I shoot my documentaries with both the Sony EX1 and the Canon Mark II 5D. I love the 5D for the shallow depth of field I can achieve with a variety of lenses. It has some very definite ergonomic issues so I mainly use it on a Tripod. I often set it up as a second camera on my interviews.

During my recent trip to Liberia, there was one issue that was constantly bothering me and limited my use of the 5D. In many situations I get those annoying moire patterns and aliasing artifacts.

Example of Moire

I’ve just heard that there is a fix although fairly expensive. It is the VAF-5D2 filter. The cost is $375 and ¼ stop of light lost.

If you want to know more about it go to: http://store.mosaicengineering.com/

VAF-5D2 Filter

If anyone has had experience with this filter could you let me know? Other than the loss of ¼ stop of light I was wondering what would be the disadvantage of leaving it in all the time. It seems like it would be such a pain to have to stop and insert it every time you encountered moire or aliasing problems.