Canon 7D Slow Motion – 60p to 24p slowmo – test example

by Lan Bui on November 2, 2009

Canon 7D Slow Motion

We took the 7D out and shot some fun footage at the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval. The parts with audio were shot in 24p with the 7D and the slow motion parts were shot in 60p. We used cinema tools to conform the 60p videos to 24p, we could have slowed the 60p video down to 30p but wanted to shoot in 24p for coolness.

Looking to buy a Canon 7D? Click our affiliate link here to buy one!

The 7D slowmo shots came out really good. Since we were just out to have fun, all of the 7D footage was done handheld. It actually looks great handheld because once you slow the 60p videos down to 24p you don’t see how shaky the clips it.

So, if you have a Canon 7d, I would recommend you go out and shoot some stuff in 60p to make some good 7d slow motion movies.

I think this is a great 7D slow motion test video or Canon 7D slowmo example.

UPDATE:
Lot’s of you have 5D mark II’s and would like to shoot slow motion video with it… there isn’t a great way to do that right now. We hoped that they would have given us 60p for the new 5D mark II firmware and we would be able to use it for slow motion video but that did not happen. We did get standard frame rates though!

If you are looking to shoot slow motion with a 5D mark II then I would recommend either buying a 7D or T2i to do it or just renting a 7D. I know that is not the perfect solution… but it is the only way to get good looking slowm with a DSLR.

We have tested a few software solutions for making 5D2 footage slow… but none of them are worth recommending. You are better off buying a T2i and using that… and on that note:

Click here to buy a Canon T2i and start shooting 60p for slow motion video!!!

Ok, that’s all…

-Lan

Tagged as: 7d, canon, canon 7d, night time, slow motion, slowmo

http://www.cathydavidphoto.com/ Cathy and David

NICE! This is awesome guys. :)
- http://vubui.com/ vubui
  
  Thanks! It was a really fun night!
http://www.cathydavidphoto.com Cathy and David

NICE! This is awesome guys. :)
- http://vubui.com vubui
  
  Thanks! It was a really fun night!
http://twitter.com/shane Shane Robinson

Freakin’ awesome!!
- http://vubui.com/ vubui
  
  Glad you liked it, Shane! Is Halloween at all celebrated on the island?
http://twitter.com/shane Shane Robinson

Freakin’ awesome!!
- http://vubui.com vubui
  
  Glad you liked it, Shane! Is Halloween at all celebrated on the island?
hannaa

Awesome – good job guys
hannaa

Awesome – good job guys
Gena

Great photos =))
Gena

Great photos =))
http://cirne.com/ Enric

Interesting!

How does shooting video on the canon 7d compare with HD cameras (I use the Canon VIXIA HF100)?
- http://vubui.com/ vubui
  
  Enric!
  
  It’s a very different experience… but we’re well used to it now (we started last year with the Nikon D90). Manual focusing takes some practice… the worst is trying to remember which way focuses which way… so you end up going the wrong direction a lot in the beginning… but that’s really the steepest learning curve. Everything else is just a matter of ergonomics and controls.
http://cirne.com Enric

Interesting!

How does shooting video on the canon 7d compare with HD cameras (I use the Canon VIXIA HF100)?
- http://vubui.com vubui
  
  Enric!
  
  It’s a very different experience… but we’re well used to it now (we started last year with the Nikon D90). Manual focusing takes some practice… the worst is trying to remember which way focuses which way… so you end up going the wrong direction a lot in the beginning… but that’s really the steepest learning curve. Everything else is just a matter of ergonomics and controls.
http://www.esquirephotography.com/ David Esquire

Very cool footage & the makeup was seriously disturbing! Cheers!
- http://vubui.com/ vubui
  
  Thanks man, yeah Tracie is pretty badass at doing makeup!
http://www.esquirephotography.com David Esquire

Very cool footage & the makeup was seriously disturbing! Cheers!
- http://vubui.com vubui
  
  Thanks man, yeah Tracie is pretty badass at doing makeup!
http://pswhittingham.com/ Parris Whittingham

