Finding a DSLR that's right for me?

Taisi

Taisi

Hey guys!

With Christmas season here (arguably), I'm finally in the market to replace my previous camera (A canon vixia HF R30- Don't laugh). I've seen throughout the filmmaking community that DSLR's are frequently used as opposed to a big camcorder, but I'm not really sure what to be looking for. Am I even looking for a DSLR? It doesn't have to be anything particularly special, I'd just like an affordable camera that I can play around with, so any experience would be helpful.

Things I need:

- ~$500 range (With everything necessary- lenses and etc.)
- Somewhat weatherproof/shockproof (not talking a GoPro, just something that won't fail me for no good reason)
- HD video (Preferably with a variable frame rate)
- Something that's not going to make me look up technical help every time I use it
- Something that's versatile and has plenty of options ports and firmware wise


Things I've been looking at:

- Canon Rebel Series, T2i
- Canon EOS M (comes in pretty colors :lol: )

So input time- Are either of those options good for what I am looking/should be looking for? Are there any better options out there? Anything I need to know before buying a DSLR? Thanks guys!:)
 
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The Rebel line is great. I bought a T2i when it came out and shot the first completed feature on it. Now, with Magic Lantern, it's a fantastic camera to get going with. You won't be dissapointed.
 
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Taisi said:
...Anything I need to know before buying a DSLR?
Click to expand...

Hi Taisi - coming from camcorders, there are a few things you should know:

- early DSLRs such as the T2i are limited to 12 minutes of continuous recording before they have to be restarted. If you need to record a concert, event, speech, play, sermon - or anything else that lasts for more than 12 minutes, you have to hit the record button again, resulting in an interruption. With the free third party Magic Lantern firmware modification, the camera will auto-restart - but there is still a disconcerting interruption. The EOS M has a 30 minute limit before it has to be restarted, which is somewhat better.

- video autofocus is either non-existent (T2i) or slow (EOS M) on Canon DSLRs and mirrorless cameras

- the optical viewfinder on DSLRs is blocked by the mirror when you switch to Live View (video) mode. This may not matter to you, since you are coming from a camcorder that has no viewfinder

- neither of these cameras has variable frame rate (their max frame rate is 30fps at 1080p)

- there are no affordable power zoom lenses for Canon cameras

With a $500 budget, you may want to stick with camcorders.

You may want to consider a Panasonic HC-V750 for $498 with a headphone jack for audio monitoring, a 20x power zoom, wi-fi control from your phone or tablet and multiple frame rates, to include 120fps at 1080p, that can give you results like these:


http://vimeo.com/106334024


http://youtu.be/9oLmagCeZFw


Hope this is helpful and good luck with your decision!

Bill
 
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brunerww said:
Hi Taisi - coming from camcorders, there are a few things you should know:

- early DSLRs such as the T2i are limited to 12 minutes of continuous recording before they have to be restarted. If you need to record a concert, event, speech, play, sermon - or anything else that lasts for more than 12 minutes, you have to hit the record button again, resulting in an interruption. With the free third party Magic Lantern firmware modification, the camera will auto-restart - but there is still a disconcerting interruption. The EOS M has a 30 minute limit before it has to be restarted, which is somewhat better.

- video autofocus is either non-existent (T2i) or slow (EOS M) on Canon DSLRs and mirrorless cameras

- there are no affordable power zoom lenses for Canon cameras

With a $500 budget, you may want to stick with camcorders.

Hope this is helpful and good luck with your decision!

Bill
Click to expand...

I think one of the reasons I was looking at the DSLRs was for the option of controlling your own focus easily. Taking a step away from the camcorder world, is there a DSLR (within reason) that is more suited to video production (and possibly has cheaper lenses)? :huh:
 
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If you need cheap lenses, look on ebay for old manual lenses, and then buy appropriate adapters. They might not be top-notch quality, but for playing around used lenses work perfectly. Remember that when adapting lenses, you usually lose autofocus. A camcorder would definitely be easier to use overall.

As for body, my first non-camcorder was an Olympus Pen ($275 with 14-42mm kit lens) and that worked pretty well for my purposes--but you can probably find something better within your budget. Micro 4/3 cameras are the easiest to adapt lenses to, because of their short flange distance, if you want to go the lens route I mentioned above.

And even at the $500 budget I would get a cheap microphone (unless you already have one) simply because internal mics on most DSLRs are completely terrible. I would use my camcorder as a microphone before using a t2i's mics.
 
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Sadly, a $500 limit is pretty...limiting.

The GH3 has dropped significantly, recently. But at about $800 it's still well above 500. And that's not including a good memory card or cards (the top notch ones cost a pretty penny, themselves), an extra battery, perhaps an extra battery charger, or lenses --which it sounds like you would need.

The other guys can probably tell you what used Gh2s or Gh1s are going for lately.

It looks like the Canon T3i with a kit lens is selling new for approximately $550 now, before taxes or shipping and handling. It does have it's shortcomings as mentioned by Bill. But if you really want to get a DSLR, I'm sure it's a pretty decent camera for 'playing around with.' But that price might not include all the accessories you might want to go with it, either.
 
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Taisi said:
I think one of the reasons I was looking at the DSLRs was for the option of controlling your own focus easily. Taking a step away from the camcorder world, is there a DSLR (within reason) that is more suited to video production (and possibly has cheaper lenses)? :huh:
Click to expand...

You can "control your focus" and avoid most of the limitations of DSLRs with a Panasonic mirrorless camera.

In this price range, you may want to consider a used Panasonic G6 with the 14-42 kit lens for $502 from Amazon Warehouse Deals.

This camera records continuously for hours instead of the typical DSLR's 12 to 30 minutes (very useful if you ever want to record a play, a speech, a concert or other event), it records 60 frames per second at 1080p for full HD slow motion, it has a built-in intervalometer for timelapse, it has built-in audio level meters and focus peaking, it is compatible with Panasonic power zoom lenses (there are no affordable power zoom lenses for Canon DSLRs) - and it has a viewfinder that actually works while you're shooting video so you don't have to buy a loupe or EVF to see what you're shooting in bright sunlight.

Here is what this camera can do:

Narrative

http://vimeo.com/78037118

http://vimeo.com/81339712

Music Video

http://vimeo.com/88584840

http://vimeo.com/84436275

Documentary

http://vimeo.com/97274302

http://vimeo.com/73561266

http://vimeo.com/87978429

http://vimeo.com/78507820

Slow Motion/Sport

http://vimeo.com/76503135

Wedding

http://vimeo.com/107366816

http://vimeo.com/104542323

Travel Video

http://vimeo.com/88543042

http://vimeo.com/86145944 (shot with a power zoom lens)

In my view, this is the best large sensor, interchangeable lens video camera you can buy below $750.

Again, hope this is helpful!

Bill
 
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