CANON XF305 Part 3

INTERVIEW WITH SARAH LINSTRA – CHOREOGRAPHER (XF305, 7D) from Robin Schmidt on Vimeo.

MARS PATROL – BROLL XF305 and 7D from Robin Schmidt on Vimeo.

So, Canon let me have an XF305 six weeks ahead of its official release to test out however I saw fit. My whole vibe is about speed and quality of image and I’ve loved going crazy with DSLRs. However, shooting docs or news pieces on DSLRs can be a little tricky and of course DSLRs are not yet broadcastable the way they come out of a camera. I’ve done a lot of B-roll work and the client always gets a bit antsy if your stuff starts to compete with the main show in terms of the way it looks, so the more natural, video, feel of camcorder footage is absolutely appropriate. It also gives you an immediacy and a sense of ‘realness’ where the 7D just looks dreamy and fantasy like and that look just isn’t always the right one. So, I went out and shot a bunch of different types of film, firstly a multi-function piece where I was shooting interviews on the XF305, glossy video on the 7d and some stills as well just to highlight how well the kit all works when used in a single edit. I then gave the camera to someone to shoot b-roll on a music vid I was helping with to see how it copes with low light (brilliantly as it happens), and some other quick turnaround pieces as well, just to see what the workflow’s like after you’ve shot. There’s a final cut plugin that works just like P2 ingestion and with a fast card reader and decently fast computer you can get stuff in really really really fast. I like that. So, more stuff still to come, but while I would preferentially shoot most of my directorial stuff on the 7d, my cameraman/preditor work is going to be much better served by the XF. Horses for courses? Most definitely.