Whoa…excuse me sir, “I’m gonna have to eat you if you dont stop that FTW” :)
- http://vubui.com/ vubui
  
  Hahahaha improv lines are the best. ;)
http://pswhittingham.com Parris Whittingham

Whoa…excuse me sir, “I’m gonna have to eat you if you dont stop that FTW” :)
- http://vubui.com vubui
  
  Hahahaha improv lines are the best. ;)
http://www.ryelj.com/ Ryel j

Stellar! You make small children cry… How can it get any better?
- http://vubui.com/ vubui
  
  Actually I did walk past one little girl in Lan’s complex and I saw her before she saw me so I turned my head as I walked by. She was like 2… much to young to take any pleasure in scaring. :P
http://www.ryelj.com Ryel j

Stellar! You make small children cry… How can it get any better?
- http://vubui.com vubui
  
  Actually I did walk past one little girl in Lan’s complex and I saw her before she saw me so I turned my head as I walked by. She was like 2… much to young to take any pleasure in scaring. :P
Midas

Would be nice if you said how you actually did it (what software etc.)
Midas

Would be nice if you said how you actually did it (what software etc.)
Midas

Oops you did, sorry, too bad there isn’t a “retract” button!
- http://www.LanBui.com Lan Bui
  
  It’s all good!
Midas

Oops you did, sorry, too bad there isn’t a “retract” button!
- http://www.LanBui.com Lan Bui
  
  It’s all good!
http://www.davidsno.squarespace.com/ David Sno

HAHA! You guys are hilarious. The video looks awesome — no surprise! ;)
- http://www.LanBui.com Lan Bui
  
  Thanks man!
http://www.davidsno.squarespace.com David Sno

HAHA! You guys are hilarious. The video looks awesome — no surprise! ;)
- http://www.LanBui.com Lan Bui
  
  Thanks man!
Aaron

What is the music in the video? The video looks fantastic.
- http://www.LanBui.com Lan Bui
  
  Thank you for the compliment!
  
  The music in it is just a track from Apple Soundtrack Pro… I’m not home right now so I can’t recall what track it is, but if you have Soundtrack Pro you can find it.
  - Aaron
    
    Thank you! I just got a 7D, and you inspired me to try out the 60p (I stole your idea of the slow piano music in the background, even though it’s a little different :P).
    
    The project actually turned out pretty good!
    - http://www.LanBui.com Lan Bui
      
      Please post a link here for us to see!
      
      Also, thanks for using our video as inspiration (it is not stealing) I can’t wait to see it!.
Aaron

What is the music in the video? The video looks fantastic.
- http://www.LanBui.com Lan Bui
  
  Thank you for the compliment!
  
  The music in it is just a track from Apple Soundtrack Pro… I’m not home right now so I can’t recall what track it is, but if you have Soundtrack Pro you can find it.
  - Aaron
    
    Thank you! I just got a 7D, and you inspired me to try out the 60p (I stole your idea of the slow piano music in the background, even though it’s a little different :P).
    
    The project actually turned out pretty good!
    - http://www.LanBui.com Lan Bui
      
      Please post a link here for us to see!
      
      Also, thanks for using our video as inspiration (it is not stealing) I can’t wait to see it!.
Aaron

I put it up over here: http://vimeo.com/8009162

Be gentle!
Aaron

I put it up over here: http://vimeo.com/8009162

Be gentle!
Janne Karlsson

Great stuff. I got a 7D the other day and is really keen on trying some slowmotion. Do you know if you can convert 60p – 24p in iMovies?
- http://www.LanBui.com Lan Bui
  
  Unfortunately iMovie does not support converting to 24p… You can safely just slow the footage down in iMovie and it will look great though!
Janne Karlsson

Great stuff. I got a 7D the other day and is really keen on trying some slowmotion. Do you know if you can convert 60p – 24p in iMovies?
- http://www.LanBui.com Lan Bui
  
  Unfortunately iMovie does not support converting to 24p… You can safely just slow the footage down in iMovie and it will look great though!
Patrycjusz

