Best video settings for a DSLR?

The lens will operate just like your other one; no need to change anything! Attach and you're away.

Enjoy!
James.
 
The lens will operate just like your other one; no need to change anything! Attach and you're away.

Enjoy!
James.


Hi.

The lens came today.

When I try and shoot in auto I get this message

"communication between the camera and lens is faulty"

If I shoot in AV and set the FSTOP to lowest possible it works. But not a high FSTOP:

Any suggestions?[DOUBLEPOST=1452631639,1452631505][/DOUBLEPOST]When I have the camera on video mode and it try and focus's on me the lens just ticks around and Makes a noise like it's trying to focus
 
Hey Kiawill,

Firstly make sure the actual lens is set to Manual, not Auto. Secondly, when video mode is selected, hop into the menu and look for the settings referring to auto focus. There will be a number of options. Some force your camera to try and focus ALL the time, some will only focus automatically when you press the shutter button, and another disables it all together.

If you're sitting still for a video, I personally recommend setting the focus to manual. Note that when you're using the lens' lowest aperture of 1.8, only a slither of the frame is in focus. You may want to use an aperture of 2.8 for that particular scenario. This allows you to move forwards and backwards slightly while retaining good focus.

The lens will work and do a great job for you, don't panic; technical problems are part of the job.

Hope that gives you a bit of help in the right direction!
James.
 
Hey Kiawill,

Firstly make sure the actual lens is set to Manual, not Auto. Secondly, when video mode is selected, hop into the menu and look for the settings referring to auto focus. There will be a number of options. Some force your camera to try and focus ALL the time, some will only focus automatically when you press the shutter button, and another disables it all together.

If you're sitting still for a video, I personally recommend setting the focus to manual. Note that when you're using the lens' lowest aperture of 1.8, only a slither of the frame is in focus. You may want to use an aperture of 2.8 for that particular scenario. This allows you to move forwards and backwards slightly while retaining good focus.

The lens will work and do a great job for you, don't panic; technical problems are part of the job.

Hope that gives you a bit of help in the right direction!
James.


Brilliant.

I'll have a play tonight and let you know how inter on.

Thanks :)[DOUBLEPOST=1452707124,1452690789][/DOUBLEPOST]
Hey Kiawill,

Firstly make sure the actual lens is set to Manual, not Auto. Secondly, when video mode is selected, hop into the menu and look for the settings referring to auto focus. There will be a number of options. Some force your camera to try and focus ALL the time, some will only focus automatically when you press the shutter button, and another disables it all together.

If you're sitting still for a video, I personally recommend setting the focus to manual. Note that when you're using the lens' lowest aperture of 1.8, only a slither of the frame is in focus. You may want to use an aperture of 2.8 for that particular scenario. This allows you to move forwards and backwards slightly while retaining good focus.

The lens will work and do a great job for you, don't panic; technical problems are part of the job.

Hope that gives you a bit of help in the right direction!
James.

So the lens doesn't have a zoom.

I've set it up on my tripod In my room
And it's too zoomed in on my face :( I can't move my tripod back anymore :(
 
Uh oh! You must be able to move things around. Try another angle; there's always a creative solution. It's a beautiful lens - worth spending the time to find a solution.

James.
 
Hey Kiawill.

I've been using DSLR's for years and it takes a long time to get to grips with them. First of all deffo fire any other questions my way, any time, if you'd find it helpful. I'd be glad to impart my experience!

Let's assume you're using your DSLR for video? Let me think about three top things that spring to mind.

1. Lens
Invest in a nice 50mm f1.8 lens. The Canon 700D has a crop sensor so there are a selection of EF-S lenses which are cheap because they are only suited for the crop sensors. The 1.8 aperture will give you great low light capabilities and also give you a shallow depth of field. (Shallow DOF adds a bit of production value IMO!)

2. Exposure
As a videographer I would say setting your camera onto manual exposure is a crime! However, if you're not experienced with Shutter Speed, Aperture, ISO ect then I'll let you off ;) However, you should think about setting these yourself for optimum image quality. There are endless other little tips and tricks with DSLR's that I'd be happy to share with you should you want that. Eg. shooting images as a flat profile for later grading.

3. Audio
Have you considered audio? DSLR built in microphones are absolutely not worth your time. For a low budget starter mic I recommend the Rode NTG2. You might want something like a Zoom H4N though to pair it with though.

This is just the start; welcome to the world of DSLR's!

Have a good day,
James :)



I may have to use my 18-55mm lens, not sure yet.

Sorry to be a pain, but what settings should I change for best quality? Can I still have a slight blurred background?

