[Danny Pilpe]

Vic,

I am Daniel and I hope i can help clarify a few of your questions. Lets simplify it all to say that having a DSLR is a good thing but your camera is as good as your lens. I know that the last person said the same thing, but it is true, to be able to produce the best possible footage you need good glass. I have worked with both Pro cam, as well as DSLR cameras. I have 3 main lenses that I can recommend, i use a kit canon lens that came with a 5D Mark ii it is an Lseries lens ( they are much more expensive but worth every dime), I also use a 50mm Nikon lens it is a 1.7 and finally i use a canon wide 28mm lens with a 2.0. The three lenses have a great look to them and are incredibly diverse. If you are using good glass then you need to look at your ISO along with your aperture and shutter speed ( unfortunately it is too much to explain in this post, but I recommend reading up on that relationship) That will determine your depth of field, your speed and your light (remember a DSLR works more like a film camera than a camcorder). another thing to look at is your white balance, always check your white balance. The other thing that you should be aware of is the format in which you are recording your video. See in DSLRs and T3i specially you must tell your camera how to record, 1080p 720p? also if you want a more cinematic look i would recommend shooting on 24p (that is progressive footage oppose to interlaced) it is very nice, but i personally tent to shoot in 30p because of the movement. Finally, don’t despair it takes some time to get used to DSLRs but once you do, you will love them, trust me.
Good Luck,