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The Beginners’ Guide to DSLR VideoDSLR video guidebook

EOS CAMERAS WITH HD VIDEOCanon first launched HD Video capability in the EOS 5D Mark II camera of 2008. Since then, it’s found its way into nearly every subsequent-ly-introduced camera. EOS cameras with HD video capability (as of mid-2016) include:

• EOS-1D X (all); Mark IV

• EOS Rebel T4i~T6i

• EOS 5D Mark II, Mark III

• EOS Rebel SL1

• EOS 7D (all); EOS 6D

• EOS Rebel T3i, T3

• EOS 60D~80D

• EOS Rebel T1i, T2i

Not every model has the same capabilities and video features; some of the differences include:

FULL HD VIDEO AT 1920X1080 PIXELSAll models (as of mid-2016) except the EOS Rebel T3 do offer full 1920x1080 video reso-lution; the Rebel T3 shoots its high-definition video at 1280x720 (sometimes called “720p”). The EOS 5D Mark II does not offer this 720p setting.

60 (OR 50) FPS VIDEO RECORDING AT REDUCED RESOLUTIONSMost recent Canon EOS DSLRs offer a high-er frames per second (fps) rate at the 720p resolution. Recording at 60 fps (or 50 fps, if camera is set to the “PAL” system) gives very smooth rendering of any movement in video; it can be played back at either this smooth 60/50fps, or at a web-standard 30 fps. The landmark EOS 5D Mark II does not offer 60/50 fps recording when set to 640x480.

FULL HD 1920X1080 RECORDING LIMITED TO 20 FPSThe EOS Rebel T1i model (only) was limited to a slower 20 fps frame rate when set to its highest video recording resolution; at reduced resolution, it operates at a faster, smoother 30 fps.

We’ll discuss how resolution and frames-per-second settings work later in this document. For now, we simply want to distinguish be-tween some of the features in different EOS models with HD video capability. Finally, there is no way to upgrade an earlier EOS model to make it record HD video, if it doesn’t already have the capability built-in at the factory.

2 The Beginners’ Guide to DSLR Video

SETTING UP FOR VIDEOEOS 5D MARK IIThis is the trickiest camera to switch from still-image shooting to HD video shooting, although it’s a quick procedure once you know the way. Unlike most other EOS HD-SLRs, it’s a menu-driven system:

2nd set-up Menu > Live View/Movie func settings

Press SET button > scroll to LV func setting

Press SET button.

Scroll to Stills + Movie; Press SET button

Scroll to Movie Display; Press SET button

This prepares the EOS 5D Mark II to shoot video. To actually record video, press the LIVE VIEW button (just to the left of the viewfinder); Live Viewing off the LCD monitor will start. Then, to actually record, press the rear SET button. A small red icon appears in the upper- right corner of the screen to indicate live recording is taking place. Press SET again to stop recording.

EOS-1D MARK IV; EOS-1D X 2nd set-up Menu >

Live View/Movie Func settings

(EOS-1D X—4th shooting Menu)

Press SET button (rear of camera)

Scroll to LV (still icon/movie icon) settings; Press SET

Scroll to Movies. Press SET button.

To actually record video with the EOS-1D Mark IV, press the SET button (rear of camera) to activate Live View. You’ll hear the mirror go up, and the LCD monitor will display what the camera now sees through the lens. Press the top-mounted FEL button (it’s right next to the shutter button) to start video recording; press the FEL button again to stop.

CAMERAS WITH LIVE VIEW–VIDEO SWITCHTurn outer ring to the red video icon. Mirror will rise and LCD monitor goes live. Press START/STOP button to begin video recording; press again to stop. New

video file is created each time video recording is started with START/STOP button.

VIDEO SETTING ON MODE DIALTurn the Mode Dial to the video icon. Some EOS models have a separate video setting on the Mode Dial. Turn the dial here to set the camera to be ready to record video.

Press the rear button with red dot icon to begin video recording; press again to stop recording.

VIDEO SETTING AT ON–OFF SWITCHOn many EOS models, video shooting is accessed with the camera’s main On–

Off switch. A video icon appears past the ON setting—move the switch to that position to raise the mirror and have the camera ready to record. Press separate record button with red dot, usually on back of camera, to actually be-gin recording; press it again to stop.


VIDEO RESOLUTIONSENSOR SIZESSLR IMAGING SENSORSA huge advantage of the imaging sensor in a digital SLR is its size. Compared to the sensors of even a high-end video camera, a digital SLR’s sensor is far larger. This means the quality and even the basic appearance of video files with HD-SLRs are different from those recorded with traditional pro-level video cameras—let alone compact amateur camcorders.

Low-light sensitivitySince the sensor is so much larger, each pixel can be a lot larger as well. As pixel size on an imaging sensor grows, all else being equal, its light-gathering sensitivity grows as well. This isn’t terribly important in bright outdoor light-ing, but in dim lighting indoors, it can be a significant advantage.

And you’ll see that EOS HD-SLRs have a tre-mendous ability to record excellent quality video in dimly-lit conditions, with far less need to introduce additional artificial light into the scene. Digital SLRs often have far higher ISO abilities, vs. professional digital cameras, making them ideal for available -light recording.

Depth-of-fieldThe larger the imaging sensor, the less ap-parent depth-of-field will result at similar distances and lens coverages. This means it’s far easier to throw backgrounds out of focus with an EOS HD-SLR than it usually is with a traditional video camera.

WHAT IS RESOLUTION?Simply stated, it’s the number of pixels used in a video frame in its finished image. Video files are recorded with EOS HD-SLRs at any of three available settings, depending on the model:

Full HD 1920x1080This is the highest resolution available for most EOS HD-SLRs (as of mid-2016), and it matches the highest normally-available HDTV resolution of today’s flat-screen TVs. Furthermore, it matches or exceeds the reso-lution of many laptop computer monitors, as well as most digital projectors used for pre-sentations and similar applications.

There’s no question that 1920x1080 Full HD video has a wonderful clean, detailed and sharp look when viewed on a compatible output device. As the highest resolution setting for video recording with EOS cameras, it makes sense in situations such as the following:

• Video files you know you want to burn to Full HD Blu-Ray™ disks or similar super-high resolution disks

• Videos where you want the option to be able to edit and deliver a finished product that can be reproduced at the highest possible output quality

• Video files to be displayed at high-est resolution (normally) possible on web sites

Video shot at 1920x1080 and then played back directly on an HDTV looks absolutely fantastic, especially if the TV is a true Full HD 1920x1080 type.

The catch with Full HD 1920x1080 video is that the files will be massive in size, even if you edit and save them in a more highly-com-pressed file type. They’re often far too large for internet use on commercial web sites, and beyond what can be used on some popular video web sites.

Furthermore, if you plan to burn DVD disks, be aware that most consumer-level DVD players can’t read high-resolution video files. Beyond that, true Blu-Ray disks—the only real high-definition disk type now in common use—usually require specialized disk-burning soft-ware, special disk-burning “drives” dedicated to Blu-Ray production, as well as a true Blu- Ray disk player for viewing.

HD 1280x720This is still considered High Definition video in today’s world, and actually a very commonly- used setting in many of the HD broadcasts we watch over the air today (regardless of the actual resolution of our HDTVs). It’s practical for several reasons for HD-SLR shooters who are recording video:

• The files still have lots of information in them, but are at least slightly smaller in file size, a benefit for storage and possi-bly editing time at the computer later.