How many FPS should I use? How do I change this?

Thanks James


I just don’t want to spend a few hours filming tonight, to then watch it back and it looks bad / sounds bad.[DOUBLEPOST=1452783291,1452782957][/DOUBLEPOST]wish I could email people like Marcus Butler, Alfie deys etc, as I want the same qaulity as them. hahaha :)
 
No problem I'm happy to help.

To address your last point first, I can tell you now that your 'big star' Youtube celebrities will have a setup not far from yours. They will also be using DSLR's with a lens the same as, or very similar to the 50mm 1.8. The only thing you should consider investing in is a small lighting set up. Soft boxes are very popular.

To get the best possibly quality from your camera, you need to use manual mode to be frank. Set your ISO no higher than 200, your Shutter Speed should sit around 50 (double your frame rate as a rule) and for your personal needs you need your aperture to be as low as possible. That kit lens only goes as low as 3.5 I believe. This will NOT give you that classic Youtube blur in the background. This is one of primary reasons for buying that 1.8 lens you've sensibly invested in.

Aperture refers to how wide open the camera's eye is. The lower the number, the wider the eye is open which allows for a lot more light to pass into the sensor. Subsequently, this also gives you that nice shallow depth of field.

With frame rate we use PAL 24fps in the UK. American's often use NTSC 30fps. But with modern editors these days it's not a huge issue. When the camera is on video mode, go into one of menus and it will say something about frame size. You want to select 1920x1080 PAL 24fps. This is Full HD.

Make sure you've got that manual focus sorted also.

A lot of this is trial and error. I could sit and write you 50k words on all this but you need to grasp the basics then you'll very quickly learn.

James.
 
No problem I'm happy to help.

To address your last point first, I can tell you now that your 'big star' Youtube celebrities will have a setup not far from yours. They will also be using DSLR's with a lens the same as, or very similar to the 50mm 1.8. The only thing you should consider investing in is a small lighting set up. Soft boxes are very popular.

To get the best possibly quality from your camera, you need to use manual mode to be frank. Set your ISO no higher than 200, your Shutter Speed should sit around 50 (double your frame rate as a rule) and for your personal needs you need your aperture to be as low as possible. That kit lens only goes as low as 3.5 I believe. This will NOT give you that classic Youtube blur in the background. This is one of primary reasons for buying that 1.8 lens you've sensibly invested in.

Aperture refers to how wide open the camera's eye is. The lower the number, the wider the eye is open which allows for a lot more light to pass into the sensor. Subsequently, this also gives you that nice shallow depth of field.

With frame rate we use PAL 24fps in the UK. American's often use NTSC 30fps. But with modern editors these days it's not a huge issue. When the camera is on video mode, go into one of menus and it will say something about frame size. You want to select 1920x1080 PAL 24fps. This is Full HD.

Make sure you've got that manual focus sorted also.

A lot of this is trial and error. I could sit and write you 50k words on all this but you need to grasp the basics then you'll very quickly learn.

James.



That’s great, thanks

I will have a play around tonight.

I will also try the 50mm again but I have a small box bedroom and its so hard to get the set up right.

I do have 2x soft boxes

Thanks again, ill let you know how I get on and if I have any other problems
 
I've just taken another look at your audition tape (which is very funny by the way). That's what I'm kind of using as a reference for any advice.

If you've got soft boxes you might want to consider the concept of a back light. Ideally this would be done with a third light but have a play. This separates the subject from the background. That along with the depth of field from a 50mm 1.8 would be a huge leap in quality. It looks like the camera is on auto exposure also. You can see jumps in lighting throughout the video. Setting this to manual and controlling all the settings yourself would avoid this.

Can I ask what audio equipment you use?

James.
 
I've just taken another look at your audition tape (which is very funny by the way). That's what I'm kind of using as a reference for any advice.

If you've got soft boxes you might want to consider the concept of a back light. Ideally this would be done with a third light but have a play. This separates the subject from the background. That along with the depth of field from a 50mm 1.8 would be a huge leap in quality. It looks like the camera is on auto exposure also. You can see jumps in lighting throughout the video. Setting this to manual and controlling all the settings yourself would avoid this.

Can I ask what audio equipment you use?

James.


Hahaha..that audition tape was filmed on my Sony Rx100i - glad you found it funny.

I will be using a Canon 700D

2 soft boxes. Not sure on the make, think they are geek? They were £100

Rode Mic, 2nd hand £55

And I have 2 tripods, quite good ones J £120 each.

I use an imac 2011 model, and Final Cut Pro.
 
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