I was never super excited about the 28-300mm. I bought it originally many moons ago for either the Elan 3e or the 7e. It was great with the film camera... but it never popped with the digital. But I haven't tried it with this camera.

I try to use my 50mm like an all purpose lens... but everyone's rooms are too small for me to use it sensibly

I'm guessing that the 5d2 will probably out-resolve your 28-300 and you'll end up with soft images. That's the problem with your situation... IMO, your glass doesn't really match the level of your camera. High-end lenses matter a whole lot more than a high-end body, so I'd suggest starting to save for a quality lens walkaround lens for your body.

I already have the body.

Has anyone gotten any decent videos from this thing?

I can split any scenes because it shuts down the Windows Movie Maker. I downloaded Pinnacle VideoSpin and it doesn't recognize the files on the disk.

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I can't get a tank video to save my life. Think it's in focus and then you watch it... yikes. I'm buying a "real" camcorder.

Has anyone gotten any decent videos from this thing?

I can split any scenes because it shuts down the Windows Movie Maker. I downloaded Pinnacle VideoSpin and it doesn't recognize the files on the disk.

I can't get a tank video to save my life. Think it's in focus and then you watch it... yikes. I'm buying a "real" camcorder.

Okay, it's me. But I want to hit record and catch a video. Regular camcorders will do that for me. But I didn't buy this camera for it's video features.

My problem is everything looks in focus in the viewfinder and then you go back and watch it on the PC and it's not even close.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfGaYyl-J5Q

What lens and whats the aperture set to? You need to stop the lens down to gain greater depth of field. This would help to get most of the tank in focus.However there is a trick to do this since the 5D doesnt currently allow manual aperture control. Do a quick google search

yes it does..they released the firmware a while ago that gives you full manual control in video.

Isn't live view looking at the LCD screen?

The 5D Mk II is not a camcorder, yes it does have some of the functionality of a camcorder, but it is more of a manual video camera when it comes to the video. If you wanted a camcorder, buy a camcorder, don't buy something that is not a camcorder and then bash it when you find out it is note a camcorder.

I get better results with my old Hi 8 camcorder!

Yuck this is bad. I'll be the first to admit I know nothing about videos. But I figured a camcorder in a camera couldn't be that complicated. O.O

I'm using a high tech expensive program... Windows Movie Maker :-) I really just want to get some good video of the tanks and some up close and personals with some of the fish... oh, and maybe a shot of the kids if they are doing something cute.... or something really stupid.

If this isn't possible for an amateur, I will get an actual camcorder. But I would really like to video some of the behaviors of my fish.... with whatever would suit my purpose better.

Do you have program suggestions, something that would work if I wound up getting a HD camcorder instead?

I get better results with my old Hi 8 camcorder!

Yuck this is bad. I'll be the first to admit I know nothing about videos. But I figured a camcorder in a camera couldn't be that complicated. O.O

I'm using the Canon 100mm and the 50mm (1.4). I'm saving for the 24-105 L so I'll have a more general purpose lens.

The 5D Mark II video mode isn't the best for fast quick auto focus so yeah, its not going to act like a camcorder in that aspect. However, I wonder why a nice lens, at the right settings, would not be good enough to keep your fish in focus when filming? Your examples so far have been quite far away from the tank, are you wanting closer shots or right where they are now in the examples?