NoFilmSchool » t2i

How to Use Your Laptop as a Free External Monitor for a Canon DSLR

Ryan Koo — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:25:31 +0000

I’ve been doing a number of interviews and filming self-shot videos as part of my attempt to make my first feature film. I’ve used a number of external monitors with my 5D Mark II in the past but I don’t actually own one myself, so I haven’t been able to see the rear LCD while I’m standing in front of the camera. But as I was shooting an interview with NextWaveDV’s Tony Reale today, he mentioned that I could use the free bundled EOS Utility software to monitor the camera’s output over USB with my laptop. As the author of The DSLR Cinematography Guide, it seems stupid that I didn’t know this, but I’d either forgotten (very possible, as my brain is quite frazzled these days running the campaign) or I’d never tried it in the first place. It’s the cheapest way to get an external monitor (since it costs nothing): (more…)

Nikon's New D3100: 1080p at 24fps, h.264, Real Autofocus, $700

Ryan Koo — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:04:37 +0000

It seems Nikon has finally caught up to Canon. They might even surpass their rival in the entry-level market when their just-announced D3100 debuts in September — that is, if the camera delivers on its specs, which are the most filmmaker-friendly of any Nikon DSLR to date. The $700 prosumer model adds all of the most-requested features missing from Nikon’s previous offerings. The D3100 ups the video resolution from 720p to 1080p, switches from a low-quality MJPEG codec to better h.264-based encoding (no word on bitrate yet), and tosses in a new feature Nikon claims is a “world’s first.” (more…)

How to Save $700 on a DSLR

Ryan Koo — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:03:32 +0000

Yes, you can save $700 on a DSLR. Here’s how.

With hacked firmware, is the Panasonic GH1 better than the Canon T2i?

Ryan Koo — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:47:56 +0000

Short answer: no. Long answer: the GH1 is now a viable tool for filmmaking, whereas before I didn’t view it as such. So, what is this hacked firmware? As I mention on the new Choosing a DSLR page of the DSLR Guide, the Panasonic GH1 recently got its own Magic Lantern-eque hacked firmware. As spotted at EOS HD, this firmware enables two very important features for filmmakers: (more…)