The Phoblographer

The Nikon D3s, Nikon D3x and Nikon D300s. On top of that I also have the 70-200mm F2.8 ED VR II and the 24-70mm F2.8 ED. Events to shoot coming up. Expect some great stuff.

I’ve covered social networking and headshot photography before and even covered some of the best equipment for the job. Now it’s time to actually work with the client. Depending on what they want, it could be in studio or even on location. There are some elements of photojournalism, or at least there can be, in on location shoots. I’ll be covering some extra tips for you here. If you’d like though, have a look through my portfolio as well.

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I recently got the opportunity to team up with my old boss, Sal Cangeloso of Geek.com to try out some wonderful Zeiss glass on the Lower East Side in NYC. My Canon 5D Mk II came along with the new 2.0.3 firmware update that allows recording of 24p HD video. Here are some of my findings in my short test.

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In my time as a photographer and tech journalist, I’ve tried out loads and loads of items. All reviews have been very fair: pointing out the good and offering recommendations on improvement rather than full out blaring criticisms. After going through my accessories recently and clearing out my photography bag to carry only what is essential, I’ve found that there are items that I really don’t use anymore. Check them out along with my explanations after the jump.

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If you can’t see the video, know that YouTube is Processing it!

I’ve been waiting forever for the new firmware update for the Canon 5D Mk II. Upon first getting it, I hooked up my Rode VideoMic and the 50mm F1.8 adjusted the audio mode through the menu settings, set it to 24p and went to shooting the journey from my room to the kitchen where my sister was washing dishes. This was all done at ISO 200. It’s very, very unprofessional as a test but this is to really just show off the quality and what is possible. It’s also safe to say that it is the most random video ever. Afterwards, I just uploaded it straight to my computer and it went to Youtube.

My verdict: I love it. I love the new display features with the histogram available though I will hardly use it as I prefer to set exposures manually to my own liking. The adjustment for manual microphone/audio adjustment is very easy to do. My only criticism is that I wish it were easier to access and that I didn’t have to go through the menu system to change it first. The 24p mode looks beautiful. I’ve missed it as I used to shoot it with a Canon HV20 on MiniDV tapes. You can see lots of that stuff on my Youtube and my Vimeo page.

So glad those days are over. More tests to come soon!

The Canon 5D Mk II 2.0.3 firmware update that everyone has been waiting for is now available here. Once again, “Firmware upgrade 2.0.3 meets the demands of both professional movie producers and aspiring filmmakers alike by adding 24p video acquisition and changing the 30p video frame rate to 29.97 to comply with TV production standards. In addition, audio capability is enhanced for professional use, adding manual audio level control, and increasing the audio sampling frequency to 48KHz from 44.1KHz.” Also be sure to keep in mind the rebates that are available until April 3rd.

NTSC:

* 1920×1080 : 30 fps (changed – actual 29.97 fps)
* 1920×1080 : 24 fps (added – actual 23.976 fps)
* 640×480 : 30 fps (changed – actual 29.97 fps)