Can I adjust the aperture of a Canon T2i while shooting a movie? I really want a greater depth of field when I'm shooting a movie.
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2You might want to look into the Magic Lantern (magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Magic_Lantern_Firmware_Wik) firmware mod. Has a lot of stuff for film makers. Note, read all the warnings about hacking your firmware...– user160917Oct 29, 2011 at 20:52
1 Answer
I don't think you would want to do that, as the video you record will then get lighter and darker as you adjust the aperture which looks unnatural and is distracting. But you can manually adjust almost everything in movie mode on the t2i. Consult the manual (pg. 127) for in depth (no pun intended!) instructions.
If you want greater depth of field, then I would increase the available light and set the aperture number higher (smaller aperture). It sounds like you would also benefit from googling "Depth of Field" so you can make these decisions quickly while setting up shots in different circumstances. Your shutter speed should also be set to twice the frame rate. So, for the t2i, at 30fps, you need the shutter at 1/60, and for 24fps, you need the shutter at 1/50 (I know, it should be 1/48, but Canon does not give us that option). Good luck!
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Thanks so much! I did have one question. What do you mean by the shutter speed? Isn't that determined by the frame rate I set? Oct 29, 2011 at 21:36
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The frame rate you set determines how often the shutter 'opens' per second, but not how long the shutter is 'open' for each time. To summarise, the longer the shutter is open the more smooth and 'film-like' the video will look, and the shorter the shutter speed the more 'home video-lile' it will seem. Oct 30, 2011 at 8:52