Canon’s HDSLRs Used on Set of Marvel’s The Avengers

Image Courtesy of Canon USA

Canon has revealed that its EOS 5D Mark II and 7D digital SLR cameras were used on the set of Marvel’s The Avengers to capture “point-of-view action shots that can be seamlessly intercut with footage from the film’s principal 35mm and digital cinematography cameras.”

In a statement released this week, Canon says that The Avengers required close-quarter action work with unrepeatable stunts. “The 5D Mark II and the 7D digital SLR cameras produce excellent, cinema-worthy images. They are great for shooting additional angles that give film editors more options for creating powerfully immersive and kaleidoscopic views of action scenes,” says the film’s cinematographer, Seamus McGarvey, who is also a Canon Professional Network member.

Canon says that on the set of The Avengers, McGarvey and his crew used five Canon 5D Mark II cameras and two 7D models. “Using multiple cameras limited the need to re-shoot complex action scenes, and the affordability and compact size of the cameras enabled the crew to obtain ample coverage by strategically angling them from various vantage points throughout the set.”

“The cameras’ small size was a major advantage to us,” adds McGarvey. “We were able to place them in tight locations that were really close to the big stunts, which would be too risky to do with bigger cameras that would require an operator and two assistants.” For example, McGarvey placed one camera into a sewer grating and another under a pile of debris for a key shot of a car hurtling toward the lens, flipping through the air on fire.

Image Courtesy of Canon USA

Image Courtesy of Canon USA

It’s not the first time that Canon’s cameras were used in Hollywood. An entire episode of House was filmed using the firm’s 5D Mark II in 2010, as well as on the set of 24. bjp-online.com