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Photo Answers
Video choice
Q
I have a Canon EOS
5D Mark III and
want to shoot video.
There’s a bewildering choice
of settings; which should
I use to get decent results?
Poppy LondonA
A typical DSLR will capture
video at 24, 25, 30, 50 or 60
frames per second, and can also
shoot at various sizes, such as1,280 x 720 or 1,920 x 1,080. Before you
start ‘rolling’, you have to pick a frame
rate and a size; so what’s best?
The best size option is to use 1,920 x
1,080. This is Full HD (the quality you’d
get from a Blu-ray disc) and is the most
common size for video capture. With regard
to frame rate, anything above 20fps will look
‘smooth’ and appear like the normal motion
we view in real life. The lowest figure – 24fps- is the standard for cinema, as 16mm and
35mm cine cameras shoot at 24fps.
Essentially, you can use whatever you want,
but for consistency it’s easiest to stick to
your country’s normal TV standard. In the
UK and the EU, the 25fps option is your best
bet, but if you want, you can use 50fps to
get smoother-looking motion and more
detailed pictures. 30fps is the standard
in the United States.
The compression is the final element to
choose. A bit like JPEG compression, this
affects the overall image quality and the size
of the file stored to the memory card. With
Canon models like yours, you can choose
a low compression rate (ALL-I) or a high one
(IPB). IPB file sizes are smaller, so you’ll fit
more on your card and they’ll be quicker
to transfer to your computer. The quality
is slightly lower than ALL-I, but whether
it’s noticeable depends on how much
movement is occurring within the frame.
If that’s all too much to think about, go
for 50fps and IPB, and you’ll be OK!Andrew
JamesAndrew is a highly-
experienced writer
and photographer –
if you have a problem,
he is here to help.