There is no option to shot 60 frames on canon 7d
see below

Canon 7d
1920×1080 25 frames
1920×1080 24 frames
1280×720 50 frames
640×480 50 frames
- http://www.LanBui.com Lan Bui
  
  Actually, there is the option to shoot 60 frames on the Canon 7D… we used it… you can see it on the Canon website:
  
  “Advanced movie mode with manual exposure control and selectable frame rates: 1920 x 1080 (Full HD): 30p (29.97) / 24p (23.976) / 25p, 1280 x 720 (HD): 60p (59.94) / 50p, 640 x 480 (SD): 60p (59.94) / 50p.”
  
  Or see for yourself: http://j.mp/933ldN
  
  It is possible you don’t have a US version of the camera?
Patrycjusz

There is no option to shot 60 frames on canon 7d
see below

Canon 7d
1920×1080 25 frames
1920×1080 24 frames
1280×720 50 frames
640×480 50 frames
- http://www.LanBui.com Lan Bui
  
  Actually, there is the option to shoot 60 frames on the Canon 7D… we used it… you can see it on the Canon website:
  
  “Advanced movie mode with manual exposure control and selectable frame rates: 1920 x 1080 (Full HD): 30p (29.97) / 24p (23.976) / 25p, 1280 x 720 (HD): 60p (59.94) / 50p, 640 x 480 (SD): 60p (59.94) / 50p.”
  
  Or see for yourself: http://j.mp/933ldN
  
  It is possible you don’t have a US version of the camera?
Pingback: Example of 60p to 24p slowmotion on Canon 7D « HDSLR Cinema News
tira

I have a question about why you used 60p and slowed it down rather than using 24p and using slow motion in an editing program. Also, is cinema tools a specific program or can I do it with Final Cut? I would like to add slow motion video to a piece I'm working on, but the rest is shot in 30. What would you suggest I do?
P.S. Your video looks very cool. Impressive.
http://www.LanBui.com Lan Bui

I'll try to answer you in a short answer, please let me know if you need more details…

When you shoot 60p and slow it to 24p you get true slow motion… when you take 'regular' footage and slow it down it needs to create fake frames to make up for the fact that there are no frames in between each of the frames that got spaced out.

If you have Final Cut Pro you probably already have cinema tools so I would recommend using cinema tools. That said, you can use Final Cut Pro… I'm sure someone hase made a tutorial on it somewhere.

I would recommend shooting all of your future slow motion parts in 60p but for the ones you already shot (if you cannot reshoot them) I would just use the built in slow motion in Final cut Pro.
http://www.NickGirardPhotography.com Girard Nick

I am just getting into editing with my 7d ftg.

what settings did you use for your sequence in FCP?

also how did you go about exporting it for the web, settings wise?

thanks!

- Nick
Threegirlz

Thanks for the comment. I'm going to try 60p and look for cinema tools in final cut. I guess I will have to plan what I want to shoot in slo-mo beforehand, as I don't like the look of 60p.
http://www.LanBui.com Lan Bui

I just dragged the converted .mov files into the sequence and let FCP just choose the settings.

I like to use the share tab and export for apple TV, then upload that file for the web.
http://www.LanBui.com Lan Bui

Yeah that is a good idea to plan out all the shots…

Cinema Tools is a separate application that comes with the Final Cut suite of software.
Mark

I am new to video and was wondering if you shot the whole thing at 720p/60p and just slowed it down to 24p for the slow mo or did you shoot the other parts at 1080p/24p and cut in the 720p/60p parts? Thanks
-Mark
- http://vubui.com Vu Bui
  
  Hey Mark,
  
  Honestly we don’t remember. There’s a chance it was either, if you’re
  outputting 720p it won’t matter much unless you’re going to do some
  cropping.
- http://www.LanBui.com Lan Bui
  
  I’m pretty sure I shot everything in 60p that night.
http://www.sweetsixteenideas.net/ Sweet sixteen idea

Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art.