Remote Video Capture with 5D Mark II?

[Ed Bustya]

Is it possible to capture video remotely from
the Canon 5D Mark II? A previous thread says
that this isn't possible with PSremote and the Powershot.
I see no mention of video in the DSLRremote help files.

If not, could I get decent results using a program
like Camtasia to capture the live view?

Thanks,

Ed

Bird and Nature Photography
Canon 5D Mark II features and specs

[Chris Breeze]

You can capture video remotely using the 5D Mark II with Canon's remote capture software. The functionality is limited to capturing the video to the camera's memory card only and there is no live view display on the PC during capture. Currently it isn't possible to capture video using DSLR Remote Pro.
Recording the live view images isn't really a satisfactory option as the frame rate is too slow, the resolution is limited to around 1024x700 and there is no sound.

[Patrick Jollain]

Hi Chris,

I understand that it is not possible to capture video from the 5DII, but is it at least possible to trigger the video recording?

One situation where it could be useful is when you want to start recording with very long focals, and touching the camera would immediately compromise the quality. In this situation, we could benefit from DSLR Remote Pro to fine tune the focus adjustment with remote live view before starting to record video. And if, in addition to this, it would be possible to change the focus during the recording (checking the results on the camera LCD), it would be fantastic!

I don't own the 5DII yet, just ordered it a week ago, but I would use it to record videos of birds.

Thanks,

Patrick

[Chris Breeze]

You can do this with the Canon software that's supplied with the camera. Focus can be adjusted in live view (or you can use DSLR Remote Pro to set the camera up and then switch to Canon's software) and then you can start taking video. It is only possible to capture video to the camera's memory card and you can't monitor the images on the PC. The remote capture video capabilities of the 5D Mark II are so limited that I don't think it is cost effective for me to add this capability to DSLR Remote Pro at the moment.

[Highlevel]

I would like to register my interest in getting a trigger for recording.

Thanks

Ian

[Chris Breeze]

I plan to take a look at this as soon as I can get hold of the new Canon EOS 500D/Rebel T1i which also has HD video capture.

[Gra1252]

Hi Chris, is there any update on this project?

Many thanks

Regards

Graham

[Chris Breeze]

Unfortunately the current Canon SDK doesn't have any support for video capture with either the 5D Mark II or EOS 500D/Rebel T1i. I'm hoping Canon will add support for this in a future release of their SDK but I have no information as to when this will be available.