FRAMES PER SECOND, OR FPSVideo recording is a series of individual still images, or frames, shot and then displayed at a fast enough sequence that our eyes and brain perceive them as continuous moving images. EOS digital SLRs can record video at various rates, although choices will vary depending on the camera in question, and the resolution you’re asking it to record video at.

In general, higher frames per second rates (30 fps and up) will tend to record smoother movement, while slower fps rates (24 fps, or lower) will tend to appear a bit more choppy and seem to resemble the movement you see in actual films.

30 fps (actual 29.97 fps)This has become the de facto standard frames per second rate for North American TV, and for video displayed on the internet. Video shot at 30 fps will tend to appear quite smooth, and any movement of the camera and/or subject usually flows pretty smoothly as well. It would be a natural choice for video you intend to burn onto DVD disks, and also for any video you want or hope to display on a web site.

24 fps (actual 23.98 fps)This slower fps rate is actually preferred by many serious video shooters, especially those who value its more “film-like” look. Movement definitely will look slightly less smooth here, but when shot properly, far from choppy. It blends nearly perfectly with traditional movie film footage, if you ever need to combine video you shoot EOS HD-SLR video with existing film footage.

One is the internet. Whether you’re uploading a finished video to many typical photo & video-sharing sites, shooting video for your friend’s business web site, or any similar purpose, remember: the vast majority of web-based video today is still at resolutions of 640x480 or lower.

Another is if you want to burn DVDs of your video files (or finished, edited videos) for friends, family and acquaintances to view on standard home DVD players. These play stan-dard-definition DVDs, and are not normally compatible with HD video files. DVD burning software in many home computers, and DVD disk drives, are normally (as of mid-2016) com-patible only with 640x480 standard-definition video files.

You can record Full HD 1920 x1080, or HD 1280x720 videos in-camera, and then produce an edited copy that’s 640x480 in its final, fin-ished form. But, some users prefer to start with files as close to the actual final size that they can.

With many EOS models, you’ll be shooting 640x480 at a space-saving 30 fps, meaning files will be smaller in their original form, and require less work to upload to the web or burn to standard DVDs. Some EOS models, like the original EOS 7D, record standard-definition video at 60 or 50 fps, which gives any camera or subject movement a much smoother appear-ance. These video files can easily be changed during editing to a more conventional 30 fps for web use or other applications.

• They’re ideal for certain HD online video sites, and still represent a good starting point for files you intend to reduce in size for final actual use.

• Many EOS HD-SLRs let you shoot at 1280x720 using higher frames per second rates, such as 60 or 50 fps. At these higher recording speeds, you’ll get very smooth rendering of any move-ment during recording (great for action footage), and if it’s played back at a standard 30 fps, you’ll see something of a slow-motion effect.

We’ll discuss frames-per-second settings in more detail shortly.

Remember: you can always shoot a video file at a high resolution setting, and then in editing create a lower-resolution copy. The original file remains at full-resolution, and can always be re-edited later.

One important note: the Canon EOS 5D Mark II does not offer the 1280x720 reso-lution option.

Standard Definition 640x480With the popularity of high resolution TVs, computer monitors, and so on, you may won-der what the possible usefulness of a stan-dard-definition 640x480 resolution setting might be. The thing to consider is the actual, final method you anticipate your video files may be viewed with.


will be better-served by reducing their reso-lution to 1280x720, and using the resulting 30 fps. However, the 20 fps is perfectly accept-able for scenes with little or no movement, and since it’s accompanied by Full HD 1920x1080 resolution, the amount of detail and clarity in these frames is outstanding.

When 24, 30 or 60 fps isn’t exactly what it seems...With most EOS digital SLRs, video frame rates of 24 fps, 30 fps, and 60 fps are actually a tad slower. This isn’t an accident or an engineering oversight. In fact, it’s something high-end video enthusiasts strongly requested. The actual frame rates are...

24 fps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.976 fps

30 fps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.97 fps

60 fps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59.94 fps

These slightly slower fps rates conform pre-cisely to the North American NTSC television standard, and are preferred for precise video editing if you’re shooting or editing video for DVD, TV or the internet. There is no way, in- camera, to change these settings back to pre-cise 30.00 fps and similar. Note that the “PAL” settings—25 and 50 fps—are precisely 25.00 and 50.00 fps. Another point: early versions of the EOS 5D Mark II camera (with firmware lower than version 2.0.4) offered only 30 fps, and it was precisely 30.00 fps.

And, it’s relatively simple to convert original 60 fps video files to 30 fps or even 24 fps, to match other video files shot at industry-stan-dard fps rates. Movement in any scenes obvi-ously won’t look quite as smooth, but it will match up nicely with any other files taken at those speeds originally.

25 and 50 fps—the “PAL” settingsThese settings match the TV standards used in many parts of the world, such as Europe, South America, and much of Africa and Asia. To enable these settings, your camera’s “Video System” in the Set-up Menu has to be changed to the so-called “PAL” option. Once that’s done, when you go back to your video menu options, you’ll see that the fps options have changed from 24, 30 or 60 fps to 25 and 50 fps.

There’s little reason for most EOS video shoot-ers in the USA to choose these two frame rates, unless you need to either produce material for playback in those international regions via DVD, broadcast TV or by connecting the camera di-rectly to a PAL-compatible TV or HDTV.

20 fpsThis option is only available on the first EOS Rebel model with HD video capability, the Reb-el T1i. It’s the only fps option when the camera is set for Full HD 1920x1080 recording.

If you guessed that at 20 fps, video would tend to look rather choppy, you’d be correct. Rebel T1i users who are shooting movement

Video shot at 30 fps can fairly easily be converted to 24 fps during video editing. It’s possible to do the opposite, and convert 24 fps original video to 30 fps edited files, but the results are usually not as good as they would be if the video had been shot at 30 fps in the first place.

Important—special 24.00 fps settingSome EOS DSLRs have an additional, special video setting for 24.00 frames per second, instead of the standard 23.98 fps. This is in-tended only for matching video footage with actual movie film, and should never be used for normal digital video shooting.

60 fpsNot all video-enabled Canon EOS models have a 60 fps option. Those that do allow it in conjunction with lower resolution, like HD 1280x720, or sometimes SD (Standard Defini-tion) 640x480.

Video at 60 fps has a super-smooth look for any movement, and may be a preferred set-ting when you want a very refined, flowing appearance to any movement in a scene. If files are kept at 60 fps, and played back at an industry-standard 30 fps, the result is a smooth slow-motion effect, although not the super-slow motion you sometimes see on net-work TV sports. Played back at the full 60 fps, the speed of recorded movement looks natu-ral, but with a super-smooth appearance that has a very modern look and feel to it.


AUTOMATIC EXPOSUREOut of the box, every EOS HD-SLR introduced to date will automatically set exposure during video recording. This means shutter speed, lens aperture, and the ISO rating will all be adjusted automatically by the camera, and will change during shooting if the light measured by the camera changes (for example, as you move the camera from a bright to dark area, or vice-versa).

Automatic exposure is an obvious convenience, and can be a practical answer when users need to shoot quickly. It’s normally quite reliable, and can be further adjusted by the user with Exposure Compensation (more on that in a moment).

With most EOS HD-SLRs, your choice is either to use the camera in a totally automatic expo-sure mode, or alternately to switch to manual exposure, and adjust your own shutter speeds and lens apertures.

Shutter-priority (Tv) and Aperture-priority (Av)Even though you can set the camera’s Mode Dial to these settings on most EOS HD-SLRs, if the camera has otherwise been set to video mode, it’ll revert to completely automatic, program auto exposure for video recording. Tv and Av usually are only in effect for still- image shooting.

