Recommendations please: Digital cameras with HD.
Hotsauce84
8,450 Posts
I'd like to start toying around with pics and video. Nothing too in-depth or professional, just beginner hobby style for now. I don't know jack about these new fancy cameras with HD and multiple lens options, so I ask my Strut brethren for assistance. Any suggestions? I see beautiful videos online shot with Canon 5D, 7D, 550D, Rebel T2i, etc. but I don't know much about them. I've read about them online but I don't understand a lot of the technical terms. Plus some of them are $$$. I'm sure some of you can help me with some comparable, less expensive options. Preferably in laymens' terms so my dumm ass can understand.Please and thank you kindly.
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http://www.sony.co.uk/product/dsc-h-series/dsc-hx5v
- http://www.soulstrut.com/ubbthreads/show...ic=&Search=true
If money were no object I'd like a Canon EOS 5D MkII, it'll even shoot HD video that's pretty breathtakingly beautiful.
But they're hella expensive, and pretty OTT for a beginner/novice. So that's probably the opposite of helpful.
That said, considering that you can shoot A FUCKING HD TELEVISION SHOW on your "digitial camera," the cost is ridiculously small. Like, I'm still trying to get my head around it. So, if you think quality/cost ratio, it is unreal.
Worth noting, though... Audio isn't great. Basically average camera mic. Yay. Bad when there is ANY background noise...
I was going to ask how you captured audio & whether you'd used a separate soundman. Did you consider it? I wouldn't have thought the built in mic was anywhere near good enough quality.
We also had a real shooter, as I = NOT A CAMERA MAN (though I did set a few shots with it.)
Basically, they sent us with another cam (XD) that the shooter knew; and the 7D to take it for a test drive, and see if they could use it on future features.
The 7D was tremendous on interviews, set shots, and things where you could take time to set up a shot. It was not good as a run & gun cam, simply because we were using real lenses, and zooming/autofocus was out. Frankly, I haven't explored those options. But, as an interview cam, with audio it was tremendous. Someone with more time on a different shoot could explore that, as I probably will in the future.
As a first test, tho, it was really impressive. For the cost, and the quality of video, and the fact I could log everything in my hotel room that night, it was just mind-blowing.
If you got money Canon EOS 5D Mark II. They just shot the season finale of House with it. But that doesn't go probably anywhere close to some of the great video it shoots.
Less money... The 7D
Even less money... The new Canon EOS Rebel T2i
Which shoots pretty damn decent HD for the price.
I have a D90. I'd love to buy a 5D if I had the cash. Just always remember, the body is the cheap part. The lenses are what really burns a hole in your pocket.
heres what i like about using the dslrs for video.
1. sd card: it seems just so much more convenient than firewire.
2. lenses. this is the single biggest reason why theyre better than video cameras. the price youd have to pay to get the same variety of optics for a video camera is ridiculous.
3. low light options. there are up to 4 ways to trick a d90 into shooting perfect night shots in video. i have a feeling the 5d might be the same. with a lil thinking and fiddling with the buttons, i was really impressed at the shots you can get at night.
4. the human/camera relationship: people react differently to a video camera as they would to a point and shoot camera. its one of the most interesting things about shooting video with these "still cameras". the subject is expecting that you capture a moment of time as opposed to a continuous event. you can get a more candid reaction from your subject as long as they think youre only taking pictures.
What I always wonder is if the images are always so breathtakingly beautiful, why is there a need for an overly dramatic/cheesy soundtrack?
Interesting stuff, thanks for sharing.
You're right the results are pretty amazing. Personally I can't see a huge difference between the 5D and the Red Camera, which is amazing itself for its' price, but costs x10 more than the Canon.
The fact that you could spend a couple of grand and produce broadcast quality HD video is amazing.
What is DSLR exactly?
If you want something cheaper, and more universal, the 7D was the way to go, according to Trade Magazine Reading types.
Possible because the video is about a devastating flood in which several people were killed.
