5D vs FX1000 tests
msimpson
7 Mar 2009 08:30
I had some time so I decided to to a couple of tests so I mounted the 5D and FX1000 on seperate tripods. The 5D has a manual Tamron 200-500 so all of the tests are in telephoto mode.
This first test is just a shot of the top of a tree against a blue sky. The sun was shinning.
I tried to get the settings as close as possible but since the 5D does not have a histogram for video its kind of hard.
Test1
The 5D had a little more contrast than I would have liked but I have the picture setting on Nuteral so thats why not as much color. The FX1000 is set to cinama 2 mode. At some point I will probably try to create a profile on the 5D that matches this mode.
In this next shot I did a shot with a back light and then compensated with the Iris.
Test2
The big problem with this shot is the focus point using the 5D. Its on the back glass. With the narrow depth of field you cant think like you normaly do with small sensor video cameras. And the small LCD makes it kind of hard to review in the field.
This last shot is in ultra low light. The 5D shot up to 3200 iso and the FX1000 went up to 12db.
Test3
in this shot I should have given the FX1000 a little more gain but the high gain 12db noise comes close to the ISO 3200 in low light.
If you want to see the comparisons download the original footage.
I have done some low light tests comparing the 5D to other cameras. And I think the low light has been very much over rated. If the camera jumps up to 1600 or 3200 iso there is going to be noise. After playing with the camera I can tell you some of the video clips shown have been run through nois reduction software.
With the 5D I get about 1.5 stops lower light levels than I do with my Nikon D300 for the same amount of noise.
Also the reports that shooting at a lower resolution yealds less noise. This is totaly false. I did noise tests at all resolutions both raw and jpg. They are all the same. The movie mode follows the same noise curve as well with one exception. You get a major moiré pattern when shooting some shots with repeating patterns. Canon is going to have to fix this.
My final thoughts on the 5D vs the FX1000.
1. The low light capabilities are about the same with the 5D giveing a slight edge. If you had total manual control on the 5D the margin would widen.
2. The FX1000 is much easyer to use both in the controls and shooting with out a tripod. The FX1000 IS is also much better and makes no noise at all, unlike the IS on the 5D.
3. The 5D can generate a sharper image than the FX1000. But is harder to do. I have found that I tend to get sharper images with manual lenses on the 5D as the auto fucus can sometimes get confused. The FX1000 is easyer to focus. I hardly ever use auto focus on the FX1000 and relay on peaking which had been fooled a few times.
This shot for instance was very sharp on the 5D but I could not use the FX1000 vids as they were all out of focus. I used the 2X focus assist and peaking but was still fooled.
Focus on 5D
4. DOF
There is no doubt you have more control and if you look at the shot above I could not get close to that DOF with the FX1000.
I was 200 feet from the vane and the trees were another 200 feet away. They are only slightly blured on the FX1000. Bot on the 5D the DOF is great. 5D wins on this one.
5. Battery Power.
If you shoot a lot of videos on the 5D you are going to nees several spare batteries. About 8Gb per battery is what I am getting. The FX1000 is getting over 6 hours per charge on the batteries I am using. FX1000 wins on this one by a very large margin.
6. Remote control
No comparison FX 1000 wins by a landslide on this one. My remote lanc gives me focus, Zoom, Zoom speed, Start and stop recording. I can also power down the recorder into an ultra low power mode with the lanc remote.
The only way to start and stop recording on the 5D is an IR remote wich does not work that well out side and you have to have the remote pointed at the front of the camera.
It works but not very well. You can not used a wired control to start and stop videos.
This first test is just a shot of the top of a tree against a blue sky. The sun was shinning.
I tried to get the settings as close as possible but since the 5D does not have a histogram for video its kind of hard.
Test1
The 5D had a little more contrast than I would have liked but I have the picture setting on Nuteral so thats why not as much color. The FX1000 is set to cinama 2 mode. At some point I will probably try to create a profile on the 5D that matches this mode.
In this next shot I did a shot with a back light and then compensated with the Iris.
Test2
The big problem with this shot is the focus point using the 5D. Its on the back glass. With the narrow depth of field you cant think like you normaly do with small sensor video cameras. And the small LCD makes it kind of hard to review in the field.
This last shot is in ultra low light. The 5D shot up to 3200 iso and the FX1000 went up to 12db.
Test3
in this shot I should have given the FX1000 a little more gain but the high gain 12db noise comes close to the ISO 3200 in low light.