Higher-end EOS cameras, like EOS 5D series cameras, the 7D Mark II, and EOS-1D X (and

1D X Mark II) will allow actual shutter- and aperture-priority video recording, if you se-lect the Tv or Av settings, respectively.

ISO settings during Automatic ExposureISO is always automatic when the camera is set for automatic exposure video shooting—no ex-ceptions. The camera will vary ISO sensitivity as light in the scene changes, raising it to high-er settings when it reads dim light, and reacting to brighter light by lowering the ISO rating. The only way to manually set ISOs is to switch the camera to Manual exposure altogether.

ISOs in video work exactly the same as they do for still image shooting, in terms of what the numerical ratings mean. Just as you can expect more digital “noise” in a still image taken at a high ISO rating, you can expect similar increases in digital noise as video ISOs are raised.

Any disadvantages to Automatic Exposure?You’ll often hear video experts preach against using any form of automatic exposure control. And for their extremely critical purposes, there may be some validity to what they say. Many of these users don’t want the camera to be visibly changing exposure, even if the camera pans through areas of different illumination in a scene. Furthermore, their feeling is that the camera won’t always produce exposures that match their very critical expectations and pref-erences for the “look” of a given scene.

But: when you’re just starting out, you may find it’s a big convenience to have the camera make these adjustments for you, freeing you to con-centrate on composing your scenes, checking focus before you shoot, and starting and stop-ping recording at the right moments. When you feel comfortable switching to Manual exposure control, by all means do so. But don’t feel bullied into it because of the words of experts, regard-less of how well the Manual exposure control works in their experienced hands.

TWO TOOLS TO CONTROL AUTOMATIC EXPOSURESome users think that if you shoot video with Automatic Exposure, you lose all control over your images and are completely at the mercy of the camera. Actually, you do have a couple of tools available to control how the Auto Ex-posure operates:

Exposure CompensationThis is a truly fundamental control, for both still pictures as well as video. Exposure Com-pensation lets you intentionally darken or lighten an image. Whether the camera simply was fooled by the scene’s lighting and gave you a video result that looks too dark or too light, or whether you simply want to lighten or darken for creative purposes, here is where you do it.

The method to apply Exposure Compensation varies, depending on the model of EOS digital SLR camera you’re working with.

EXPOSURE AND VIDEO RECORDING


EOS Rebel models (all versions):Press the rear button marked with a “+/-” icon (it’ll also have an AV indication on it), and hold it in. Then, turn the top Main Dial (near the shutter button) and watch the scale on the rear LCD monitor. It indicates the degree of “plus” (lighter) or “minus” (darker) compen-sation you’ve dialed-in.

Other EOS models (EOS 70D & 80D, 5D Mark III, etc):Turn the large rear Quick Control Dial, with the camera meter active. On the LCD monitor’s analog scale, you’ll see how each click of the dial will change exposure in any video you’re about to shoot.

A couple of important notes about Exposure Compensation:

1. Exposure compensation is not self-canceling; you must re-set the compensation back to “zero”when you’re finished applying it

2. Exposure Compensation only applies to video or still images you are about to take; it has no impact on images already taken

Finally, Exposure Compensation is not used in Canon’s digital SLRs when you’re in Manu-al mode. If you’ve set any compensation while using Auto exposure, and then switch to Man-ual exposure, that compensation is ignored.

Auto Exposure Lock—AELA primary characteristic of Auto Exposure is that it will normally continually adjust and update itself as composition, lighting and

camera angles change during video recording. Sometimes, photographers want an exposure to remain constant throughout a video shot, but might still want to retain the convenience of Auto exposure. AE Lock (abbreviated AEL) can do this for you. (AE Lock with HOLD, if available, will also work.)

Pressing an EOS camera’s rear AE Lock button (marked with a distinct asterisk-shaped icon) immediately locks exposure at whatever level it’s currently at, whether you’re about to press the RECORD button, or you’re actually in the middle of recording a video file. The same aster-isk-shaped icon appears on your menu screen, if your display is active, to let you know that ex-posure indeed is locked, and won’t change no mater how much lighting in the scene changes.

Locking exposure while a subject is in sun-light, for example, means that exposure won’t suddenly lighten automatically if the camera follows that subject momentarily through a darker, shaded area. Obviously, it’s ultimately up to each photographer to decide whether an automatic adjustment as exposure changes is appropriate or not.

Another useful way to use AE Lock: you can point the camera at a mid-tone subject, such as grass, and lock exposure on it—then, re- focus and begin to record your actual subject. This can be very helpful if your subject is some-thing unusually light- or dark-colored, like a bride in a white wedding dress.

To cancel AE Lock, press the adjacent AF Point Selection button once. Don’t press the

AE Lock button (with the asterisk icon) again; that’ll simply tell the camera to take a new AEL reading on whatever it’s now pointed at and lock that.

If your camera offers Custom Controls, and you activate the separate AE Lock with Hold function, this will allow you to press the but-ton once to lock exposure, and then press again to cancel.

MANUAL EXPOSURE CONTROLThe key advantage of Manual exposure is usually this: once you set it, it will not change—no matter what you aim the camera at, or how much the lighting in a scene changes. Exposure remains constant, which is some-thing pros appreciate when following a moving actor or subject.

But with the confidence that comes from knowing your exposure won’t change, there’s the corresponding need to set exposure prop-erly in the first place. Simply stated, the user has to make three choices:

• Select a lens aperture

• Select a shutter speed

• Select an ISO setting

LENS APERTURE SETTINGSAll SLR lenses have an aperture mechanism, which is a series of blades that can open or close to admit more light or restrict the amount of light that can come through the lens. You’ll often hear still photographers refer to a lens’ aperture as its diaphragm, lens opening, or as


an f/stop. And, video shooters may refer to it as an iris. They’re all referring to the same thing.

The same still-image f-stop ratings are given to apertures, with lower numbers like f/2.8 or f/4 referring to wide apertures, and higher numbers like f/16 or f/22 referring to smaller lens openings.

A vital by-product of lens apertures is the re-sulting zone of what’s in focus, front-to-back, in a finished still or video image.

Lens apertures and depth-of-fieldThis zone of sharpness is called depth-of-field, and is probably a familiar term to many still photographers. It works exactly the same way in video imagery as in still pictures.

Wide lens openings—low f-numbers—produce limited depth-of-field, and make it a lot easier to blur backgrounds and foregrounds. Converse-ly, small lens opening (high f-numbers) tend to put more in sharp focus, in front of and behind the actual subject you’ve focused upon.

EOS HD-SLRs have a natural tendency to throw more of the background and foreground out of focus, and shooting intentionally at wide lens apertures simply adds to this. Especially if you’re focused relatively close to a subject, expect to stop the lens down liberally (to a smaller opening, or higher f-number) to get more of that picture sharp, front-to-back. At really close focus distances, it may be impossi-ble to get everything in the frame tack-sharp.

Shutter speeds in video shootingShutter speeds refer to the length of time, in fractions of a second, that each video frame is exposed for. With today’s digital video cameras and HD-SLRs, this is achieved electronically by scanning the CMOS imaging sensor during exposure.

Fast shutter speeds, like 1/1000 of a second, have two major effects: they cut back the amount of light that can enter the camera, and likewise, they freeze fast-moving action. Slower shutter speeds, like 1/30 or 1/60 of a second, are much more likely to be used when shooting in dim lighting conditions. They let more light into the camera’s imaging sensor, and are an obvious choice when recording video in dim light conditions.

