Grainy Video 550D/T2i

[musicreator]

I bought my 550 few weeks back. I've been experimenting with videography but its really frustrating. I get grainy video even when my florescent tube+tungsten bulb is on . I tried every setting possible. Mostly for low light test I used 1080p 24fps at shutter speed of 1/50 and aperture 3.5, while the ISO was set to 400. In the best scenario I manage to get the subject somewhat noise-free, but the background is still grainy . I've seen low light tests of 550D with the 18-55mm kit lense and they looks so beautiful. Seems like they're playing around with more setting than I am. It'll be great if someone who has experience shooting movies with canon dslrs could help me out.

[ElCapitan]

Could you share a still shot of your video so we might have an idea of what you mean by grainy? Also, I am not quite sure how the T2i is in low light situations and ISO's above 200, but 400 isn't necessarily a great ISO, particularly in low light. It could also be that these videos you have seen have been run through some form of post.

[musicreator]

Actually there are quite a lot of low light video tests without any PP on youtube, most of them are fantastic. I've uploaded a still shot from my test, you can view the larger file to get a clear picture. You can notice a lot of noise through out, except for the clock which is in focus. If you watch the video it looks like tiny ants flickering throughout. I've tried ISO 100 and 200 but then I have to use faster shutter speed for brighter video and that again causes a lot of noise. And its not even extreme low light as there is a nice florescent light right behind me.


link to the larger file
http://u1.ipernity.com/17/08/63/9420863.617ecf3c.png

[ElCapitan]

Hmm, well hopefully someone with T2i video experience can come on and offer some definitive advice. I have had some video experience, but it has been a couple of years. I have used the 5D MkII, but only in poor light.

Have you tried shooting in daylight outside at all to see what the results are there? Lighting is extremely important in still photography, but even more so in video, so what you think might be decent lighting, is actually sub par for video, though without actually having used that camera for video, I can't really offer any good advice.

What do you plan to shoot with the T2i? Would it involve low light?

One other thing I might add is when viewing a video online (unless you are able to view the full res version), it is going to look better. The noise isn't nearly as notable, though if poorly compressed it will have other problems.

And honestly, from looking at the full res pic, it doesn't look that bad. It doesn't seem like lighting is all that great, and in that circumstance, I would expect the noise. Again, when prepared for something like the web, or even 480p, I think it would look fine judging by the pic.

[musicreator]

Thanks for the tips captain! I appreciate that you took the time. I'll be using it for shooting short films. I have made a film before, but I had a camera person shooting on a sony hdv. I wasn't much happy with the camera work so I decided to get a cam and do it myself. Being on a budget t2i was the best option. I was very impressed by the sort films made by some people on the t2i, they look cinematic! But now I figured out that i need a lense with larger aperture for low light, like the canon 50mm which has aperture of f/1.8. It isn't tht costly, so I think I'll be buying it soon.

And I went on to your site. The images are astounding! I feel so lucky to be interacting with such great photographers on dps. And its good that you've shared the exif info too, it helps amateurs like me. And can you tell me what camera you use? Looks like nikon to me.

[ElCapitan]

Originally Posted by musicreator

And I went on to your site. The images are astounding! I feel so lucky to be interacting with such great photographers on dps. And its good that you've shared the exif info too, it helps amateurs like me. And can you tell me what camera you use? Looks like nikon to me.

Thanks! I really appreciate that. Though I will correct you on one statement. Canon, Nikon... it doesn't matter. It all about the photographer. I use the Canon 5D MkII with the 24-70mm f/2.8L.I use it cause I liked the Rebel Xti and I liked the glass. Nikons are excellent as well.

Some more questions. What will you be using to post? What will be your final output?

The larger aperture will definitely help with the low light.

[inkista]

Ok, I'm not a video person, but that doesn't look particularly noisy to me. Noise to me means color snow, not pale patches. What I think I'm seeing is compression artifact. And the size of the .png leads me to believe that's not from the .mov file you get out of camera. If you recoded the video, I think it's the compression at which you recoded the video that's the likely culprit for your ants.

Secondly, that frame looks underexposed to me. Underexposing can often have more effect on noise than a higher iso setting. Make sure your histogram looks good. Video, of course, is limiting you a lot more on the shutter speeds you can use, so you do need more latitude on aperture and iso. While you think that having a single flourescent light behind you isn't "low lighting"--it is. Having sunlight is not low lighting. Cameras need more light to see by than the human eye. Just 'cause you have plenty of light to see by doesn't mean your camera does.

The 50/1.8 II is going to help you get more light in a low light situation, but your biggest problem with it is that it's more difficult to manually focus smoothly. And if you're shooting wide open at f/1.8 precise focus is going to be critical. Focus pulling with SLR lenses is probably the first thing that drives any filmmaker nuts. And the 50/1.8 II is NOT going to lend itself to any of the aftermarket focus pulling rigs, due to the placement and width (or lack of it) on the manual focusing ring. You may want to look one over in a store or borrow one from a friend before buying one for film use. I know it sounds insane, but you might actually be better off adapting an old manual focus lens.

If you can afford more than the $100 for the 50/1.8 II, and you're going to use this lens primarily for filmmaking, I'd actually recommend looking for a used Contax/Yashica-mount Zeiss Planar 50mm f/1.7 (~$200) and snagging a C/Y->EOS adapter. If you don't have that much money, then go for an M42 or Olympus OM 50mm f/1.8. You can find those for less than $100. But do your homework first. This isn't a particularly easy path for a beginning photographer, with its own PITA limitations. But manual focus lenses were designed for manual focusing. Current Canon EOS lenses are designed for autofocus, which as you know is less than useful during video.

[musicreator]

@Captain- The pirated copy of premiere cs3 on my mac is really tempting me, but I want to use open source. Trying my bit to help developers. But it may be at the cost of quality and tedious work flow. Once I satisfy my current hardware needs I may think of buying it, but not very soon. I'll be uploading full HD films to sites like vimeo and youtube and some competitions.

@inkista- Thanks for your in depth response. I haven't tried recoding the videos yet. That frame has been captured directly from the 1080p mov file which came out of the camera.
Ok, I understand now that cameras require more light than our eyes to see. I am not familiar with the histogram yet, but I'll search wikipedia to learn. Any article you would suggest which explains the topic better?
And I wasn't considering all that while choosing a lens for low light. But this gives me the starting point to do my research on it. My budget wont allow me more than $100, but I will try for the best option in or little above my budget. And I did notice the hitch while using my 55mm for video, the focusing isn't that easy. I'll have to spend crazy time in practicing how to use it, until I built a DIY rig. Which again is a totally different ballgame. But all in all, i am loving this experience of trying and experimenting. I am 20 now, so I have a few more years to learn and develop. By profession im a music producer, doing music for TV and radio promos. But I wish someday filmmaking turns into a profession for me. Thank you guys for helping me out here.

@inkista- just noticed you had linked the histogram info page. Thanks a lot.

[inkista]

Just FYI, here's a list of some good resources for shooting HD video with a dSLR:

HDSLR Resources You Should Be Following ? DSLR Video Shooter

[calebpike]

Hey all, This is Caleb from DSLR Video Shooter. Thanks for the link to the site.

@Musicreator: Is highlight tone priority turned on? If so turn it OFF. Tests have shown it to add all kinds of strange video noise artifacts.