Canon Camera Setups for Cinematic Vision

Oh boy, we’ve got a whole SLEW of Canon Camera related questions this week. Let’s get into it!

SIC Podcast EP. 9 is now live on iTunes!

Submit your questions HERE.

Podcast Questions:

1:13

How much image manipulation is done with the footage that comes from the Canon C500? When you spoke of the 5D Mark II footage that was used on Act of Valor it seemed like a lot of post was necessary to make a image suitable for the big screen (Dark Energy). You moved on to the Canon Cinema EOS cameras when the mark III came out so I also wonder what your thoughts are on the image that comes from the 5D Mark III?

11:14

Hi Shane loved your presentation at Sun Studios here in Sydney. I am shooting on Red Dragon since June this year and I am pretty impressed with the new sensor. Admittedly it’s not great in low light(like the Canon C500) but I’m exposing 250 ASA and getting tremendous results. I shot Surfers up at Coffs harbour in bright sun where the boiling white water seemed massively overexposed but all the highlight detail was there to be found in the Grade. I was wondering if you could talk about your impressions testing the Dragon sensor?

15:28

Hi Shane. I’m working with Canon C300, 1DC and Mark III’s. My question is do you have any tips, tricks or pitfalls to watch out for. For example one thing that comes to mind is how sharp the C300 is with tight patterns that would be passable with the 1DC or Mark III.

20:07

Shane, Your camera tests are fantastic and I will spend all day on one. With so many variables on a camera test how do you know you are seeing what you are testing? Obviously you want to eliminate as many variables as possible, but how can you tell if things like color and contrast are coming from the lens or the camera? Or if falloff/gradation/noise is attributed by the sensor or the compression? Or if the cameras sweet spot is in the sensor or the aperture of the lens on it? That kind of thing. Thanks of being here for us!

26:03

Shane, I would like to hear your explanation on shutter angles coming from DSLR use vs traditional cinema cameras. Do you have any cheat sheets? I’m using a BMPCC and it has shutter angle settings. Thanks, Thomas

32:08

Shane, I know you shoot with a Canon 1DC so figured you would be an excellent person to ask. We have 4 1DC’s and 4 Odyssey 7Q monitors and all those devices we notice a slight push towards green coming out of the 1DC HDMI. Have you noticed this yourself? We’ve confirmed this with an external waveform, vectorscope as well. Just curious. I had a previous question submitted about the DSLR tips and pitfalls so this sorta of piggy backs that.

34:29

Tips for white balance with out using a color meter? I’m shooting weddings in churches on a Canon C100. The carpet is green and it’s tinting the white walls. Then there is yellow sunlight coming in through painted glass windows, also hitting the walls, and to add to all that, the lights are fluorescent in the ceiling. (C100 custom white balance seems to never be accurate). Love your blog. I find it so refreshing. All this knowledge that I search so deep for on the web, but rarely find, is provided here. Thanks for your time, professionalism and dedication.

39:08

Shane, Thank you for creating this resource, I look forward to every post! I used your AOV Picture Style and absolutely love the look. How do you approach working with picture styles? Do you shoot to give yourself the most latitude in post, or are there certain aspects you try and capture with the styles in camera? Cory

39:09

Shane, Thank you very much for your investment in those of us that are learning the craft of cinematography. I was at the workshop in Charlotte and the workshop and Masterclass in DC, great times! You had mentioned about exposing for the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, could you remind me of how you would expose for the sensor on that camera? Also you had mentioned the issue you have faced with the Canon kelvin color temperature settings; such as not using 5600K and 3200K on the Canon cameras, but selecting a different Kelvin to get close to those temperatures. Thanks again for all you do! Love the Pirate Death Ship!

-Ben