Unlike still image shooting, the slowest shut-ter speed that normally can be used for video recording is 1/30 of a second; 1/60 if you’re set for 50 fps or 60 fps shooting. With EOS HD-SLRs, you can shoot at faster speeds, up to and including 1/4000. With the slowest speed limited to 1/30, there’s a practical limit to how dark an area you can shoot video in—you can’t simply shoot a “time exposure” or long exposure as you might with still imaging, putting the cam-era on a tripod and using super-long speeds.

The problem with fast shutter speedsIf you’ve shot still images for a long time, you’ve known that if you shoot moving sub-jects, you usually need fast shutter speeds to freeze their movement. Since shutter speeds work essentially the same way in video that they do in still-image shooting, it’s natural to

expect that moving subjects would be best-served by fast shutter speeds as well—like 1/1000, 1/2000, and so on.

Actually, with video, this creates a serious problem: if anything in the scene is moving (including the camera), at fast speeds the movement becomes recorded in a very jittery, staccato-like form. It’s usually very discon-certing and unnatural, and shows up clearly upon playback even if you shoot at a rela-tively fast frame rate like 30 fps or 60 fps.

So as unnatural as it sounds to veteran still- image shooters, when you’re shooting anything moving, you usually want to use slower shut-ter speeds, like 1/60 of a second, to get the smoothest rendering of movement in your fin-ished video imagery.

The 180° shutter “rule”Over time, serious video experts and enthusi-asts have discovered that motion often looks the most natural in a finished video if it was recorded at shutter speeds based on twice the frame rate. Basically, it means:

Ideal shutter speed = 1/fps rate x 2

Putting this into practice, it basically means take a look at your fps rate, and when possible and practical, pick a corresponding shutter speed equal to twice the fps rate. For instance:

• 24 fps—ideal shutter speed 1/48; nearest actual 1/50

• 30 fps—ideal shutter speed 1/60

• 60 fps—ideal shutter speed 1/120; nearest actual 1/125


Now of course, you can’t always shoot at these relatively slow shutter speeds, as a practical matter. Shooting in bright sunlight is one example where you’d need accessories like Neutral Density filters to be able to con-veniently shoot this slow. But: when you can, you’ll tend to get smoother overall movement, even to subtle things like leaves blowing in trees, if you shoot close to these speeds at corresponding fps settings.

MANUAL EXPOSURE WITH DIFFERENT EOS CAMERASThe procedure for setting an EOS camera into Manual exposure mode varies, depending upon the model. As of mid-2016, here are the steps involved for compatible EOS HD-SLRs.

Not all EOS models that can shoot video have Manual exposure capability. The following mod-els can only shoot fully Automatic exposure when you are set for video recording:

• EOS Rebel T1i

• EOS Rebel T3

• EOS 5D Mark II (firmware lower than version 1.0.7)

EOS-1D Mark IV; EOS-1D X; EOS-1D X Mark II: • Press MODE button and hold it down

• Turn Main Dial (near shutter button) until “M” appears on top LCD panel

• Set shutter speeds by turning Main Dial (don’t press any buttons while doing so)

• Set apertures by turning rear Quick Control Dial; be sure camera’s main On-Off switch is pointing to the upper- most position, so that the dial is “active”

EOS 5D Mark II, Mark IIIMark II models require firmware version 1.0.7 or higher installed (otherwise, Manual expo-sure control isn’t possible):

• Turn top Mode Dial to the “M” setting

• Change shutter speeds by turning top Main Dial (near shutter button)

• Change lens apertures by turning rear Quick Control Dial; be sure camera’s main On-Off switch is pointing to upper-most position, so that rear dial is “active”

EOS 7D series, 6D, 70D/80D, EOS Rebel T4i~T6i, T6s, SL1 • Turn Mode Dial to “M”

• Set desired shutter speed by turning Main Dial, near the shutter button

• Set aperture by turning rear Quick Control Dial (Rebel models—press Av button and turn top Main dial); be sure sliding “Lock” switch is away from Lock position.

EOS 60D, Rebel T3i, T3, and T2i • Press MENU button, and navigate to

first Shooting Menu (with red-colored top tabs)

• Scroll to Video Exposure Mode

• Press SET button, then turn rear Quick Control Dial to highlight “Manual Expo-sure.” Press SET button again, to lock-in this choice.

• Tap shutter button halfway down to clear menu, and make camera ready for video recording

“Q”: THE QUICK CONTROL BUTTONMany recent EOS cameras (EOS 7D, EOS Rebel T2i~T6i, etc.) have a rear button marked with the letter “Q.” This is the Quick Control Button, and pressing it brings up an on-screen series of icons to make rapid changes to common set-tings when using Live View or shooting video. In particular, the Quick Control button prevents users from having to leave Live Viewing and return to standard viewing to access certain particular settings, such as manually changing the active AF point.

Please note that some previous EOS models (EOS 5D Mark II, EOS Rebel T1i, etc.) don’t have the Quick Control button, and require the Menu or other buttons to change most settings.


FOCUSING AND VIDEO RECORDINGEvery EOS HD-SLR can be focused when set to video shooting mode, using either manual focus, or Auto Focus. Generally, the available focusing options are similar among the differ-ent camera models.

AUTOMATIC FOCUSING—AND ITS LIMITSThere are three methods of AF with current EOS HD-SLRs, which will be discussed below. All offer a degree of obvious convenience, and we recommend that video users of all levels try them to be aware of their basic capabilities, and understand when they might be useful.

Basic video AF technology has recently really accelerated, making positive AF possible during recording, and with some models even allowing excellent continuous AF on moving subjects.

But keep in mind that with older EOS HD-SLRs, their more restricted AF may be best- suited to pre-focusing before you actually begin video recording.

• Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology will pro-vide the best video autofocus, for still and moving subjects. As of mid-2016, it’s avail-able in the EOS 70D & 80D, the 7D Mark II, and the EOS-1D X Mark II.

• Canon Hybrid CMOS AF systems (EOS Rebel T6i, SL1, and others) will provide good AF with non-moving subjects, and under some circumstances can focus- track moving subjects.

• Older contrast-based video AF (most other EOS models: EOS 7D, 6D, 5D Mark II & Mark III, Rebel models prior to T5i, and EOS-1 series prior to EOS-1D X Mark II)— expect video AF to primary be for pre- focusing before actual recording begins; even if continuous video AF is an available menu option, it’s difficult for it to work well with moving subjects.

THE EXCEPTION—DUAL PIXEL CMOS AFIn late 2013, Canon introduced a new tech-nology for reading AF from the image sensor, during Live View and especially video record-ing. Dual Pixel CMOS AF, first seen in the EOS 70D, will change how DSLR users perceive the role of AF in video recording. The bottom line is simple: if you tend to rely on autofocus during some or most of your video recording, Dual Pixel CMOS AF is by far the best video AF method ever seen in the EOS line, as of mid-2016.

Dual Pixel CMOS AF delivers a smooth and powerful focus that works with both station-ary subjects, and in focus-tracking moving subjects. It cannot track movement with the same performance as AI Servo AF in a high-end EOS SLR, but for many moving subjects, its abilities will vastly outperform what many users could achieve with manual focus.

Combined with its touch-screen interface, you can simply touch a subject on the LCD monitor,

and the camera will immediately focus upon that subject; touch another area, and it will re-focus on that part of the scene. And, unlike all previous methods of Live View/Video AF, Dual Pixel CMOS AF makes a distinction be-tween still-image and video focus, and inten-tionally slows down and smooths out the lens’ focus movements during video, for natural focus transitions.

