Best camera in the 3k price range?

L

lefecious

Hi all,

A friend asked me to ask some of the experts here for recommendations on a couple new cameras. Currently he uses 2 Canon XL2's, but he's looking to upgrade to something with high def capabilities, and also something that doesn't use those pesky tapes like the XL2 does.

He shoots weddings and sporting events to pay the bills but wants to also shoot films, so whatever he gets needs to serve both purposes. He's going to get 2 cameras and can go as high as $3,000 US dollars for each one.

edit: forgot to mention he's willing to buy used if anyone knows of a place that sells quality used equipment
 
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I'm making that same move right now... I'm looking at the canon DSLR very seriously after being able to shoot with one recently... The difference is REALLY STUNNING.
 
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knightly said:
I'm making that same move right now... I'm looking at the canon DSLR very seriously after being able to shoot with one recently... The difference is REALLY STUNNING.
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Never used a canon DSLR, but would that work well for the weddings and sporting events? I mean the canon XL2's that he currently has have a shotgun mic mounted on it, as well as XLR inputs. Do the DSLR's have audio that's good enough to use to interview coaches, or do wedding reception wishes?
 
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lefecious said:
Never used a canon DSLR, but would that work well for the weddings and sporting events? I mean the canon XL2's that he currently has have a shotgun mic mounted on it, as well as XLR inputs. Do the DSLR's have audio that's good enough to use to interview coaches, or do wedding reception wishes?
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Canon DSLRs won't work for events, due to the ~12 minute time limit on clips. Something like a GH1/GH2 would work, though.

I'd recommend looking for used Panasonic AF100's. They can be found for a little over $3k used (around $4800 new), usually with a lens. Otherwise, m4/3 lenses aren't super expensive, and adapters for using other lenses are generally cheap.
 
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cameronchapman said:
Canon DSLRs won't work for events, due to the ~12 minute time limit on clips. Something like a GH1/GH2 would work, though.

I'd recommend looking for used Panasonic AF100's. They can be found for a little over $3k used (around $4800 new), usually with a lens. Otherwise, m4/3 lenses aren't super expensive, and adapters for using other lenses are generally cheap.
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Thank you for the recommendation! Another videographer recommended he go with the sony EX1, and he was also looking at the Panasonic HPX170. But I told him about your recommendation of the AF100 and he said so far it looks like a good choice, but he's going to do some more research on it before pulling the plug. He did say it was ugly though LOL!
 
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As cameron said, DSLR's aren't good for sporting events. If you watch wedding videos, you'll notice that they're all montages. This is all due to the 12min limit per clip. I found that out the hard way when I had several clips that dragged on and eventually filled up my 16gb before the end of the wedding. That was for my first wedding that I tried shooting. The second one, I had a regular homesumer Sony HDD camera fpr static wide shots and used the DSLR footage as inserts or cutaways.

If you want to shoot for an extended amount of time, the Sony EX and or the Panasonics are the best choice. I would lean more towards with the Panasonic only because I loved using the DVX100 for SD so I would assume a the HPX170 and AF100 would work just as well for HD.
 
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XF-100 is super cool with 4:4:2 CS and pristine clear images.
That's $3K
If you want less manual controls check out the XA-10 with the same innards as the XF-100.
We have several of these and love it. Dual SD cards and internal 64Gb at 4:4:0 CS but you can use an outside recorder and get 4:4:2 if that really matters to you.
XA-10 can be had for $1.8K now.
 
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p38 said:
XF-100 is super cool with 4:4:2 CS and pristine clear images.
That's $3K
If you want less manual controls check out the XA-10 with the same innards as the XF-100.
We have several of these and love it. Dual SD cards and internal 64Gb at 4:4:0 CS but you can use an outside recorder and get 4:4:2 if that really matters to you.
XA-10 can be had for $1.8K now.
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Did you mean to say Dual SD cards or was that an accident? This camera looks great but the site I read has it listed as using compact flash cards.
 
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