If you want to see the comparisons download the original footage.
I have done some low light tests comparing the 5D to other cameras. And I think the low light has been very much over rated. If the camera jumps up to 1600 or 3200 iso there is going to be noise. After playing with the camera I can tell you some of the video clips shown have been run through nois reduction software.
With the 5D I get about 1.5 stops lower light levels than I do with my Nikon D300 for the same amount of noise.
Also the reports that shooting at a lower resolution yealds less noise. This is totaly false. I did noise tests at all resolutions both raw and jpg. They are all the same. The movie mode follows the same noise curve as well with one exception. You get a major moiré pattern when shooting some shots with repeating patterns. Canon is going to have to fix this.
My final thoughts on the 5D vs the FX1000.
1. The low light capabilities are about the same with the 5D giveing a slight edge. If you had total manual control on the 5D the margin would widen.
2. The FX1000 is much easyer to use both in the controls and shooting with out a tripod. The FX1000 IS is also much better and makes no noise at all, unlike the IS on the 5D.
3. The 5D can generate a sharper image than the FX1000. But is harder to do. I have found that I tend to get sharper images with manual lenses on the 5D as the auto fucus can sometimes get confused. The FX1000 is easyer to focus. I hardly ever use auto focus on the FX1000 and relay on peaking which had been fooled a few times.
This shot for instance was very sharp on the 5D but I could not use the FX1000 vids as they were all out of focus. I used the 2X focus assist and peaking but was still fooled.
Focus on 5D
4. DOF
There is no doubt you have more control and if you look at the shot above I could not get close to that DOF with the FX1000.
I was 200 feet from the vane and the trees were another 200 feet away. They are only slightly blured on the FX1000. Bot on the 5D the DOF is great. 5D wins on this one.
5. Battery Power.
If you shoot a lot of videos on the 5D you are going to nees several spare batteries. About 8Gb per battery is what I am getting. The FX1000 is getting over 6 hours per charge on the batteries I am using. FX1000 wins on this one by a very large margin.
6. Remote control
No comparison FX 1000 wins by a landslide on this one. My remote lanc gives me focus, Zoom, Zoom speed, Start and stop recording. I can also power down the recorder into an ultra low power mode with the lanc remote.
The only way to start and stop recording on the 5D is an IR remote wich does not work that well out side and you have to have the remote pointed at the front of the camera.
It works but not very well. You can not used a wired control to start and stop videos.
dapoopta
7 Mar 2009 17:50
very cool. I think the 5D just kicks the crap out of the fx1000 in the DOF, but other than that I'd stick with the fx1000
ironstrike
7 Mar 2009 19:16
Yeah the 5d is defintely not user friendly with the battery, the form of the camera etc etc.
but when I use an old k-mount lense at 1.4 fstop, I can record unbelievebly low light scenes, scenes that would be too dark for any camera.
One thing that is supposely bad about the 5d is the dust collecting on the sensor. I am extremely careful when switching lenses. I rarely do it and when I do its in a room where there is an air purifier, and very little if no ambient dust. Maybe Im over paranoid about the dust.
but when I use an old k-mount lense at 1.4 fstop, I can record unbelievebly low light scenes, scenes that would be too dark for any camera.
One thing that is supposely bad about the 5d is the dust collecting on the sensor. I am extremely careful when switching lenses. I rarely do it and when I do its in a room where there is an air purifier, and very little if no ambient dust. Maybe Im over paranoid about the dust.
ironstrike
7 Mar 2009 19:22
also when you want to focus you can use a focus assist, its the magnifying glass, it allows you to zoom in to focus more clearly.
msimpson
8 Mar 2009 01:09
The sensor dust issue is a fact of life for DSLR cameras. I dont care how carefull you are. Just get good at cleaning them.. I have done it several times on my other DSLRs. Just get the right swabs and cleaner and its not that big a deal.
Things to live by to keep sensor dust at a minimum. Never.... Never... Never change the lens outside unless its a must. If you do when you get home check for dust then clean if you have it. If you get pollen on the sensor then take the camera outside the humidity will create weleded dust and its a major pain to get off. I have some on my D300 that I just cant get off.
If you are out side do it in the car with out any fans running. Keep the camera pointed down whey you open it.
Forget about professional cleaning. They just do what you can do and they do a lousy job and you still have to pay them.