This guide is not the place to go into step-by-step detail of all the possibilities first seen in the EOS 70D’s video AF system. But be aware that all discussions in this guide of the limits of AF during video, and the suggestion to pre- focus and then begin recording, apply to EOS models introduced before the 70D.

AF WITH ALL OTHER CURRENT AND PAST EOS DSLRS1. Quick Mode AF: This method is strictly for pre-focusing, before you actually begin to record a video file. However, since it uses the camera’s actu-al AF sensor instead of focusing using con-trast-detection from the imaging sensor, it tends to be the most responsive and fastest- responding method, especially if you’re work-ing in dim light levels. It’s not offered in Rebel T4i~T6i, EOS 70D & 80D, etc.

Quick Mode AF is chosen in the camera’s shoot ing Menu, after you’ve set it to video re-cording mode. (Note: with the EOS 5D Mark II,


it’s located in the 2nd set-up Menu, under Live View/Movie func. settings.)

Once you’ve chosen Quick Mode AF as your AF method of choice, press either the rear AF-ON button, the rear AE Lock button (with most EOS Rebel models), or press the shutter but-ton halfway down to activate AF. The camera will momentarily get out of Live View mode—you’ll hear the mirror come down, and it sounds almost like you’ve taken a still picture. AF im-mediately takes place while the LCD monitor is dark, and as soon as the camera has confirmed focus, it raises the mirror again and resumes Live Viewing on the LCD screen.

The AF point or points you’ve last selected before switching to video mode are the one(s) used during Quick Mode AF. If you need to change the active AF point, EOS models with the “Q” button on the back let you quickly access AF mode and AF point selection. See below for specifics on moving AF points man-ually via the Quick Control menu, since it’s one of the few aspects of HD Video that’s not immediately intuitive.

Since Quick Mode AF requires the mirror to drop back down and momentarily cancel Live Viewing, it cannot under any circumstances be used during actual recording. Even if you’re set to Quick Mode AF, if you activate AF during shooting, you’ll be switched to Live Mode AF instead.

2. Live Mode AFThis is probably the most common AF method used by EOS shooters when recording video.

It’s able to read and adjust lens focus without interrupting Live View in any way, and can be used during actual shooting as well, if you like. (As mentioned previously, however, there may be sudden exposure shifts and focus may not be smooth and swift.)

Normally, a white rectangle appears in the center of the camera’s LCD monitor, indicat-ing the area where actual focus detection will take place. By default, it’s in the dead-center, but you’re free to move it around most of the picture area by using the four Cross Key but-tons on any of the EOS Rebel models, or using the Multi-Controller on other EOS models.

Press either the rear AF-ON button (most EOS models, other than Rebel series cameras), or press the shutter button halfway down to activate Live Mode AF. Keep pressing the but-ton; when focus is achieved and confirmed, the AF rectangle on-screen changes from white to green.

Again, as mentioned before, Live Mode AF sometimes cannot reliably focus upon mov-ing subjects.

3. Face Detect Live AFThis is functionally similar to Live Mode AF, but now applies face detection technology to actu-ally detect human faces in a scene, and move the AF target area to concentrate upon what the system thinks is the primary face in the scene—usually, the one closest to the center and/or nearest to the camera. A white bracket will appear around the detected primary face, and if that face moves around the scene, the

bracket will track it, retaining priority on that face until the detection system feels another face (if any) is now more prominent in the scene.

Depending on the camera and the video AF technology it uses, Face Detect Live AF may be able to not only put focus on faces, but also continuously focus upon them if the subject is moving. Again, Dual Pixel CMOS AF systems will be best.

If there are no detectable faces in a scene, Face Detect Live AF reverts to Live Mode AF. While Face Detect Live AF is pretty effective at recognizing and reacting to human faces, it cannot read faces if they’re turned away from the camera, nor can it (usually) read subjects like animals, people wearing Halloween masks, and so on.

MANUAL FOCUSINGYour other primary option for focusing is Man-ual focus. Simply turn the lens’ manual focus ring, and watch the image on the LCD monitor move in and out of focus, the way you’d focus a traditional pair of binoculars.

Many pros and serious video enthusiasts actually prefer using Manual focus, at least the majority of the time. They point to the following advantages:

• Virtually silent operation

• Focus can be performed during actual re-cording, and done as slowly or briskly as desired—unlike AF, which tries to focus relatively quickly and whose speed cannot be varied by the shooter


• Focus can be easily moved from one distance to another by literally applying a strip of non-stick tape to the lens, mark-ing a precise near and far distance with a pencil or marker, and then turning the ring during live recording to the second mark (this is common technique used in Hollywood-type movies)

• Easy to pre-focus quickly before shooting starts, and confirm focus using the mag-nified view on the LCD monitor (more on that in a moment)

Manual focus is obviously ideal for pre-focusing on a subject or scene before you begin video re-cording. Simply turn the focus ring on the lens until you achieve the sharpness you want, and you’re good to go. Unless the camera is being subjected to extreme vibration, you can expect the focus to stay put on your subject, and not drift—that is, unless you zoom the lens during shooting (we’ll discuss that in a moment).

MANUAL FOCUS AND MOVING SUBJECTSFor moving subjects, you also can use Manual focus—but obviously, it’s not as simple, and takes a lot of practice to get the hang of. But remember, for decades, SLR enthusiasts had to focus manually when shooting their still images, before the advent of AF in the late 1980s and early 1990s. For subjects like a bride coming down the aisle at a slow, steady speed, you may be surprised at how effective you can be with a little practice. Again, even with a subject like this, you often can’t expect AF to be able to re-liably track this type of movement during video recording—even though it’s easy with AI Servo AF during still-image shooting.

Another option often used by video shooters is to simply pre-focus on a spot that they an-ticipate a moving subject will pass through. They focus on this spot, begin recording as the subject approaches, and continue as it hits the spot and moves beyond it. The sub-ject moves from out of focus, to in-focus, and back out of focus again. This actually allows some interesting options when editing, so don’t rule it out in all circumstances.

ZOOMING DURING SHOOTINGThe reason we mention this in the context of focusing is the following: many of today’s zoom lenses, especially less-expensive, light-weight zooms, are vari-focal lenses. That is, the focus shifts if you zoom the lens. This normally is a non-issue during still image shooting, because shooters typically zoom and then re-focus before the next shot is taken. But with continuous video recording, if you pre-focus and then zoom, you can sometimes find that your carefully-set focus suddenly drifts out of focus.

There’s no way to change this if your zoom lens(es) display this characteristic. Without getting into the technical reasons why it occurs, understand that the primary work-around is simply not to zoom actively during actual shooting, once you’ve focused on a subject. For what it’s worth, many seri-ous video enthusiasts prefer to take separate wide, normal and “tight” video files and then edit them together, rather than actively zoom during a single video “clip”.

CHECKING FOCUS WITH THE MAGNIFIED VIEWThis is a huge feature, whether you use AF or prefer to manually focus your lens. All current EOS HD-SLRs allow you to press a button on the rear of the camera (marked with a small blue magnifying-glass icon with a “+” sign inside it), and toggle through two magnified views. A 5x and 10x magnification are possible, and either lets you very precisely confirm that ac-tual focus is right where you want it to be. It’s a great insurance policy, so to speak, and far more reliable than trying to judge focus strictly by the full-screen view you normally see on the LCD monitor.

