The Cannon EOS Rebel T3
I might not be sure of anything when it comes to this project, but I can definitively say, I will be using this camera to film. SLIGHT PROBLEM... I have no idea how to use it. I will take this time- where I have almost no idea of what I will do- to at least familiarize myself with the manual settings and the optimal techniques for filming with this camera. I will also be reviewing a TAMRON macro lens my sister gifted me.
WHY DID I CHOOSE THIS CAMERA?
Typically, I would not choose to pick a recording device that I am not entirely comfortable with, but it is kind of my only choice at this point. I am extremely used to the iPhone video settings and used to be very familiar to the Nikon COOLPIX B500, but cannot use either of them for this project :(
WHY NOT THE iPHONE?:
The iPhone would actually probably be my best choice. I know how to manage the features and have been successful in getting decent footage on it. However, something has been up with my microphone lately. Sometimes when I film things using my phone camera, half of the video will come out without any audio and also I cannot use the speakerphone. I went to the Apple store genius bar and they could not find what was wrong with it. They checked both its physical state as well as software status, and could not tell me what I needed to do to get it fixed. I don't plan on taking a chance with my audio and possibly come out of filming with unusable takes. Naturally, I could use by mother's cellphone- she even has a better camera- but I can already picture her getting frustrated and impatient with me having her phone all the time. That woman is more obsessed with her phone than me.
WHY NOT THE NIKON?:
Something that makes me very nervous about filming with the rebel is how my last camera's life ended. In my defense, tripods are kind of my worst enemy and hate to level when I want them to. Unfortunately, when I was filming a short mockumentary with some friends in my drive-way last year, I left the camera unattended for a couple of seconds and it fell... first on the concrete and then into the water. My house had a big lake right next to where we were filming and the wind pushed my flimsy tripod over right next to the edge of the water. I guess I hadn't properly attached the camera to the tripod because upon impact it "bounced" into the lake. By the time we found it and fished it out, the screen would not turn on and the ground had dented the lens so it could not open. My parents were FURIOUS! The only reason I have this camera now is that my sister (who is a photographer) bought herself a new DSLR and decided to give me one of her old cameras from when she was first learning. My parents even warned her against it and still bring up the mishap constantly. Not breaking this camera could redeem my reputation though!
WHAT IS GOOD ABOUT THIS CAMERA?
-Good image quality for the price/ user-friendly
-Great or beginners that are just starting out with more sophisticated photography/ videography
-Garners high-quality photos even in low light
-manual focus options for video mode
-auto and manual ISO settings
-720 x 1/25 frames per second
*optimal cinematic settings
-Manual color setting options including neutral
HOW WILL THIS CAMERA CHALLENGE ME?
-Very lightweight, footage can look shaky with ease
-Aperture cannot be manually set on video mode
*it is either manual or automatic, you cannot assign an F-number
-The camera makes a sound when focusing and zooming that can be heard in the video
-Mediocre sound quality in video mode
-very small LCD screen
SETTING THE CAMERA UP
ISO
The ISO is described as your camera's "sensitivity for light" it is also called the shutter speed. When it is very dark or you are filming under fluorescent light, you want to put a higher ISO, probably between 400 and 800 for the best results. If you were outside on a sunny day, you would want to set the ISO lower, around 100 or 200. Most tutorials I watched do not recommend using the 3,200 and 6,400 ISO value, for it typically lowers image quality and is visibly grainy.
The ideal value for filmmaking: Below 1000 no not get grainy footage
APERATURE + MANUAL FOCUS
The aperture is what creates a blurred background and. controls the depth of field of a video. The aperture is measured with an F value. The higher the F-value the deeper the depth of field. The shallowest depth of field hast the lowest F-value. The range of the F-value depends on the lens being used. The Canon lens I have has a minimum of F5.6, but the TAMRON macro lens that is designed for very close and detailed shots has a minimum of F2.0. Unfortunately, one cannot manually set the aperture on this camera when recording video. However, on the side of the lens, there is a small switch that I discovered allows you to control the focus of the lens manually by turning the outer/top nozzle of the lens. I have noticed that the automatic aperture settings typically have a very deep focus, so I think I will try to use manual focus whenever I can for my movie.
The ideal value for filmmaking: The perfect "sweet spot" for most cameras is F8.0
FRAMES PER SECOND
Frames per second describes the speed/ rate of images the camera captures for every second of recording. 25 frames per second is what our brains consider the most "cinematic". In other words, it reminds us most of the feature films we see in theatres. 24-25 frames per second creates a perfect amount of motion blur and what humans associate with movies and TVs since this is a standard filmmakers that used actual film went by. It has been ingrained in us that 25 f/s = movies. This Canon only has 2 options 25 frames per second and 30 frames per second. Some sources state that one should use 25 all the time, while others recommend using 30 and later adjusting the frames per second while editing. It all depends on which editing service I will use.
The ideal value for filmmaking: Most movie theatres play movies at 24 or 25 frames per second
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