Can certain lenses help with moire at all? I don't plan on filming many (if any) patterned objects, but I'm curious to know.
Cheaper lenses will exhibit much more
chromatic aberration. Moire comes from the internal processing in the cameras.
If you're going to save up...
- viewfinders and autofocus stop working in video mode
a) DSLR viewfinders are pointless for video work anyway. I
loathe using an LCD versus a proper viewfinder, but the DSLR viewfinder is impractical for anything bar photo shooting anyway, so it's really a non-issue.
If you want auto-focus, don't buy a DSLR.
- has a 12 minute video clip length limit
A non-issue for most drama narrative. For event shooting, a DSLR is an average choice unless you kit it out, and realistically it takes <30 seconds to hit the record button twice.
That said, a hacked GH2 will give you a better picture than a standard Canon DSLR.
Remember, not all that long ago consumer handycams cost $1,000 and exhibited
more issues than DSLRs do today, with less control over the image. Careful of getting
too spoilt
. There comes a point where the differences in camera body's doesn't really matter all that much, depending on the type of work you're doing. The most important thing is that you pick a camera and get out and shoot something, the specific camera body isn't all so important these days.