Unfortunately, this magnified view cannot be seen during actual recording—you cannot call it up during video shooting, and if it’s active and you press the RECORD button, the camera will immediately return to a full-screen view.

The magnified view initially shows you the cen-tral area of the image, but you can freely move the small white rectangle icon around most of the picture area, allowing you to select other areas to magnify and check focus on.

The easiest way to return to a full-screen view is to simply press the same “magnify” button once or twice, until it toggles back to the origi-nal full-screen view.


SOUND RECORDINGAudio recording is an amazingly large part of how we perceive the video we see every day, on TV, online, and so on. And whether we realize it or not, we have come to expect excellence here, and often have very little tolerance for poor audio quality. Remember this as you begin to shoot video, because even if your viewers are friends and family, they’ll likely have sub-consciously formed the same conclusions.

THE BUILT-IN MICROPHONEEvery EOS HD-SLR has a small built-in micro-phone in the front of the camera body. It’s usually mono only, and picks up sound over a fairly broad area. You can’t expect top-notch recording quality from such a tiny microphone, but it’s OK if you’re recording audio from near-by subjects, about 4 or 5 feet away.

It will tend to pick up wind noise when you’re shooting outdoors, and it definitely will pick up operational sounds from the camera during re-cording. In fact, for this reason, the camera is programmed during auto exposure to change lens apertures only as a last resort, because of the operational noises you’ll tend to pick up. You can also pick up sounds like the clicking of the camera’s dials as they’re turned, and Image Stabilization from some lenses so equipped.

YOUR 2ND OPTION: EXTERNAL MICROPHONESYou can plug many optionally-available exter-nal microphones into a small, round port on the camera (it’s an industry-standard stereo

port, 3.5mm in diameter, for microphone inputs). This automatically disables the built-in mike, and activates the device you’ve plugged-in.

Sound quality from external microphones is generally going to be superior to the built-in mike. For one thing, their pick up devices are larger and usually more advanced, so sound recorded tends to be clearer and of higher fidelity. Many external mikes (not all, how-ever) can record in stereo sound, and this can be input to the camera. And, by moving the mi-crophone outside of the camera body, it’s far less likely to pick up operational noises from the camera itself — the sounds of dials turn-ing and clicking, image stabilization operating with certain I.S. lenses, and even the sound of AF operation.

Please note that the EOS Rebel T1i, T3, T5 and T6 models do not have a connection for exter-nal mikes, and cannot use them.

Shoe-mount, “shotgun” microphones:A common step for users moving past the built-in mike is to consider one of the shoe-mount microphones optionally available. Canon now

offers the Directional Microphone DM-E1, and there are various units available from third- party companies. These microphones usually are designed to pick

up sound from a narrow angle, in the direction the camera is aimed. In other words, they tend to pick up sounds from straight ahead, with far less pick up of sounds coming from the sides.

Performance varies, but in general, these shotgun-type mikes work reasonably well with subjects from about 3 to perhaps 10 or more feet (1~3m) from the camera. Beyond those distances, they tend to lose effectiveness—but they’d still be a far superior choice com-pared to the tiny built-in microphone.

Other microphone types:Mikes that attach directly to the camera aren’t the only external sound option. Various types of wired and wireless microphones are made by third-party equipment makers. These can be a great option with an EOS HD-SLR, provid-ed they have their own power source (if there’s a battery in the mike, that’s often a good indi-cation it has its own power source and will be compatible).

Wireless mikes, in particular, are becoming increasingly popular among serious video en-thusiasts shooting with HD-SLRs. Generally, they come in two parts:

• A receiver, which plugs into the camera’s microphone port and delivers sound to the camera

• The wireless microphone, which can be a hand-held unit, a compact lavaliere-type that clips to a subject’s collar, as well as special-purpose types


These microphones can be great for high-qual-ity sound in interviews on-location, as well as for simply getting good sound from subjects you’re recording. Even if a subject turns away from the camera and talks, he or she will be accurately recorded if a wireless microphone is used, and you’re within the wireless unit’s working range.

Detailed information about these types of microphones and their capabilities can be obtained through the manufacturers, or from various online sources including audio dealers.

OPTION 3: RECORD SOUND SEPARATELYAny time you use a microphone system like those described above, you’re feeding live sound directly into the camera through its MIC port, and that gets recorded onto your camera’s memory card along with the visible parts of a video file.

But another option, often used by serious vid-eo users who are looking for the best possible sound, is to record sound separately, and then combine it in the editing process with the ac-tual video footage. Years ago, this would have been done using a traditional tape recorder.

Now, in the digital age, we have a new high- quality device: the Field Recorder.

Field recorders:These are again separate, optional devices, available from a variety of manufacturers through audio dealers, but are not Canon products (again, as of 2016). Today’s field recorders have one or more microphones, and they record sound onto their own memory cards — often the popular SD cards, although of course this can vary from one model to another. Sound quality from today’s field re-corders has the potential to be superb.

Another benefit that one or more can often be positioned relatively close to a subject, even if it’s a significant distance from the camera actually recording the video content. Most record sound in stereo, and offer a range of possible recording formats and sound file types. Often, they also have separate inputs so that additional microphones with industry- standard “XLR” round connectors can be at-tached, inputting even more excellent sound information into one recording source.

The catch? They’re not like a wireless mike that’s got a receiver connected to your camera’s

audio port. Therefore, the sound recorded by a field recorder is not simply put onto your camera’s memory card as you record video. Instead, users will need to combine the sepa-rately-recorded sound files from a field recorder with their video files during video editing, at the computer.

Matching precisely the sound files from a field recorder to video can be difficult if you tried to do it “manually”, but fortunately, there’s separately-available software that essentially automates this process. It’s made especially easy if at the start of a video file, a loud, sharp sound like a person clapping their hands once is made—this way, the sound recorded by the camera (which likely wouldn’t be used in a fin-ished, edited video) can be precisely linked to the separate, high-quality sound files from the field recorder. Then, the camera’s sound track can be removed and replaced with the high-quality audio files from the field recorder.


AUDIO LEVELSWhen a device like a radio plays back sound in your car, you can freely turn the volume up or down, often to match the surroundings and type of sound you’re listening to. For instance, if you’re driving down a busy street past a con-struction site with the windows rolled down, you’d probably want to turn the radio sound up, especially if what you were listening to was fairly quiet to begin with. And conversely, if you’re driving in a quiet car with the windows up and little or no outside sound interfering, you’d probably tend to turn the radio’s volume down.

Audio levels in a recording device work the same way, except that the device (or the user) adjusts the “volume” of how sound is recorded, instead of how it’s being played back.

All Canon EOS HD-SLRs (as of mid-2016) can automatically regulate how they record sound, based on how loud the sounds are and the over-all noise level of the shooting environment. This is called Automatic Levels Control, sometimes referred to by pros as “auto gain control”.

AUTOMATIC CONTROL OF SOUND LEVELSThere’s no question that automatic control of sound levels is a convenience—there’s no need for concern about camera settings or need to make changes halfway through recording; it’s all done internally by the camera’s audio record-ing system. Every Canon EOS camera with video recording capability comes out of the box set to automatically adjust its sound levels, with no mandatory input from the photographer. And,

this works whether you’re using the camera’s built-in microphone, or using an external mike that’s directly connected to the camera.

Automatic audio levels works as you’d probably expect: when sounds are loud, the camera low-ers its sensitivity and renders them in quieter form on the memory card; when sounds are quiet, the camera “turns up the volume”, so to speak, so that they can be heard more clearly in a video file.

