Sony HVR-HD1000E or Canon 550D?

[Lance Bachelder]

I think the DSLR’s are perfect for film schools and what I would choose if I was running a film. dept. Specially since you mentioned animation – the stop motion capabilities alone make a a DSLR a far better choice than any camcorder.

SInce the Sony you mentioned is closer in price to the Canon 7D I would make the jump from the 550D if you have the budget – of course you need a decent lens, but either way I’d stay with any of the Canon’s vs. camcorders.

Now if your goal is to become an ENG (news, sports etc) Shooter, then the Sony would be a great choice because of it’s form factor (shoulder mounted).

Good Luck!

Lance Bachelder
Southern California

[Steffen Wiegand]

Hi Lance,

I’ve just bought the 550D because of its beginners price tag and deemed it appropriate for making the first steps of DSLR-filming. Since I’ve been reading A LOT that people use the 7D or the more expensive CANON models, I would be interested in which way the 7D is superior to the 550D, mainly seen from a filmmaker’s point of view.

I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

See you
Steffen

[Lance Bachelder]

Congrats on the purchase and welcome to DSLR filmmaking! You’ve made a great decision and not opting for the 7D I hope you’ll spend a little cash and get a pro quality lens. As a filmmaking tool I don’t think any camera is superior to the other in the sense that the story and casting are far more important than the tech stuff. You’ll be fine starting out with the 550D – just get out there and shoot and never stop learning!

Lance Bachelder
Southern California

[Steffen Wiegand]

Hi Lance!

thanks for your answer! I just thought you knew about some profound differences between the 7D and the 550D because you advised Shahin to step up to the 7D if cash allows it. For the start I bought a very cheap lense (actually I bought a 550D kit where a cheap lense is included …)just to toy around and getting to know the effects of settings, manual focus etc. but I am very eager to get a pro lense.

In which way are pro lenses better than a cheap one? I hope this question is not too basic …. Is it the sharpness? Or also colour and contrast?

By the way: This is an excellent place to learn, I have to confess. Very vibrant forum and lots of things to learn just by reading the other posts!

See you
Steffen

[Shahin Ghahremani]

Hi Steffen,
Thanks for your reply,
Yes, actually you are right, I also went through a lot of websites, but basically the biggest difference between 550D and 7D is the processor! 550D has only one image processor though the 7D has two, may be it is 2 times faster in doing some automatic process than 550D!
Even in some ways 550D is better than 5D Mark II, however I really don’t know why this model is still expensive.

Thanks for your guidance.

Shahin

[Lance Bachelder]

Sharpness, color, contrast as you’ve stated will be NOTICEABLY better on a pro lens! I’d say the difference between pro glass and kit glass is FAR greater than the difference between the various Canon DSLR’s that currently shoot motion.

Edge to edge sharpness, clarity, accurate focusing, the ability to render colors and contrast to their fullest. Also the lack of chromatic aberration. The Canon “L” series of lenses were designed for pro still photographers who scrutinize every inch of their shots. Another great thing about L series lenses is that they hold a good deal of their value for years – kit lenses sell very cheap new, but dirt cheap used.

Lance Bachelder
Southern California

[Steffen Wiegand]

Hi

thanks Lance for your explanation! I suppose I’ll get a good lense rather sooner than later 😉

@ Shahin: Thanks for you answer! This could be reason very well the reason why the 7D is more expensive. Maybe it even records video with different compression settins due to its double processor???

See you
Steffen

[Shahin Ghahremani]

Hi Lance,

I finally got a 550D! Actually I asked for the 7D, but it was not so fit to my budget. Although the DSLR is so good in picture (perfect colors and sharpness and everything), not really good in stabilizing!
If you know any good way for stabilizing a film footage please tell me.

Thank you.

Shahin