Rebel T8i - Manual Movie Mode (Poor Quality)

[vixgarcia]

hi, kinda new to the DSLR game, as of late I started shooting video here and there with a Canon Rebel T8i (i know i have read its average for video recording) with a EF-S 18-55mm Lens and EF50mm F1.8 STM Standard Lens, and  i was shooting on Auto Mode in the beginning, now im experimenting with other modes..i started using Manual Mode as of late and scenes are very pixelated/ blurry, like the background is not clear or in detail, also way too much motion blur by the way it looks .i know you are supposed to double your shutter speed depending on the fps , also aperture is a big deal same with iso but it looks like when i even fix those things , the quality is not sharp at all. I have this Camera mounted on a gimbal to eliminate the shake/motion…i also was using the Cinestyle Profile that I downloaded since this camera doesnt have C-Log and that was worse ( also read that since this t8i is 8bit or something that cinestyle wont look as great) so i just have the Neutral style on. Not sure what im doing wrong , i switch to auto and of course that looks crisp and clear but i dont want to shoot in auto because it looks over saturated or and its hard to edit colors later on..so just wondering if anyone as had a problem or if you have any helpful manual settings. might just use this camera specifically for photography. Thanks 

[deebatman316]

Your aperture is is too wide open. Ie you're shooting a F/1.8 which causes a very blurry background. Stopping down to say F/5.6 or F/8 will eliminate most of the blur. In Auto Mode the camera usually stays around F/5.6 or F/8 to avoid bokeh (background blur).

[vixgarcia]

Okay i will try this and see if i can get some results. should the image stabilization of the lens be on or off if the camera is mounted on a gimbal? Or does it make a difference. Thanks for responding 

[rs-eos]

I would turn off IS if you are using a gimbal, tripod, or other stabilization device/setup.

Also, you should turn off Movie digital IS in these circumstances.  See page 365 in the User Manual for details.

[deebatman316]

When on a tripod IS needs to be turned off. IS should be used while the camera is hand held. Also don't stop the lens down too far. Stopping down too far (ie F/16) would result in unintended (distractions) things being in focus. So adjust your aperture accordingly. I only do stills not video work. But Aperture, ISO & Shutter Speed still apply. So adjust your settings as necessary. If you haven't already learn about the exposure triangle.

[rs-eos]

The 180º rule is indeed best for video.  As you found, you set the shutter to 1 over double your frames per second (or as close as possible as you can set it on a DSLR):

• For 24 fps (23.997), set shutter to 1/50 s (most DSLRs would not have a 1/48 s setting)
• For 30 fps (29.97), set shutter to 1/60 s
• For 60 fps (59.94), set shutter to 1/125 s

The Rebel T8i isn't capable of recording wide dynamic range video, so the best you could do is ensure that your subjects have proper expsoure and either have blown-out highlights or crushed blacks.  e.g. if you're filming a subject indoors next to a window with bright sunlight coming in, unless you have a scrim outside that window, it will be entirely blown out.

Your camera would be recording to the Rec709 color space.  This is very close to sRGB, but the gammas are different.  If your computer setup has a display that would be calibrated for Rec709 work, that would be your best bet.

[vixgarcia]

Thanks on the exposure/highlights, and IS gimbal  tip. Will tweak the settings, see where it goes from there! 

[stevet1]

vixgarcia,

I usually shoot videos on my T8i just using Av mode (aperture priority)

Here's a short one I took:

https://vimeo.com/788793192?share=copy#t=0

I turned off Movie Image Stabilization because of the crop factor. Canon only says that the image is "magnified", but doesn't say how much.

If you do a movie on the T8i, your crop factor is 1.6. If you do it in 4K, it adds another 1.6. Then if you add the movie image stabilization on top of that, you're probably looking at a crop factor of at least 4.0 or thereabouts.

Steve Thomas.