Best Focus Settings and Methods for DSLR Video?

Question

Camera Body: Canon T2i

Lens: Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

SD Card: Transcend 16GB, Class 10

Stabilization: Handheld/tripod (maybe)

Question: I'm going on vacation this weekend and would like to shoot a lot of video with my new T2i. I have played with the HD video a bit, but haven't quite figured out the best method to shoot video with regards to camera settings and focusing methods. From various websites and forums, it would seem that the best settings are:

Shutter speed: 1/50
ISO: 200
Frames per Second: 24
Aperture: ???

A lot of what I will be shooting will be on a boat in Key West, so light shouldn't be an issue...plenty of sunlight. I want to have the widest focusing range as I can so that I can film para-sailing, people jet-skiing, etc, but I'd also like to be able to walk around with the camera and have everything be sharp and in focus when I'm closer to my subjects. I know this is a big challenge for DSLRs, so I was wondering if there is a "best method" for focusing. Full-on manual? Auto? Set-it-and-forget-it?

I plan on not using sound from the video in post, so focusing noise will not be an issue. Thank you for any suggestions you can give me! Happy shooting.

~ Jon

Answer

Well, I don't believe the T2i will autofocus while taking video, so manual it is! Obviously you can autofocus before starting the video, but that camera will not continuously auto focus during video.

Other exposure settings like aperture and ISO will be determine by the available light and desired creative effect. Less light at dusk or such may dictate a higher ISO. Subject isolation may dictate a wide open aperture, or you may want everything in focus at a low aperture. Exposure, in general, is talked about at length on the rest of the site, and remains mostly relevant for video discussion. Search the 'exposure' tag.

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