canon 60d

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I've updated the video from the earlier post to include a Canon 7D HDMI output test (at the end of the video). Instead of just updating the old article on the Canon 60D HDMI output, I thought this Canon 7D test would be interesting enough to just re-post the results all over again. Here i'm using my Vizio LCD TV as the external display. The Canon 60D has the same results as a 5DMark II and Canon 550D/T2i. The 7D does not drop to the 480 resolution. Although the monitor is 'detecting' the 1080i output, I have heard that it's highly compressed with artifacts to be something worth capturing from. I have no interest in capturing from the HDMI port, so I haven't spent time confirming that quality. I will say though that it is a nice feature built into the Canon 7D if you're planning on using External monitors.

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find-price-button Canon EOS 60D

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find-price-button Canon EOS 7D


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Here it is people, first images of a Canon 60D upgraded with Canon battery grip BG-E9. This thing is a bit hard to track down right now, and there's no aftermarket alternatives at the moment. This thing really threw me in a loop at first glance. I expected the Battery grip to load from the back like the Canon 5D Mark II and 7D. Not only does the Canon 60D feel so close to the 5DM2 & 7D cameras, it's also using the same LP-E6 batteries. Somehow I imagined it would have the same battery grip. Well it turns out the BG-E9 battery grip loads from the side similar to the Canon 550D / T2i using a tray to hold two batteries. This is a first for Canon to use the LP-E6 batteries into side tray.

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Right away I loaded an aftermarket (unchipped) battery to see if the BG-E9 would reject it. Don't worry people, it likes it, and it works! Yes yes yes, the grip works with only one battery too. In the OEM box there's a case to hold the second tray which uses AA batteries, so that I can use my Eneloops. I'll take some better photos in the studio later today. If you have questions about the BG-E9 let me know, i'm sufffering a block right now and can't come up with what else you'd need to know.

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The fact that the Canon 60D uses the same batteries as the 5D Mark II & Canon 7D was both a blessing and a curse. For those who already had these batteries, it's nice not having a different set of batteries and charger to add to your gear list. A single OEM LP-E6 will run you well over $70 dollars. For those who are looking to buy extra ones, prices on aftermarket LP-E6 batteries seem to have inflated. There was one brand on Amazon that dropped their decoded (chipped batteries that communicate with camera to show battery life) batteries down to $18.00 dollars, but now brought them back up to $60 bucks!. Yeah they know that there's a new market out for these batteries after the Canon 60D release.

If you don't care about the battery meter, there's plenty of Aftermarket LP-E6 batteries that run around (2)pcs. for $15 dollars. Very very cheap, but they will need their own charger. It's not suggested these be charged on the OEM charger. I think I have 6 of those myself which still run to this day, and are probably a year old or more.

There's two brands on Amazon for 'decoded' batteries still showing around $22 dollars, and a few Aftermarket LP-E6 Decoded Batteries on eBay for around $15.00 each.

I was still waiting for more reviews on these items to see if they will actually work well and hold up as good batteries, and if the battery meter really works. A friend of mine has a wedding lined up on 10/10/10 - of course the most popular wedding day this year, and so he's invested into the Maxtek Replacement Li-ion Battery For Canon. He's had it a short while and seems to work exactly like OEM, and charges on the OEM charger (can't do this with un-chipped batteries). I've asked him to give us a demo video of the batteries in use, but he says they work exactly the same. This battery is compatible with the Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 7D, and Canon 60D.

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Decoded Batteries Starting at $15.00 		2x-batteries
2x Un-chipped LP-E6 starting at $15.00

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A few people contacted me about buying my second Canon EOS 60D, I guess they were hard to come by. Looks like a few of the Canon 60D Kits with 18-135mm IS lens are now available, and a few Canon 60D bodies as well. I'll be tracking these links to see how fast they sell out, but I expect them to go by end of day today. Here's the links:

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Buy Canon EOS 60D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD (Body Only)

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Buy Canon EOS 60D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS UD Standard Zoom Lens

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Ok, believe it or not, I get hate mail about some of my comments on this blog. (you know who you are, and I don't know why you bother to continue reading this blog?). Mainly because this blog seems Canon biased. Ok I admit I am biased, but i've been really trying to give Nikon a chance with the new cameras they have being released. In fact, just read my blog post over a month ago: http://cheesycam.com/nikon-d3100-1080hd-autofocusing-in-video-new-lenses/

The Nikon D3100 was supposed to go toe to toe with Canon T2i shooters, but just check out the video review above. No Manual Video Controls?? Aside from that biggest deal breaker, the 1080 resolution leaves you with 'ONLY' 24fps and not the normal 29.97. There is no option for 60 frames per second, anywhere. Umm..i'll leave it at that to minimize the amount of Nikon hate mail coming in, but for those of you who question this blog, take a look at the latest Nikon release into consumer HD Video. But hey if you're only into photography, Nikon does make some pretty sweet lenses.

[Update] Just a reminder, here's two of my favorite Nikon videos posted on this blog that i've raved about.
http://cheesycam.com/lull-by-jeremy-mayhew/
http://cheesycam.com/tilt-shift-without-the-tilt-shift-lens/

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Thanks to Pierre on Vimeo for sharing this bit of information. I believe the company is called L'AIGLE which if my French isn't too rusty means "The Eagle". Ok i'm lying, it's translated on their website and I double checked on Google Translate. LOL. This particular DSLR stabilizer is called the 'Titan'. The Titan goes from hand held stabilizer into a folded camera shoulder support. Looks pretty cool, and the website offers a bunch of different upgrades and options, with even more confusing price packages. I'm thinking it's going to run a pretty penny since they even threw in some very expensive words like Carbon Fiber, Titanium, Tungsten Carbide, and Aluminum.