Things to live by to keep sensor dust at a minimum. Never.... Never... Never change the lens outside unless its a must. If you do when you get home check for dust then clean if you have it. If you get pollen on the sensor then take the camera outside the humidity will create weleded dust and its a major pain to get off. I have some on my D300 that I just cant get off.
If you are out side do it in the car with out any fans running. Keep the camera pointed down whey you open it.
Forget about professional cleaning. They just do what you can do and they do a lousy job and you still have to pay them.
ironstrike
8 Mar 2009 01:15
So far it hasn't been an issue, but I think I will keep the k-mount on for 90% of the time because it has 1.4 fstop and it goes all the way up to 16fstop.
The camera does have that self cleaning thing, and in the menu it has an option where you can have it do the self cleaning for a longer amount of time. Don't know how well it works.
If the lense is kept on does it still collect dust? Or is it only when you change?
The camera does have that self cleaning thing, and in the menu it has an option where you can have it do the self cleaning for a longer amount of time. Don't know how well it works.
If the lense is kept on does it still collect dust? Or is it only when you change?
msimpson
8 Mar 2009 01:54
The self cleaning on cameras is a real joke. The fact is you cant test for dust on the sensor then do the self cleaning and some times just moves it around. There is a sticky bad at the base inside the camera and as it cleans the loose dust falls into this sticky pad. Static dust and pollin will not come off via the automatic cleaning.
I got my 5D for great DOF so chances are Im not going to ever see any and if I do I will go through the following steps.
1. Try to blow it off
2. Use special sensor brush
3. Hand clean with sensor swabs.
You hardly ever see the dust unless you go above f11 anyway.
I got my 5D for great DOF so chances are Im not going to ever see any and if I do I will go through the following steps.
1. Try to blow it off
2. Use special sensor brush
3. Hand clean with sensor swabs.
You hardly ever see the dust unless you go above f11 anyway.
JHDT_Productions
8 Mar 2009 02:40
Mark,
Another trick to get less dust is to remove and change the lens when the camera is facing down.
Another trick to get less dust is to remove and change the lens when the camera is facing down.
ironstrike
8 Mar 2009 03:01
Cool thanks for the info, I knew dust was an issue, but I didn't know any of the specifics. I know film has a problem with dust, but in a way that is considered 'cool' and it always changes anyway, some movies (like planet terror) have purposefully added dust effects.
Ive got another weird problem though. The old Asahi lense Im using has an eyelash in between the layers of glass. I don't know how it got there, I tried shaking around but it wont move, I guess Ill have to unscrew the backplate? Any tips?
Ive got another weird problem though. The old Asahi lense Im using has an eyelash in between the layers of glass. I don't know how it got there, I tried shaking around but it wont move, I guess Ill have to unscrew the backplate? Any tips?
msimpson
8 Mar 2009 03:06
Some of the older zoom lenses are notorious for sucking in dust.
Im importing all my video footage from my first wedding and I have a ton of it. But I have some really low light situations. We shall see.
The FX1000 was stationary during the cerimony as was a HV30. The 5D was my walking around camera. I actualy caried the 5D kind of under my jacket walking down the isle. Once I gave my daughter away they had a couple seats reserverd for me so I could make my way to the front behind the minister.
I took quite a few stills with the 5D as well that will be epic Im sure. Once in my filming spot I was able to lockdown the 5D.
At the reception I started with the 5D as the backlighting was horrible and found the 5D easyer to work with. Later once the sun moved off the windows I used the FX1000 handheld for most of the shots.
All in all I learned alot about the cameras out of the studio. I would never do this for a living. Since I was father of the bride I had some say in what we did but this setup would have been a real nightmare left to the wishes of others.
I will post something once its been compiled.
Im importing all my video footage from my first wedding and I have a ton of it. But I have some really low light situations. We shall see.
The FX1000 was stationary during the cerimony as was a HV30. The 5D was my walking around camera. I actualy caried the 5D kind of under my jacket walking down the isle. Once I gave my daughter away they had a couple seats reserverd for me so I could make my way to the front behind the minister.
I took quite a few stills with the 5D as well that will be epic Im sure. Once in my filming spot I was able to lockdown the 5D.
At the reception I started with the 5D as the backlighting was horrible and found the 5D easyer to work with. Later once the sun moved off the windows I used the FX1000 handheld for most of the shots.
All in all I learned alot about the cameras out of the studio. I would never do this for a living. Since I was father of the bride I had some say in what we did but this setup would have been a real nightmare left to the wishes of others.
I will post something once its been compiled.