Cosign Research

Last September, Cannon released their upgrade of the 5D series called the Cannon 5D Mark II.  With the new camera came a video function as is becoming popular with higher grade consumer cameras.  However, the Mark II is definitely a huge step forward for consumer HD video as the the small and light camera impressively houses 16:9 full 1080 HD video at 30fps with HDMI output for the very first time.  This pretty much means that for this price, and for the size seen above, one can make stunning HD which looks better than anything out in the low light the CMOS sensors master and with the shallowest depths of field that the Cannon lenses afford.  The outcome, a slew of  HD films that look better than ever before shot in places easy to bring a small camera into, and then easily thrown all over the creative community that is Vimeo.

Last Day Dream shot on the Mark II from amazing music video director and photographer Chris Milk

As the innovation of its HD features caught on, people of all technical caliber and experience have begun to shoot documentaries, tests, features and shorts showcasing its versatility and technical advancement over even the largest and most expensive HD video cameras, let alone still photography cameras.  Its fair to say the camera’s release is exciting for HD video and a dominant force in the consumer market in the age where HD media is most popularized online.  One can only imagine what will happen when Cannon releases their new HD video camera coming in the next year or so.

Pioneering urban photographer and filmmaker Zach Wolfe shoots Hurricane Chris with the Mark II for his awesome series Zach Wolfe Live, all of which is shot with this camera (including a full length doc with Bun B dropping soon…)

DP and film-maker Philip Bloom showcases the Mark II’s advancement in low light.  This is shot with no addtional lighting or post production and takes advangtage of the DOF of the Zeiss ZF 50mm f1.4 lens.