From the video it looks like it's pretty quick to setup with a bunch of fine tuning options. Most of these methods to balance are very similar to the Steadicam Merlin stabilizer, including changing the size of the arc. Changing the arc on these types of stabilizers shifts the weight further from the Gimbal making it more bottom heavy without adding additional weights. Being able to adjust this minutely is key to getting perfect balance.

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Instead of going for the vest, they've got a beefy waist belt that could be used for some interesting POV shots, JK!. If the belt works, it would be more comfortable to hide under a jacket, hmm..where did I see this before?

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All in all it looks like a quality made stabilizer with lots of thought and design. I'm still going to say that it doesn't have the range and flexibility as the Glidecam HD stabilizers i'm using. For a few reasons, you can't rotate 360 degrees, run while tilting the stabilizer, and if you dare - flip it upside down! I flipped mine taking advantage of the Canon 60D articulating LCD screen. Very handy for Steadicam Stuff. If you think that all sounds like too much to ask, check out some of my ''amateur techniques'' (i'm no professional) with the Glidecam HD 4000 Product and Steadicam Merlin Vest.


[Thanks again Matt for letting me use the BTS footage]

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During our shoot, swapping lenses from several different cameras, things got lost in the shuffle. Hoods, DSLR Body Caps, lens Caps, Rear Caps, gear was just everywhere. Gotta always carry some spares if you want to protect that sweet glass and prevent dust in the DSLR.

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find-price-button Three Stage Compact Rubber Lens Hoods

As bright as it's been these past few days, hoods really help prevent washed out images by shading the lens glass as well as protect the front of the lens from minor bumps. If you have lenses that didn't come with hoods, check out these three stage rubber hoods that can snap back for wide lenses or spring forward for zoom lenses. Sweetest part is that they don't take up much bag space like the hard plastic hoods. They will fit any lens as long as you get the right filter size, starting at less than $3.50 cents.

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find-price-button Canon Rear Lens Caps Body Caps

DSLR body caps and rear lens caps (above) can be had for as little as $0.99 cents + Free Shipping. Yeah talk about a steal and you can never have enough of these.

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find-price-button Canon Nikon Sony Front Lens Caps

Front lens caps are the worst. With too many people and too many cameras, front lens caps for me are notoriously walking off from a shoot. I pack my gear fairly tight into as little bags as possible and missing a lens cap sucks big time. Here's a link to some inexpensive front Snap lens caps complete with Nikon or Canon Logos for as little as $2.00 dollars + Free Shipping.

And if you're not rocking lens pouches or lens bags check out this article here: http://cheesycam.com/lens-protection-neoprene-foam-padded-bags/

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find-price-button Padded Lens Bags for Canon Nikon Sony Pentax Panasonic DSLR Lenses

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transcend

These came in just a day late. Luckily I had a few SDHC cards in my Canon SX210 IS and Zoom H4n to fall back on. I was hoping these would arrive for the Music video shoot on the Canon 60D's, but we managed. So I haven't really tested these out yet, but i'll be shooting more fun stuff later this week to see the performance.

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It was a scorching hot day yesterday, but the bright sun helped bring in some light into this old unused factory. There was no electricity so the band rented a 5000 watt generator for the shoot. We had full run of the entire abandoned lot which was awesome. This place was huge with several buildings over 8 stories high and had so much texture of steel, brick, and concrete. Sitting right off the water, the place was just so large, we didn't get to see everything. The entire area is private, fenced off, with 24 hour security so we were able to just leave stuff everywhere. I'd love to get back there and shoot again if I could. Would be a perfect setting for a horror film, that's for sure.

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We started indoors with some really slow camera movements on the DIY track. It could have used another saw horse down the center for some additional stability, but worked fine for just slow movements. Going faster, it wanted to flex. We also did a bit of Crane shooting and later threw in some really close up hand held beauty shots of the band.

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We moved up to the roof in the late afternoon, and to really show off the height we were at, slung a Canon 60D on a crane over the side of the building. A bit scary, but it should be a really cool looking swing from over the side of the building back onto the roof. Hopefully that went pretty smooth, but from what we can see on the LCD it came out great.

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Next we went down to the outside grounds for a walking Steadicam Shot. The band followed the camera slowly while singing to the music. With the Canon 60D articulating LCD, I was able to walk forward and let the band frame themselves by looking into the LCD. They were able to monitor themselves and stay in frame, while I concentrated on not falling over or tripping on anything.

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I'll get the video footage once the editor hands them back, and show some of the shots we did. The Steadicam looked really great with the Canon 10-22mm Lens I rented and had all this space to run around in. Flying through a wide open room with large glass windows and concrete pillars everywhere had a very cool flying effect. I have to admit that with the changes in light, using the white balance on the 60D was much more effective than trying to set it on the T2i (which was being used for some BTS video). The 3 Canon 60D's worked really well and meshes closer to the workings of the 7D than a T2i. Definitely a great camera to work with. Now that i'm done with this project, I may sell one of them, but tempted to keep them both!

[Thanks to Matt for grabbing these BTS photos while we were running around in the heat]

Related Articles:
http://cheesycam.com/canon-60d-video-stabilizer-first-flight-glidecam-hd4000/
http://cheesycam.com/glidecam-hd4000-bts-with-canon-60d-steadicam-vest/