Problems with automatic audio levels controlIn exchange for the convenience automatic of sound levels provides, there are compromises that many serious video enthusiasts can find ranging from mildly annoying to unacceptable. For example:

• Sound can change in volume during the middle of a scene, as overall sound level gets quieter or louder — potentially a distracting aspect you’ve heard in video at one time or another

• Something like a cough can suddenly make sound recording much quieter for the next few seconds, throwing off the accuracy of how the sound in general is being recorded.

• Sudden drops in overall sound level, if they started fairly loud, can result in noticeable increase in overall background noise and other recorded sound, as the camera quickly tries to “turn up the volume” to adjust for newly reduced overall sound

Adjusting audio recording levels manuallyThe answer, of course, is to allow users to ad-just a camera’s sound recording levels manually. This way, it can be dialed-in to one level. And no matter how much sound may change as you’re recording, it won’t tend to “float” up and down, based solely on the type of sound happening at the moment.

For advanced or critical video shooters, man-ual audio level adjustment is an invaluable feature. Even for casual users, once they’ve begun to see how it can improved the consis-tency of most audio they record, they may want to use it for more of the video record-ing they do.

EOS HD-SLRs with Manual audio level control:

• EOS-1D X, EOS-1D X Mark II

• EOS 5D Mark II (firmware version 2.0.4 or higher)

• EOS 5D Mark III; EOS 6D; EOS 60D~80D

• EOS 7D (firmware 2.0 and up), 7D Mark II

• EOS Rebel T3i~T6i & T6s; SL1

As of mid-2016, all other Canon EOS SLR cam-eras with video recording capability allow only automatic control of sound levels.


Optional XLR audio adaptersFor users of EOS cameras without built-in manu-al audio control of levels, there’s another option, albeit one that involves purchase of an accesso-ry: an optional, third-party XLR adapter.These devices attach to the camera, plug into the camera’s MIC port, and allow sound to be recorded by separate microphones connected to the device. Sound can be precisely mixed using controls on the XLR adapter, and audio levels can be manually adjusted upward or downward and then stay locked in place.

While these third-party XLR adapters aren’t a perfect, integrated solution, they do usually offer several advantages that current EOS cameras do not, even those that do offer man-ual audio levels control: a port to plug in a set of headphones, to precisely monitor sound, and the ability to make further manual adjust ments even during live recording. Canon’s current EOS models with manual audio levels control require you to first stop recording in order to adjust au-dio levels. Furthermore, many offer larger, round “XLR” type connectors, for plugging in industry standard, pro-grade microphones directly.

MONITORING SOUND WITH HEADPHONESThe EOS 5D Mark III camera (Note: not the Mark II model), EOS 7D Mark II, EOS 80D, and EOS-1D X Mark II have an industry-standard, 3.5mm stereo port on the side for plugging in a set of headphones to monitor sound lev-els and quality as they’re being recorded by the camera. Many pros and experienced video shooters prefer to use headphones to moni-tor how their sound is being recorded, but up to now, it required attaching a separate XLR adapter accessory, as described earlier.

Canon does not manufacture stereo head-phones, but nearly any available, high-quality accessory headphones with a standard single- pin stereo jack should work fine.

Headphone compatibility is limited to the cameras listed above, as of mid-2016.


VIDEO IMAGE QUALITY SETTINGSWHITE BALANCENever forget—video files shot with today’s digital SLRs are like shooting JPEG still images. Whatever settings are made in-camera at the time of shooting are more or less “baked-in” to the files you shoot, and cannot be easily altered in software later. And if you do start shifting color and similar adjustments in the computer, you lose a fair amount of original information in the process.

White balance works exactly the same way in video imagery as it does in shooting still images with your digital SLR. It obviously affects the overall “tint” or color balance of your scene. Even in fast-moving situations, it makes sense to pre-set White Balance to get the most accurate color you possibly can. Here are your WB options:

Auto White Balance (AWB) Camera automatically reads and continually adjusts overall color to what it “thinks” is a neutral shade. Easy and convenient for quick shooting in different lighting con-ditions. How ever, pros often find subtle changes and shifts in color during a scene to be distracting, and prefer to dial in a specific, pre-set White Balance setting themselves (see immediately below).

Daylight A pre-set White Balance that presumes video or still images will be shot in ordinary daylight—or, with another light source that’s

a similar color to mid-day sunlight. Unlike AWB, when set to Daylight WB, the camera will not make adjustments to overall “tint” and color of imagery. Therefore, if you’re set to Daylight (or any other pre-set WB settings below) and the lighting changes, you need to change the camera’s WB setting to match whatever the new conditions are.

Cloudy Similar to daylight, but compensates for the slightly cool look of overcast skies by adding some warm, amber color to whatever you shoot with it. Some users prefer this warm look, even in sunlight—you may want to experiment with it in sunlight to see if you like its effects with skin tones during interview shots, for example.

Shade Distinctly adds amber color, to warm up overall rendition of outdoor scenes and compensate for rather cool, blue-colored cast you’ll often get in shade. Effect is stronger than Cloudy WB setting. Can sometimes be useful to give effect of very warm, late- afternoon sun, or to give sunset scenes an enhanced, orange look.

Flash Normally, not a setting you’d think to use for video, since of course you don’t use tradition-al electronic flash with video. However, think about this: the Flash WB setting is similar to Daylight, but adds just a touch of warm, amber tonality to your overall image. If you

find that your daylight video files look just a pinch too “cool” and blue, and that the Cloudy WB setting is a bit too much amber for your tastes, consider Flash WB.

Tungsten WB setting compensates for the overly yellow-orange cast normally seen with tradi-tional indoor household bulbs, flood lamps, and so on. Light from daylight sources (such as window light) will tend to look extremely blue, so be careful about using Tungsten WB indoors during the daytime if large amounts of daylight are streaming in through windows. Tungsten WB is balanced for 3200K light sources, for the technically-inclined among us. This setting often works well as a start-ing point for stage lighting, for events or theater work. Please be aware that Tung-sten WB will usually not properly render light from the increasingly common “CFL” compact fluorescent bulbs (the ones often shaped like a snow-cone).

Fluorescent Fluorescent WB tries to match the cam-era’s color rendition to white fluorescent light, approximately equal to about 4000K in color temperature. In office-type light-ing, you may find this setting gets you closer to proper color than the Auto WB setting. However, bear in mind that there are dozens of types of fluorescent lamps in use in the US market today, and this one pre-set setting cannot be expected to properly balance all of them.


Kelvin (K) This setting differs from the other pre-set options, in that once you set the “K” WB, you then can dial in your choice of color tem-perature, over a range of 2500K ~ 10,000K. Basically, this setting assumes a daylight- or tungsten-balanced light source, and allows the following:

1. Dial in a K-value to properly render the color of the lighting in your scene.

2. Deliberately dial in a setting to in-tentionally warm up (adding amber) or cool (adding blue) to the scene; setting lower K-values in-camera will cool the overall scene, while using higher K-values will add amber.

EOS Rebel models (as of late 2013) do not offer the Kelvin WB option.

Custom WB This last WB option lets you take a test shot of a known white or neutral-gray colored object, call it up on your rear LCD monitor, and then use menu commands to have the camera process that test scene to totally neutralize any color casts. Once you then set the camera to Custom WB, it now applies the same correction to all images you subsequently take. Custom WB can be very useful in tricky, mixed lighting conditions, and often is technically the most accurate method of getting proper white balance in still or video images.

It presumes once you’ve set it, that your lighting will remain pretty much the same.

