October 26, 2011
Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback! POSITIVESI mainly use the Canon 550d for film making. It was a compromise considering I didn't have the budget for the Canon 5d Mark II at the time of purchase. I immediately threw away the kit lens and purchased the lightweight and versatile 28-135mm F3.5/5.6. For documentary film making, under difficult security circumstances, this tandem is ideal. I immediately installed Magic Lantern (ML) and this really boosted the cameras potential. Once you take off AGC, you can get an MKE 400 and you'll really a some really nice kit. ML's kelvin adjustments allows me to make unique color selections for scenes. Changing the aperture while filming is extremely easy of course. If you add a Zacuto Z-Finder to this setup, you're looking some some extremely lightweight and powerful.NEGATIVESWhen in hot temperatures (40C+) the camera overheats when shooting at 1080p25, and consequently you have to stop shooting, take out the battery and let the camera rest. As for battery life, I cannot say that I'm completely accurate, when giving it a 3/5, but I noticed that there were large discrepencies between the accuracy of the battery meter when using Canon batteries as compared to other manufacturers (such as the Ansmann's LP E8). I also now use a 5d mark II and in comparison, the 550d's battery is weaker by 30% - bear in mind however that I make these rather inaccurate assessments based on performance during filming.