around here right now (if you're a non-member and see the ads, that is).

The shallow DOF is awesome but does the camera allow you to shoot with continuous auto focus?

I'm curious is it will allow you to track a moving object.

Say, Jeff, when are you going to do a tilt-shift vid of CP? Now that would be fun to see and watch!

You have to focus manually on the fly. I used to be pretty solid at that shooting sports on regular shoulder mounted video cameras, but not only am I out of practice, but the form factor of an SLR is a lot different without getting one of these other rigs (like this one, with a follow focus).

I'm not all that interested in tilt-shift. CP only has a couple of good locations for that, most of which you can't go up to because they're on operating rides. The top of Breakers is one of the better ones, as is the balcony on the front of the Coliseum building.

Im curious with that high res goodness you have, if Deep Zoom becomes a focal point of yours (no pun intended).

I was looking up spec's of your new camera and im quite impressed. I have a couple models down from you. Its nice to see my lenses all move over with no issue.. My 500mm and Fish eye are way too expensive to lose their ability.

At moment I just cant justify the cost. I miss the days of my reckless spending, and I made far less during that time.. What the heck?!? When did I start becoming responsible?

The footage you got looks great! May I ask which video editing softwareyou use? I recently "upgraded" from the 450D to 500D for the HD video(along with extra stops of ISO... 450D was limited at 1600), and moviemaker is just HORRIBLE to work with. Looking for suggestions for when Iget footage this weekend at CP to make a little end-of-season video.

I plan on getting the 7D once prices drop and/or they start selling used over at POTN. I don't really have the need for full frame, and I think Canon hit a home-run as far as value and features with the 7D. And for one, I actually prefer the crop sensor, as I welcome the extra reach.

Excellent choice in lenses as well... I have the 70-200 f/4L IS, 50mm f/1.8, and the 17-85mm IS (which I plan to upgrade to the 17-55 f/2.8 IS or the 24-105 f/4L IS before next season). Just waiting for the pennies to get rid of the 17-85. It's not bad, but I would like something a little faster. And primes just limit me too much for what I shoot (airplanes, amusement parks, vacation).

I'm most comfortable with Final Cut Pro. At under $900 for the entire suite of apps (including Color and Compressor, with are both awesome), I just think they should own that space. I used to be an Avid guy, but I don't know what the win is paying more than twice as much for less software.

The 17-55mm is a really compelling lens. I'm just not sure if I could commit to a lens that only works on the smaller sensor cameras. It not having the kind of seal and resistance to dust that the L lenses have bothers me.

For video, having the IS is a really big deal. I'm really thinking the Zacuto or Redrock Micro support rigs would really help. Bloom posted another one of his "people" films.

That is my only worry with the 17-55mm is the slight lack of build quality. The optics though, are on par with the L glass using the Flourite and UD glass elements. I am *hoping* for a mark II of this lens with better build eventually. Canon just needs to put the final touches into that lens to make it really shine. Optics are there, build needs a little work. It still won't stop me though from picking it up though... Nothing really compares in the Canon line at f/2.8.

Now for video, I have a problem using my 70-200mm IS while IS is engaged as the camera picks up the IS motors running. Do you have this problem? Not bad if you overlay some music or something, but you can forget about using the ambient noise!

My long lens is the non-IS version. The IS servos in the 24-105mm aren't audible, but if I do get a shoulder support rig, I'll also get one of those Beachtek transformer boxes and mount my shotgun mic on it.

Wow. fantastic work. I love how no fancy editing or music or anything is needed; you really get a feel for the park atmosphere. Looking forward to seeing more in the future.

Nice video Jeff. I was shocked it was a still camera in the end...the quality is fantastic. You had some cool angles in it as well.

I shot more last weekend, but I'm not optimistic about editing it for the next few weeks.