[Bill Doyle]

Ben,

You may have to check the individual zooms. I use a Tokina 11-16 which has a 2.8, the EF-S 17-55 (also 2.8) and an L-series 70-200 (f/4). If your work is outside or under controlled lighting, don’t waste the money on a 2.8 lens. For interviews, I use the 70-200, general purpose is the 17-55 and my landscape or interior rooms is the 11-16. Remember also that the T2i and 7D have the 1.6x crop factor, so you have to multiply to get the equivalent focal length of a 35mm or full-frame sensor digital.

Bill

[Bill Doyle]

Ben,

I agree with you. As Phillip point out, some of the newer lenses are in fact too sharp for today’s cameras in video mode due to the moire that can be evident if you’re not careful.

I also forgot to mention in my previous post that in addition to constant aperture you should get a lens with image stabilization unless it’s an ultra-wide model like the Tokina 11-16mm.

Bill

[Bill Doyle]

Ben,

Most of the lenses for what are essentially still cameras are designed with a short throw on the zoom and focus for the sake of speed. In addition, the lenses do not allow for the “closeup focus and then pull out to what you need” as they do on video cameras, so you will have to make some adjustments there.

That said, the most critical feature on zoom lenses for video is a constant aperture– otherwise you will see the image jump from one f-stop to the other; it is not smooth.

In general, the EF-S lenses will be less expensive, but they also lock you into a camera with a crop sensor, like the t2i/550D, 7D and 1D. I would strongly suggest you take a look at Phillip Bloom’s recent article on lenses for some excellent suggestions. (https://philipbloom.net/2010/08/20/which-lenses-to-buy/)

Bill

[Bill Doyle]

John,

At less than that budget, there are a lot of really nice compact megazooms that might work for you, but of course it won’t have all of the flexibility and expandability that a DSLR gives you. For stills, cameras from Canon, Nikon, Sony and Panasonic will all work well, but if you are looking for HD video, Canon is really way out in front. The T2i/550D is an excellent choice and has the majority of features of the 7D (notable exceptions are weatherproofing, greater burst capability and more selectable ISOs) but you will also pay double.

Your real cost will come with lenses and accessories so that’s where your budget considerations need to be.

Bill

[Bill Doyle]

John,

Can you give us some more information on what you want to do? Will you be using it for video as well? Lots of sports? Shooting in inclement weather? Do you own any lenses now? What is your overall budget?

I’ll give you my two cents after you provide a little more.

Bill

[Bill Doyle]

Steve,

Your best bet is to shoot everything in manual so that you have full control. In addition, you should set the shutter to double the setting of your frame rate. (If your using 24P, use a 1/50 shutter.)

Bill

[Bill Doyle]

Zack,

I agree the kit lens is awful, but it’s also only an additional $100. Sell it or use it when you’re just “banging around”.

Michael’s correct regarding the IS and constant aperture for zooms. It’s impossible to recommend a lens because it depends on what you’ll be doing with it. Canon’s L series lens are fantastic, but you have to budget for them. The 70-200mm L series is very versatile, but I would stick with the IS; you’ll then have to decide whether you really need the extra stop of light the f/2.8 gives you over the f/4 model– there is a huge price and weight difference.

The 24-70mm f/2.8 has the versatility, but no IS yet. For primes, I like the 50mm f/1.2 (don’t get the f/1.8) and the 100mm macro. I don’t like the 85mm f/1.2 because of the focus ring for video. Once you see the prices of these lenses, you’ll have to decide what you are going to shoot most and get the one or two lenses that will best fit for now.

Also, don’t forget that both the 7D and the T2i have a 1.6x crop factor which means that all of the focal lengths of the lenses will have to be multiplied by that amount to get the true 35mm equivalent (for example, the 50mm on a 5D is 50mm, on the 7D it’s really 80mm).

Bill

[Bill Doyle]

The 7D gives you a faster frames per second for photos, but irrelevant for video. As you said, materials in the 7D are more solid, but I haven’t heard of people having problems with the lighter weight T2i.

The 7D is more weather-resistant so you have to be more careful outdoors and the preferred video ISOs of 160, 320, 640, etc. are not selectable with the T2i as they are with the 7D. (The metadata shows that the T2i is capable of shooting with those, but only in auto ISO which is not recommended for video.)

For me, I chose the T2i and put the savings into better lenses.

Bill

[Bill Doyle]

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the quick response!

Bill

17″ MBP (1st gen Intel 2.16 GHz) w/ 2 GB RAM running OS 10.5.6, FCP 6.0.5, QT 7.5.5, 23″ ACD, Matrox MXO, Canon XH-A1

[Bill Doyle]

Danny,

There are a lot more qualified individuals here than I am, but a few thoughts. Assuming everything is in sync when you watch from the camera, how are you capturing? Converting to ProRes? Batch Capture? Capture Now?

If you’re not doing a ProRes through FireWire conversion when capturing, there shouldn’t be a delay. Is there a sync issue when you just watch the clip in the viewer or only from the timeline? Have you confirmed your sequence setting are 23.98 (24p)?

I’ve been capturing Canon’s 24f from an A1 into a MacBook Pro for years without a sync issue, so I know it can be solved.

Bill

17″ MBP (1st gen Intel 2.16 GHz) w/ 2 GB RAM running OS 10.5.6, FCP 6.0.5, QT 7.5.5, 23″ ACD, Matrox MXO, Canon XH-A1