Switronix video remote for 5D Mark II and 7D - Photo copyright Switronix

Preamble

Yesterday, while browsing through my e-mail, I came across as ad that highlighted the use of the Switronix FLEX DSLR remote to trigger the recording of video on either the Canon 5D Mark II or the Canon 7D.  I was puzzled, at first, by why such a device was even necessary, before realizing that it clamps onto some of the shoulder and waist-mount rigs for video cameras that make reaching for the “video start” button on the camera awkward.

The FLEX remote uses a semi-rigid cable to go in front of either camera’s infrared sensor that was designed for use with Canon’s own infrared remote, but those are just for still photos, right?

Wrong.

History

I still have my trusty Canon RC-1, recently discontinued after close to two decades of production.  It was introduced by Canon in 1991 with the EOS Elan (EOS 100 outside of North America), and became a feature of the Elan series (the Elan II and the Elan 7 also used this remote) and some bodies in the Rebel series.

The remote works just like a cable release, but without the cable.  What made it particularly slick was that it gave the photographer the choice of tripping the shutter immediately, or after a two-second delay.  The Elan, like many cameras in its class, didn’t have a built-in two-second delay, only a ten-second count-down timer.  The remote, in effect, added a feature to the camera.  Suddenly, the only reason to have a cable release was for locking the shutter open in a bulb exposure.

Canon RC-1 Infrared Remote Control

I can recall John Shaw commenting incredulously at a seminar held in Milwaukee  in the mid-90′s that Canon made a cool remote control, but for some reason only made it available on one or two consumer cameras, but not on their professional bodies.

When digital cameras came along, in typical Canon fashion, they made this useful tool only available for the lower-end Rebel series.  Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Canon?

While it’s still not compatible with the 1D series cameras, Canon finally made the remote control work with the 5D Mark II and the 7D, and incorporated an interesting trick.

A Remote for Video as well as Stills

The RC-1, and its replacement, the RC-6, can be used with either camera for still photography.  Switch the drive mode to the countdown/remote mode (either 10 seconds or two seconds) and click the button on the remote.  But, if you switch to movie mode (Live View with video enabled on the 5D Mark II), its functionality changes.

The standard photo mode trips the shutter for a photo during video recording.  Setting the remote control to the “2″ mark (for a two-second delay) activates (or deactivates) video recording. Cool.

If you don’t own a remote control but have a 5D Mark II or a 7D, I would suggest owning a remote; the video functionality is just the icing on the cake to a versatile and convenient accessory. And don’t worry about the batteries: I’m still in my first set. From 1991.

Tags: EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D, video
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MKT Trail (Draft One) from David Kennedy. (Note: video defaults to 1080P playback, so if it loads too slowly, turn HD off)

This morning I showed my Picture Story class what is really my first draft of a video and photographic essay the MKT Nature and Fitness Trail in Columbia, Mo.  The nine-mile trail connects to the state-wide Katy Trail in McBaine, Mo.

This is in rough form, unfortunately, because the past couple of weeks have been consumed by my proposed project to fulfill the requirements of the M.A. program here at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.  Before I begin work on that project, which will take me back to Lake Michigan, I will be working to improve this essay.  Foremost, I plan to speak with Brett Dufur, author of The Complete Katy Trail Guidebook, as well as Columbia’s former mayor, Darwin Hindman, who was a champion of projects like the MKT Trail and Stephens Lake Park.

That said, if you have any other suggestions for people to talk to whose voice would strengthen this piece, I am all ears, so to speak!

Tags: EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D, MKT Trail, nature, video
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Panning blur, MKT Trail, Columbia, Mo. | Canon 7D and 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens; exposed 1/6 sec. @ f/8, ISO 400.

Yesterday, while gathering some video and making images of the “real” nature offered to the people of Columbia along the MKT Trail (vis-a-vis the artificial nature at Stephens Lake Park), I made an unintentional panning blur.  Hand-held.  And it didn’t suck.  As Artie Morris would say, “you gotta love it!”

Normally, the trick to and panning blur is to have the camera on a tripod and to slowly pan downwards.  This is hard to do on a ball head, but easy to do if you have  a big lens mounted on a Wimberley or other gimbal-style head, or if you’re using a video head.

Usually, the hardest part is going slowly enough on the pan that you get the effect that you want, but not so slow that it just looks out of focus!  Start with a shutter speed of 1/15 second and slow down from there.  In this example, my exposure compensation in aperture priority brought me to 1/6 sec. before I even realized it–I just heard the slow shutter and cursed under my breath.  Only when I looked at it did I jump for joy.  Then I tried making more blurs, and they all failed!  Again, you gotta love it.

Tags: EOS 7D, MKT Trail, nature, panning blurs, pictorial
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Stephens Lake Park: A Green Oasis on Broadway from David Kennedy on Vimeo.

