During the Southern Ocean voyage I spent a fair amount of time recording video on my Canon 7D. The image quality of the stills in this camera may be only so-so, but the video capability is absolutely outstanding. For a recent talk on seabird ecology in particular and the trip in general I finally got around to piecing together some video. I've edited down the Antarctica portion of the trip into this short video. Let me know what you think.
Incidentally spring is arriving in force here in Fairbanks. The snow is melting off, sending streams of water across the ice of the creek below my cabin. Winter sports are almost at an end and my shutter finger is getting fired up for the return of the birds.
Antarctica from David Shaw on Vimeo.
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Very nice, David. I like the pacing of the film, much more slower and meditative than what I do. The combination of the fast motion with the boat and the penguins is great, especially as it moves into the slower film of the penguins and their chicks.
ReplyDeleteThe mix of handheld and tripod images is a bit rough, though. Especially with the whales. that gets a little confusing.
I hope to see more video on the blog!
Great video, David! I've been wondering what the quality of the video was like for these new DSLR cameras. What's your take on them compared to a similarly priced HD handycam, considering that the still photo quality of them seems only ok in your estimation?
ReplyDeleteThank you David for sharing this amazing video. I cannot comment from an expertise point of view but from my perspective, your clever choice to have the boat and penquins in a faster motion, the music chosen and focusing on the chunks of ice were just a few of the moments that compelled me to watch every second. Look forward to more of your good work.
ReplyDeleteFabulous video. Brings back great memories of my trip to the Antarctica. Spoilt only by Quark Expedition's bad business practice. THey owe me $3890 but only offered me $400. What kind of business is that?
ReplyDeleteThanks all for the comments. Keep your eyes open in the near future for more clips from the rest of the trip.
ReplyDeletePaul, the still image quality of the 7D is as good as most mid-range DSLRs, but a far cry from either Canon or Nikon's top of the line cameras. It does well at low ISOs poorly above 400 or 800. Certainly the fact it had video does not affect that. The 5DII also has video and has some of the best image quality in Canon's line. In comparison to a dedicated video camera, the nicest part is that there is no second camera to lug around. It has some disadvantages notably the poor autofocus capability and awkward handling, but the image quality is outstanding and you can use your whole suite of lenses, just as you do for stills, a major advantage.