DSLR Questions…

[Gary Askham]

If your budget really can’t be stretched then I would recommend the Lumix G2 from Panasonic. 20fps is not a usable video format.

But really – you get what you pay for. You’re not going to get Canon 5DMkII-like images from a camera that costs a fraction of the price. And you must remember that the 5D costs the fraction of the price of pro gear.

————————
FCP and Avid Technical Support
Air Post Production
Shoreditch – London

[Michael Gissing]

The 500D is useful for timelapse. A friend has shot some good timelapse with this camera but it isn’t as light sensitive as the 5D or 1D.

20fps is hopeless if you want to integrate into any real frame rates. The 7D is really the entry level for DSLR video. I would wait and save or look for a second hand 7D

[Thomas Morter-laing]

The Lumix G2 only has 720p though, no 1080, which may be noticeable alongside my 1080p Z5 footage- I’m having a look and you guys are (as usual) annoyingly correct- they’re a little crud at this price range. Even an extra $120 makes quite a difference. So am now looking at a 550d instead, or a Panasonic Lumix GH1, Lumix DMC-FZ100 (not an SLR but specs seem surprisingly good?) or a Nikon D3100. What dya think? They all support at LEAST 24FPS. I think they’re all H.264 AVCHD, but MPEG streamclip is a close friend now….
Incidentally, I’m not worried about sound, because my other camera would always be the recording device (if that effects anything).

What dya think?

😀
Tom Morter-Laing
Certified Apple Product Proffessional, 2010
Degree; TV Production

iMac 27″ intel i7 2.93GHz, 12GB RAM, ATI HD5750 [1GB GDDR5], 2TB Int. SATA with 2TB External HDD; (FW800).

[Al Bergstein]

I would recommend saving your money up for a 550d(t2i). You’ll likely end up doing that anyway. It has the framerates you need to be professional, and having used one for six months, it is a great camera. I just upgraded to a 7d. Almost as good picture quality as a 5D, for a fraction of the price, yet all the manual controls you need to turn out professional looking stuff.

I’ve not been impressed, nor have clients of mine, with the bokeh on the 5D. I’ve had clients say it’s too ‘squishy’, muddy, etc. The 7d & 550 seems to do more of a photographic bokeh. But don’t tell the 5d users that (G)

Alf

[John Christie]

I agree with Alf, the T2i is the place to start. Identical video quality to the 7D and 60D, but not as solidly built and not as good of a still camera as the other cameras. I’ve worked with all three and own a 60D and a 7D.

Cheers

John Christie

[Gary Askham]

I guess it all depends what you are going to use it for.

I’ve successfully used a Nikon D90 (the first and worst of the DSLR cameras) for filming promo stuff that has gone up on YouTube which has now been viewed by thousands of people. That was shooting 30fps and I even matched it with DVCPro HD material shot at 25fps (not that I’m recommending repeating that).

But there is no way I’d even think about using it for broadcast work.

————————
FCP and Avid Technical Support
Air Post Production
Shoreditch – London

[Thomas Morter-laing]

Yes I did consider a D90- but my colleague has one, and whilst he is capable of getting good results, there is some kind of odd ‘banding’ which happens under certain lights. I also don’t think there’s any manual exposure control-or is there?
Cool, looks like the extra £200 for a 550D is worth it then, thanks guys you’ve been really helpful and deterred me from making what could have been dumb decision. If anyone else has any good suggestions, please let me know…

😀
Tom Morter-Laing
Certified Apple Product Proffessional, 2010
Degree; TV Production

iMac 27″ intel i7 2.93GHz, 12GB RAM, ATI HD5750 [1GB GDDR5], 2TB Int. SATA with 2TB External HDD; (FW800).

[Michael Sacci]

The 500 is not the camera to get, it is throwing money away if you want to do video get the 550. You will have to add pull down to get it up to 24fps. At least get the 550 that does all the video frame rates. 30 or 24p in 1080 or 60 in 720.

The 60D is even better but that is big jump and you are getting feature differences and not that much quality difference.

[Phil Balsdon]

If your budget is really tight consider any purchase of an HDSLR very carefully.

The reality is HDSLRs require a lot extra bits to make them work efficiently for video.
Viewfinder and or LCD monitor.
More lenses, at best you’re only going to get a 3 X zoom. You’ll also need better more expensive lenses, the whole point of these cameras is the low depth of field, the cheaper zooms are often only f4 – 5.6 which defeats the purpose really. With the faster lenses you’ll then probably need some ND filters to get a large f stop in bright light.

If you want to record quality audio you’re talking a few more costly bits.

They’re not really cheap kit once made useable, their popularity solely is due too the low depth of field they yield. I love my 7D but I could have bought Sony EX3 or similar for the same funds I’ve invested in it. That said the producers and directors I work with love the results, actually “result” singular a picture with low depth of field.

Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/

[Jason Porthouse]

I’ll second Phil’s sentiments here. DON’T get the 500, wait till you can afford the 550, or look for a secondhand one – avforums is a good place to look in the UK. They do come up occasionally…

But think long and hard about what you want to achieve out of it – if you’re thinking ‘second camera’ I’d think again, as DSLR shooting is a very different discipline. As Phil mentioned, you’ll need to really budget for a Zacuto finder, some kind of mount, and a few lenses to turn it into a rig that is suitable for anything other than very controlled shooting. Sound requires at very least a Beachtek adaptor, or seperate recording device. You will also need to be sure you have a foolproof method for ingesting and backing up media in the field – or lots and lots of SD cards.

I’m not saying don’t – just do your homework before you commit yourself. DSLRs are not the magic bullet route to instant film-like quality.

Jason

_________________________________

Before you criticise a man, walk a mile in his shoes.
Then when you do criticise him, you’ll be a mile away. And have his shoes.

*the artist formally known as Jaymags*