Well, just when you think you’re finished with something, people remind you that you aren’t.  Yesterday, while I was choking on the seeds in some home-made bread, my picture story class attempted to watch the last draft of my essay on Stephens Lake Park.  I say that they attempted to do so because, as much as I love my hosting provider (BlueHost), I don’t have access to a streaming server, and the process of loading the minute and a half video took close to ten minutes.  Yikes.

A lot of people in my program have been posting their final videos on the hosting service Vimeo.  For a while, I didn’t understand why: the video is great, yes, but there are ads for Vimeo all over it, and the only way to watch the videos in High Definition is on their Web site–it cannot be embedded.  No one told me an account where you don’t have to deal with any of its (few) shortcomings was available for only $60 for a year!

In any event, I received some very good feedback, particularly from David Rees, Calin Ilea, Lillian Kelly, and Vivian Esparza.  While I’m fine with other people introducing textual information into their documentary presentations using “text slides”–black slides with white text–I’m usually trying to avoid it for my own work.  However, with some healthy dialogue and also a touch of arm twisting, I was convinced that the introductory sequences of the video needed to be changed.  I think that this is, finally, “it” for the Stephens Lake Park piece.

Tags: Broadway Project, EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D, Stephens Lake Park, video
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While I was “officially” finished with my contribution to the class’ Broadway project on Wednesday when I turned into my professor, David Rees, a disc with my “second draft” of the video, I was still not quite satisfied with it. The timing of a few things was still off.

On Thursday, I posted a third version of the video, and received some more feedback from it both in person and through a comment on the post, and took those into consideration. I was also unhappy with the color of certain clips in the video, and adjusted those within Adobe Premiere. Finally, I went back to Stephens Lake Park for one more “walk around,” which was also my last opportunity to experiment with the Canon 35mm f/1.4L lens. The result is a little tighter, with better matching between audio and visual components.

I consider this a finished piece, but am still more than happy to hear comments and suggestions.

Tags: Broadway Project, Canon 35mm 1.4L, EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D, Stephens Lake Park, video
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In late March, I posted a “draft” of my contribution to my Picture Story class’ project on Broadway, one of the main arteries of Columbia, Mo., which was a “think piece” about Stephens Lake Park.

This Monday, I had the opportunity to sit down with Steve Saitta, Parks Development Superintendent for the city of Columbia, and ask his thoughts about the relevance of Stephens Lake Park for the community, and the significance of the park’s location on Broadway.

I believe this to be a significant improvement upon my original idea, and I hope you’ll agree. Comments and criticism always welcome!

Tags: Broadway Project, EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D, photojournalism, Stephens Lake Park, video
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Introduction

Over the past couple of weeks I have been making photographs and video of Stephens Lake Park: what the place looks like, how it is connected to the city of Columbia via Broadway, and how the people of Columbia make use of the space.  It is “landscaped nature” in that is is completely man-made, but tell that to the birds who pass through, or the dogs that happily scamper through the grass.

This is a “draft” of the project.  At the very least, an idea of what it could be like.  I would like to incorporate some spoken narrative–my plans to interview someone from the Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation fell through this week.

The video was made with both the Canon 5D Mark II and the Canon 7D bodies, and the stills were made with the same cameras.

Update: On Video…

A friend of mine just e-mailed me to ask about my impressions of the video from the 5D Mk. II and the 7D, respective to one another.  I thought I would copy my thoughts to this post given the topical nature:

As far as the movies produced by the 5D II versus 7D, I would grant you that they do “feel” different, and I like having both cameras, but if I couldn’t only have one for video, specifically, I’d opt for the 7D.  I posted this draft of my project for David’s class on the Friday before Spring break, and the majority of the video is from the 7D (you can try to guess what was from the 5D–I’ll let you know if you’re right).
Movie mode is easier to access, and autofocus is more intuitive on the 7D.  The depth of field (DoF) is different because it’s a 1.6x crop as opposed to a full 24x36mm sensor, but I actually like having a little more DoF.  Sometimes, the 5D II’s DoF just seems too shallow for video (obviously, you can stop down) and that can be very distracting.
Food for thought!

Tags: Broadway Project, EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D, video
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Walking the dogs into the sunset, Stephens Lake Park, Columbia, Mo. | Canon 5D Mk. II and Voigtlander 40mm f/2 Ultron lens; exposed 1/8000 sec. @ f/2, ISO 200.

On Thursday afternoon I headed back to Stephens Lake Park to continue “note taking” for an essay on the park that is right off of Broadway, yet feels almost like you’re immersed in nature in the middle of Columbia, Missouri.  I saw almost because the illusion fades when your boot gets stuck on the landscape fabric that’s underneath all of the pebbles on the side of the waterfalls…yeah, those were man-made.

Tags: Broadway Project, EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D, photojournalism, Stephens Lake Park
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