Digital Single Lens Reflex.
this just means them still cameras where you can switch out the lenses. as opposed to a camera with just that one zoom lens. those are considered "point and shoot" cameras.
with the dslrs you have a lot more control over your camera. a point and shoot camera is mostly automatic. if i were you and i had a lil scratch, id get the 5d.
here
I've shot with 5d's, 7d's and the lumix gh1 and they all have good and bad points.
7d doesn't shoot full frame, gh1 can be a bit 'wooly'.
GH1 does have autofocus with video though and that is something that none of the other cameras have. It also has slightly better sound than the Canons, but I would always use external sound source when you need it to be good.
5d definitely is a kick ass camera..
Beware that these camera's aren't really good for shooting fast paced action or sport, they all have some degree of 'rolling shutter wobble' when you do fast pans.
The next step down though is the Panasonic GH-1, which I have and love. The way to go is to buy that an the f1.7 pancake lens for anything indoor since the kit lens is great for outdoor video but is f4. It's truly an incredible camera and micro 4/3rds size, so much smaller that a DSLR, but shoots 1080p at 24 or 30 fps.
Make sure to think about polarizers and other filters, plus a 16 GB memory card and a case when factoring in cost. Shit adds up but as someone said, it's crazy that I could shoot an HDTV quality tv show with this thing.
Also, the primary reason that people are using DSLRs for video is that you can shoot video through such an assortment of lenses at low cost, which is revolutionary. All but the most high end video lenses have sucked for years, and so finally being able to get the focus blur off a f1.7 is changing things a lot.
yeah, this is the smaller cousin to the gh1 and it's great, really portable. Make sure to cop the one with the pancake lens at f1.7.
Also.. Back in the day, you often used to have a choice between cameras with one lens (SLR) or two (TLR).
At an amateur level it was cheaper/easier to produce a TLR with one lens as a view finder and one for exposing the film.
SLRs need complex mechanics, as there is a mirror that sits in between the lens and the film, that allows you to view and shoot through the one lens.
You may remember those long flat cheap cameras people had when we were kids. The photos they produced, often came out with peoples' heads cropped off, because the twin lenses were seeing as slightly offset picture form one another.
But like Shig says, the choice now is more about 'point and shoot' or DSLR.
Since you don't know what a DSLR is, I am going to assume that is a bit too high end.
Panasonic Lumix LX3K is what I am looking at.
Its around $500, fully manual controls, compact body, and shoots 720HD.
It's no DSLR but who wants to lug one of those around unless you go out specifically for shooting.
The Red vs. the 5D is apples to oranges. Yeah "It's all about your glass", the Canons' video looks great with the right lenses. For the money it's a great solution. But, It's all about what your deliverable is. If your shooting something to show in theaters on the festival circuit you can't compare a 1080i or p image to uncompressed 4k that the RED delivers.
That being said The 5D is the sh*t . They just upgraded the firmware so it's 1080p and improved the audio. and it doesn't take the post-production massaging that the RED takes .
I know a few DP's that can't wait for Arri Alexa so they don't have to deal with RED's BS.
^^^^^^^^^
KNOWS MORE ABOUT THIS THAN ME.
Nice, thanks (sincerely).
that being said i dont think theres anything wrong with the low end gear. like a flip camera and imovie. that way you can see what your limitations are, and whether you are willing to go deeper into this.
THIS VIDEO
uses the great optics of the 5d. rack focusing can usually only be done with the more expensive cameras with switchable lenses. everything else you can prolly do with a cheaper point and shoot camera with hd video.
however, a main reason why the video looks so great has to do with the editing software. id guess "curves" with a lil bit of contrast added. im not sure how much of this you can do with the cheaper software.
i actually think the software is more important than the camera. ive been given hi-8 footage which is an old outdated video format and made it look great with the software.
Talk to me about software. What's out there? How much is it? Easy to get from a hookup? What did you use? How long did something like that take (second video)?
b/w
Implants. It's all in the (lack of) thighs.