…. yup, you’ll probably still need them.
One of the popular misconceptions is that (as people think the 5D is a ‘video camera’) & is that the normal duties of sound and VTR playback are somehow magically handled by the 5D. So many times I’ve heard, “Well, I don’t know…” from a producer when they assume that this magic new camera can do everything. It’s not their fault; people are talking like there’s a tap on the side and magic beer comes out… or that it naturally secretes chocolate.
It doesn’t , indeed it does LESS THAN AN REGULAR VIDEO CAMERA… but what is does do, it does well.
One the Set:
Once you get to the stage that you have all the same people on the set, the clients, the grips etc Then the clients will want to see the image and play it back etc. Once you have a ‘normal’ shoot, people will expect normal things.
Now if you don’t have a VTR guy, who is going to play the footage back, the 1st assistant cameraman ? So, if the camera 1st AC is continually playing back video for the client, then they can’t do things like moving to the next setup etc.
Basically, he can’t do both jobs effectively.
The same goes for the sound guy. Whilst recording who’s monitoring the sound? Does the 1st AC do this too ?
Basically, it is best to keep people in these important roles. You might save money in the short run, but there’s a much higher possibility of being burnt.
Again, I would treat the 5D like a film camera… assume that is all it does…. film things…
The Canon 5D is closer in operation and ability to a film camera than it is to a video camera… apart from handling sound.