CANON M50: How to Shoot a Cinematic Video in the Forest
The Canon M50 Mark II has arrived but let’s not forget the original M50. I love this little camera and if you know how to handle it and what the limits are, you can get insanely good results. If you’re into filmmaking and photography and you’re thinking about buying the original M50 or Mark II, just go for it. You won’t regret it. I use mine to shoot cinematic videos, b-roll and a whole lot more.
A while ago, I decided to take my M50 out and shoot a moody cinematic video in the forest. A few hours is all you need…
Check out that video and the behind-the-scenes.
Watch the video on my YouTube channel…
Canon M50 Cinematic Camera Settings
Let’s be honest, there’s no such thing as cinematic camera settings. That word “cinematic”is very subjective but of course, there are specific settings that I use when I want to shoot a video with a cinematic feel. Usually, I keep it super simple. For real time footage, I always use 24fps and a shutter speed of1/50th. When I want slow motion, 60fps will do for people walking and things like that and 120fps for fast action. Shutter speed is always double the frame rate.
Aperture is where you can get creative. I like a shallow depth of field but there’s of course also “too much”. I always try to keep it anywhere between f/2.8 and f/3.5. Now, the problem is that the Canon M50 is not a low light power house. It gets noisy in the shadows if you use ISO settings 800 and above so I try to keep it under 400. But that means that sometimes I have to open up the aperture to 2.0 or wider.
Canon M50 Cinematic Video Still
I always use a manual white balance and manual ISO settings because I want full control. Also manual focus. Even though the Canon M50 has pretty good autofocus.
And finally, picture style. I’ve been playing around with CineStyle, a picture style you can download and one that gives you a flat look so you can color grade. And even though I like the results, it’s difficult to work with. I feel like it’s hit or miss. That’s why for this video, I tried the Neutral picture profile of the Canon M50. Saturation and contrast all the way down and I love the results.
Less noise and still room for some color grading.
Canon M50
Canon M50 Cinematic Lens?
I’ve used the kit lens for a lot of videos but my favorite still is the Canon 22mm f/2.0. It’s light, small and the image quality is great. It looks great but, when shooting outside, your footage will probably be overexposed at f/2.0. Because you should film in 24fps and a shutter speed of 1/50s. You can try to adjust the ISO but probably, even if you go to ISO100, your footage could still look overexposed.
What you need is an ND filter. It’s like sunglasses for you Canon M50. An ND filter blocks a certain amount of light from hitting the sensor.
This will allow you to open the aperture all the way without overexposing, even in bright daylight. It’s super useful and should be in every filmmakers bag. Also, for photography by the way. I only use cheap ones from K&F and Gobe. The quality is not the same as the expensive ones but for me, more than enough. Just check the video for the results!
For more cinematic video, b-roll, filmmaking and all that good stuff with or without the Canon M50, just check out my channel. Thanks for stopping by!