If you then go to another locale (even an other room), it’s possible you may have to repeat the process and set a new Custom WB to properly render the new lighting you’re in.

The “test shot” referenced above must be a still image, even if you intend to use Custom WB to shoot video. A standard JPEG still image will work fine. You can shoot this still test image while in video shooting mode, but some EOS models (Rebel T1i, for instance) won’t let you change to the Custom WB setting unless you momentarily leave video mode, and switch to P, Tv, Av, or M on the camera’s Mode Dial.

PICTURE STYLEWhite Balance is the number-one, fundamental in-camera control that affects overall quality of video files. But a close second in many cases is Canon’s Picture Style. Unfortunately, many still-image shooters haven’t experimented with these flexible commands, and don’t real-ize how they can let the user tailor the cam-era to the type of scene, lighting and subject being recorded.

Unlike RAW still images, with video, Picture Style settings become a permanent part of the video files you shoot. They can influence the color rendition, level of saturation, con-trast, and the amount of in-camera sharpening initially applied to the files you shoot. Setting the right Picture Style before you shoot video is a big part of getting the “look” you want.Canon has six different Picture Style settings available in-camera. Each can be further fine-

tuned, using the so-called “Detail Settings,” once you’ve chosen a Picture Style setting.

Six Different Picture Style OptionsEach of the six Picture Style settings has slight differences not only in contrast and color saturation, but in the way different colors are rendered. Again, with video, you can save yourself a lot of time and effort by understanding what the different Picture Style settings do, and selecting the appro-priate one before you begin recording.

StandardThe Standard Picture Style is the factory- default setting. It intentionally increases color saturation, contrast, and to some degree dig-ital sharpening. In many cases, it’s really too contrasty for good results in typical outdoor sunlight, or under harsh indoor lighting. Many users get better, more “user-friendly” results with the Neutral or even Faithful Picture Style settings. The rather crisp, snappy look of Standard can be an asset when you’re in flat lighting, such as on a foggy or overcast day.

NeutralThis is arguably the most useful of the Picture Style settings, especially for video users. It de-liberately lowers color saturation and contrast, giving you a file that’s less prone to “blowing- out” bright highlights, and one that tends to preserve more detail in shadows as well.

You can further adjust its look by drilling down into the “Detail Settings” menu, usually by pressing the INFO button on the camera.


Some users prefer to further reduce contrast when they’re in bright sunlight. You may find that the Standard setting gives a bit more visual “snap” when you are in soft, flat light, however. Overall, we strongly suggest you experiment with the Neutral Picture Style for video and even for still image shooting.

Faithful Like Neutral, the Faithful Picture Style delib-erately gives softer contrast, and color that’s less vibrant. The main differ ence is that the Faithful Picture Style makes no attempt to alter color to make it more pleasing (which Neutral actually does, although in a subtle way). Furthermore, Faithful assumes your light-ing source is equal to daylight, roughly 5500K. Thus, it can become a bit dodgy in artificial light like tungsten or fluorescent, even if you’ve set your White Balance properly.

While Faithful technically is the most accurate in the way it reproduces color (at least, under daylight equivalent lighting), it can definitely appear a bit ruddy and flat when viewed on a computer screen. If you seriously intend to make major color adjustments in your com-puter, it may give you an ideal platform to start from. But normally, we suggest Neutral as the first Picture Style to work with.

Portrait Canon’s portrait Picture Style warms up color, by adding magenta to the color palette, and tends to kick up contrast and sharpening slightly. The added pinkish tones from the magenta boost may or may not work for you when recording people; try it and see if you find the resulting skin tones pleasant.

Two additional “Picture Style files” can be downloaded free of charge from Canon’s website,* and then installed in any of the three “user-defined” Picture Style spaces, using a USB cable and Canon’s supplied EOS Utility software.

• Snapshot Portrait Picture Style

• Studio Portrait Picture Style

Each gives a different, and possibly more pleasing way to render skin tones, compared to the built-in Portrait style.

LandscapeThis Picture Style takes up where Standard leaves off, deliberately boosting color satu-ration and sharpening, for vibrant blues and greens that you’d typically find in a postcard- type landscape picture. Don’t expect soft and gentle skin tones when set to this Picture Style, and likewise, don’t assume it’s the right

choice under bright noontime sunlight. But for a video image with more vibrant color, you may want to give it a try.

Monochrome Monochrome gives you a deliberate black & white result, whether shooting still or video images. Since HD video files are similar to JPEGs (in that the camera produces a finished file and writes it to the memory card), be care ful about using this Picture Style. You can’t shoot Monochrome video, and then later change your mind and make it color. (You can always shoot color, and then strip out the color for a black & white video result when you’re editing your video files, with most video editing software.)

Monochrome also has a secondary menu of Detail Settings, which let you switch to a color tone (like Sepia), and/or change the way shades of gray are rendered by simulating the effect of traditional black & white photo filters. A red filter, for example, doesn’t make the image red—instead, in the B&W file, areas that in reality are close to red in color would get much lighter, and areas close to green would get noticeably darker.

* Picture Style Files can be downloaded, free of charge, at: http://web.canon.jp/imaging/picturestyle/file/index.html


http://web.canon.jp/imaging/picturestyle/file/index.html

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HIGHLIGHT TONE PRIORITY (HTP)Highlight Tone Priority is a Canon technology that you can turn on and off, usually as either a setting in the red Shooting Menu area, or within your camera’s Custom Function settings. HTP, as it’s sometimes known, alters an image’s tone curve slightly, to pull more detail out of bright highlights. Unlike simply under-exposing a video file to keep bright areas from washing out, HTP does not darken the midtones or shadows—but it can buy up to an additional stop of highlight detail.

Highlight Tone Priority can be applied for both still and video images. A good test of its effects would be to go out on a bright sunny day, and shoot either a pair of video files or JPEG still images, one each with HTP turned on and off. Especially if exposure has been locked-in with Manual exposure for both files, and you ex-pose so that highlights are on the verge of going too light, you’ll see the benefit of High-light Tone Priority.

HTP isn’t a miracle solution, nor is it an excuse for sloppy exposure control. But in situations where you’re shooting in bright sun on a clear day, and you’re worried about the bride’s dress washing out, it’s a nice tool to bring out of the toolbox.

A couple of limits when using Highlight Tone Priority:

• Lowest ISO setting is changed from 100 to 200, regardless of any other Custom Functions you may have active.

• In some cases, ISO expansion is disabled

• With most EOS models, you cannot com-bine HTP with Auto Lighting Optimizer. If both are set, Highlight Tone Priority takes, well, priority, and ALO is disabled (grayed-out on your camera’s menu).

When Highlight Tone Priority is active, you’ll usually see a small “D+” icon appear with the shooting info on your camera.

AUTO LIGHTING OPTIMIZER (ALO)

Canon’s Auto Lighting Optimizer is another technology engineered to deliver better image quality. It can be applied to still as well as vid-eo files. Auto Lighting Optimizer basically has two functions:

• Lighten shadows and dark areas, espe-cially in very contrasty scenes

• In scenes with very “flat” overall lighting and contrast, boost the tone curve slight-ly so that the overall scene has a bit more “snap” and contrast

In both cases, Auto Lighting Optimizer is en-tirely on top of any Picture Style adjustment or other control you’ve set. And, with most EOS models, remember that it can’t be com-bined with Highlight Tone Priority.

Auto Lighting Optimizer has four settings, ranging from OFF (no effect) to STRONG. Understand that its effect can and will vary from scene to scene, and will not be “consistent.”
