[Jorden Mosley]

I look over my camera settings again, and yep, I was wrong. I thought the “Stabilizer” setting was for the body. But soon I as put a different lens in my camera, it didn’t have that option. Sorry about the incorrect info on the IS.

[Jorden Mosley]

I pondered this question recently. I went with the GH2 and it’s the best decision I ever made.

Here’s a few factors you may want to consider:

With the micro 4/3 mount (with an adapter) you have a lot wider selection of lens both old and new that you wouldn’t on a canon (with adapters). So if you have a set of photography lenses already, chances are you’ll still be able to used them on the GH2. If not, you could buy some old inexpensive lens off amazon or ebay for the fraction of the cost of newer lens (which image quality wise isn’t too much different). You may pay more for the body of the GH2 but in the long run you’ll save a lot more on lenses.

Recording time is not even close between the two. The 60D can only go up to 12min and it overheats. The GH2 has no recording limit. It will record until your card is full. Heck, just the other day I recorded 1hr 15min (on a 16gb card at 24fps 24bits) on 3/4 of battery life. I still had space left on my card and the GH2 wasn’t even warm.

The GH2 has severely reduced moire and reduced rolling shutter. The best quality digital zoom I’ve seen out of any still camera (2X or 4X). And it has a image stabilization in the camera body (which will save you money on not having to get lens with IS).

The only thing video-wise I found about the 60D that had over the GH2 was the ISO performance under iso 1000. Canon’s tend to let in more light at the lower ISOs. But 1000-3200, image quality wise I prefer the GH2’s. At iso 3200 under the right circumstances you can still have a good image.

So if you can grab a GH2, do it. It’s a great camera.

[Jorden Mosley]

I agree Jason. I just received mine today and I love it. I didn’t realize how versatile the m 4/3 mount was. I had a bunch of hand me down Minolta AF and Canon FD lens that included a full range of primes, zooms and macros that I can now use with an adapter on the gh2 (which I couldn’t on an canon). That alone has saved me thousands. This camera is the gift that keeps on giving.

[Jorden Mosley]

I don’t have any experience with either model, so I can only go by the specs listed on what could be relevant to video. The 5100 can record at 24fps and 30fps at 1080p, while the D7000 can 24fps at 1080p but 30fps at 720p. The D7000 has audio monitoring (ability to adjust mic sensitivity) while the d1500 does not. The D7000’s shutter speed is twice as fast (1/8000 sec.) than the 5100. The D700 has two SD slots while the 5100 has one. The 5100 has a swivel screen, while the d7000 is fixed. Also I’ve heard complaints on the difficulty of setting up exposure while in video mode for the 5100. So it really comes down to what you find most important.

But if your looking at cameras that do video in that price range you may want to consider Panasonic’s GH2. It has several advantages over other mirror-less and SLR cameras on the market like: little to no moire, reduced rolling shutter, and unlimited record time. If those things aren’t factors for you, then by all means pick a nikon.

[Jorden Mosley]

Technically you can conform it to 24fps within the sequence settings, but you’ll likely to find some “ghosting” as a result.

[Jorden Mosley]

It’s good camera for video. And as mentioned before, I’d just get the body only. But if your just getting the body, I’d recommend the T3i instead. It has manual audio control, a good digital zoom, and a handy swivel screen that the t2i doesn’t. But if you look up nextag right now there’s a sale on the 60D body for around 500.00. I’d recommend that camera over both the t3i and t2i.

[Jorden Mosley]

A couple of sliders I know of are the indiSLIDERmini which can range from 100-170.00

or

The motion slider which comes in 24in (130.00) or 36in (160.00).

Hope that helps.

[Jorden Mosley]

Thanks for the suggestions Brent. Quick question about your lens: for the really low light stuff (like the Reception or dimly lit churches) do you find your zooms are able meet your needs or do you switch to your prime for those situations?

[Jorden Mosley]

I’ve decided to get a 50mm equivalent for the t3i as my first lens. I’d your guys take on a few I’m looking at:

Sigma 30 1.4
Rokinon 35mm 1.4
Canon 28mm 1.8

I heard and read great things about the Sigma, but I’m concerned in investing in a lens that won’t work on a full frame cameras (which waaaay down the line I plan on getting).

The Rokinon and Canon lens are full frame. But the canon 1.8 cost the most of the 3 and has less aperture range. With the Rokinon, I’m hard pressed to find much feedback of people using it for crop senor cameras for video.

[Jorden Mosley]

With DSLR’s I recommend always shooting from a tripod, shoulder rig, steadycam… and if you do so it negates the need for IS.

Wow. I’d expect that from tripods, but shoulder rigs and steady cam keep it stable enough? Are we talking self-made rigs or pre-built high priced ones?