It seems Canon have buckled under the pressure, listened to the feedback and delivered a firmware update that will allow manual exposure control whilst shooting video on the 5DMkII . Being a cynic I thought they'd hold that back for the next model, but I'm glad they haven't. It's certainly switched the balance for me personally- I can't wait now to get my mits on one. Read more over at dpreview.
A good friend Danfung Dennis, an experienced photojournalist, recently came back from Afghanistan having shot mostly video instead of stills on the new 5D MKII. The web obviously doesn't do justice to the HD version that I've seen, and it's always hard to compress what could easily be a 30 min video into two minutes - but it'd defintely worth a watch. Danfung's recently headed back out to Afghanistan, so watch this space for more updates and details on how he shoots with his customised 5D MKII. See the video here.
Last night I attended an exclusive screening of the film Blood Trail at London's Frontline Club. The film follows the American photographer Robert King from is initiation into war photography in Bosnia, right through his time in Chechnya and finally Iraq - a storyline of 15 years. Both cameramen who shot the film, Richard Parry and Vaughn Smith along with Jeremy Bowen chairing the event sat down and discussed the film at the end of the showing. I have to say it made compelling viewing; the intelligent editing and initmate footage told a very personal journey that was tinged with a fairly dark, cynical sense of humour, that at times seemed farcical. It wasn't too overdone or introspective which was good - but that was because Robert King is a facinating and fairly humble character who the audience watch mature along the way, and both Richard and Vaughn bring their particular form of subtle and unassuming humour throughout. Well worth a watch.
