by Robin Scott Peters
I spent my Saturday traveling through a fast moving Cape Cod blizzard heading from Falmouth to Wellfleet. I had an 11:00 am appointment to meet and interview my first artist for my Web TV show called "ARTing About." The anticipation in seeing how the Canon 550D would react under its maiden voyage was pricking at me. I bought the camera after selling my Sony PD150 DV Video Camera package. I love this video camera. I shot a couple of documentaries, a few weddings, and a music video or two with the package. It shot well in low light, was easy to carry and had lots of flexibility. It is a video camera first, but has the capability to shoot still photos. But I bought it almost a decade ago and it wasn't HD.
The last few weeks I played with the 550D. I read cover to cover its operations manual and I viewed the DVD guide that gives you 1.5 hours of practical application techniques and shooting assignments to practice. I enjoyed this aspect of the camera package as it allowed me to grab specific techniques, that I normally use, and get that result without lots of time loss. After all of this initial ramping up, I felt confident that I could go out and get some good video--using both the automatic settings and then flying more with the manual settings. Ultimately my goal is to use the camera's maximum flexibility and that is understanding how to make that camera capture what I want to see. That means understanding how to maneuver through the myriad of manual options.
So let me start with the general and work to the specific. Overall I got fantastic video. My lens: EFS 18-55mm Image Stabilizer Macro 0.25m/0.8ft. I felt for the tight space I was shooting in it allowed me to get nice establishing shots as well as tight framing around my subject's face. I used sticks, but was also running hand-held. I was indoors under florescent light. I did not use any additional lighting. It was noon and I was in a large retail antique shop. The subject had a back corner area that was approximately 30 x 20. Oh, yes, the subject: Stain Glass artists Christie Andresen and her most spectacular shop Taqwa Glassworks Studio and Gallery. And the challenge was on indeed.
The antique shop had glass windows across the storefront. Christie's store ran from the front to the back of the far side of the shop. So, 11:00 am light streamed in creating a "white out" situation if you shot into the light, which I had to because some of her works were displayed there. Christie's walls to her shop were open framed and she had all of her beautiful creations presented along every open space creating "walls of glass." A visual spectacle of magnitude.
We introduced ourselves and I began to set up. One of Christie's first comments was how she thought I was a champ trying to shoot in all this glass. Boy, by the time this was over, her words would prove absolutely correct.
Initial settings of the camera: ISO-400. But the closer I got to the front of the building and the window's the higher I had to crank the ISO 1600 plus (even after trying to adjust shutter speed and aperture) --the 550D allows you to go to 6400 but there are some technical issues that occur when you push it so read the manual carefully to understand how that effects your ultimate product. Shutter was 1/30 with F.5.6. Again, all these settings fluxed as I moved about. The 550D is broken down in modes. They have presets which are basically automatic settings that lets you shoot without thinking about having to set all the technicals to get that image you want to create. Another mode gives the photographer more control of specific elements of the camera. AV, TV, for example allow you to go into a more "manual" mode under the Aperture and Shutter functions. Under any of the modes you have either little flexibility to maximum manual flexibility. So, understanding what you can and cannot do under each function is critical.
My subject was interesting, vibrant and passionate about her work. Which certainly made my efforts easy coaxing out information. I immediately was concerned if I had enough disk space because I was capturing great stuff. I came packing with a 16gb and an 8gb chip (45mb/s). Canon suggest a high speed chip when shooting video so you don't get a "buffering" effect under playback conditions. So don't be cheap when buying your chips. I filled up both very quickly--within two hours. Now, before you go get scared about eating up lots of space, in the movie function you can adjust the pixels of your image. I wanted high quality which eats up space. I also shot in 24 frames instead of 30. I wanted to get a more cinematic look to the piece and you can definitely tell the difference which I like and will shoot in for a while before trying the 30fps. Oh, you can shoot in 60fps too. Great tool for a filmmaker interested in slowing down the shot.
Okay, so I think I covered all the basic technicals other than I didn't use my external mic as I had planned. When I got to the location, though Christie's store is large, it is tight and moving around is a careful act when you are enjoying her shop without a camera. To have a long mic and cord in hand in the shop was a recipe for disaster. I decided to let the camera's mic handle the job. This is great to be able to attach an external to the camera or go with the on board route. Though I only tested it in my home. I was a bit concerned to have to make that choice, but I have to say, that the camera's mic was impressive as you will see when you view the video.
My one issue came with the AF feature to the camera (Automatic Focus). The Canon, in its infinite wisdom, wants the operator to have maximum flexibility in determining how to use this powerful camera. The gift from Canon is giving the operator the ability to control--almost on a "dime"--the depth of focus. Critical to creating interesting images the operator must understand how to manipulate the camera's extensive means to do this. Almost too many ways to do it, when a hot shot with his new toy gets a bit turned around in this field of candy. What occurred is just what Christie had commented on when I first arrived--the difficulty of shooting glass. But now I understood what she meant. Not just glass, or colored glass, but the beveled glass--this triad of nymphs wreaked havoc on controlling the camera to focus on the spot I wanted, not what it wanted. I must say, that it was operator error. Not camera malfunction. What I should have done is cleared the camera by hitting its reset default action. This is specifically designed to help you clear the camera if your settings get wonky by your manipulation. Sort of a "Dunce-Away" approach. I knew about that setting. I just forgot about it. My mind never said "ABORT!" Part of the Canon focus apparatus (and this is really dumbed down for me, so if any Canon folk are reading I hope you won't get too insulted) is the camera is looking for contrasts so it can focus properly. The operator can also choose to move the focus in different locations (Focus on something behind something, along side, or in front). The operator can let the camera do all the work, none of the work or share in the work. What happened is the bevelling and the reflections and refracting was "Escher-Like." The camera focused on background when I wanted foreground and the like. So, sometimes when I wanted to focus on Christie and create a shallow depth of field, depending on where in the shop, what angle and the different light sources, I just couldn't get some of the shots "crystal."
When I got home and began to review the technicals recorded by the camera about your image or video, I deducted the following: In the Main menu you can adjust the focus to enable or disable Automatic Focus (AF) during the Movie Mode. It was in the disabled mode. I am not sure if that is the default or if somehow I changed it during my manipulation of the camera. If the camera in the Movie mode is not "enabled" for AF then you have to "pull focus."
I captured close to two hours of tape for a 5 minute piece. I have plenty of great clips and I look forward to cutting the piece and downloading them for everyone to view. I love this camera. It is truly sophisticated. It is a completely different animal when you use it for video then using a video camera that has true "tight" and "wide" control. The difficulty with using the Canon is capturing those typical moves. I will continue to explore and find out the best way.
Thank you Christie. Your shop is beautiful and it truly was a challenge to shoot indeed!
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