NEED CAMERA ADVICE!! $2500 budget

bbmagee32

bbmagee32

Hey all,

I'm a newbie here!! I'm looking to film a drama for a web series (audio must be very good.) I am by no means in the industry, I have a full time job so this is just a side project for my friends and I. I need some advice on the best system for $2500 ( needs to be HD)

I am considering..

Sony HDR-FX7 3CMOS HDV 1080i Camcorder
Sony HVR-HD1000U Digital High Definition HDV Camcorder
Panasonic AG-HMC40 AVCCAM HD Camcorder
Canon 7D or 5D.. but I would need audio for this??

Any advice is much appreciated!!!
 
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Shallow as this sounds... I chose 7d over t2i because of the quality of videos i've seen on youtube. The ones shot on the 7D generally seem better.

Also included in my purchase list was the Rode NTG2 shotgun.. I planned to boom that, Not the zoom h4!! hehe

Thanks again, really appreciating all the feedback!
 
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I haven't priced older generation (but should still fit the mount) canon lenses. I'm a Nikon and Pentax man, but you should be able to find primes for sub $100 all day long on ebay. Maybe a litttle more than that for longer lenses like 85 and 135.
 
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bbmagee32 said:
Shallow as this sounds... I chose 7d over t2i because of the quality of videos i've seen on youtube. The ones shot on the 7D generally seem better.
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Well, that doesn't sound shallow, but I would highly advise you to do a little more research and then make your decision. In the end, you might still choose the 7D, but I personally know a few people who chose the T2i, after doing the research, and I know one dude who owns the 7D, but wishes he had saved the money and got the T2i. In fact, that dude was by B-cam operator for the feature I just shot. We used both his camera and mine -- honestly, the footage is the same.

There are some differences, obviously, hence the higher price, but the vast majority of those differences are significant only to people who are active photographers. For video, the only thing I wish my T2i had is the 7D's ability to adjust Kelvin temp., incrementally.

I think it's probably just coincidence that the 7D videos you've seen are better. Or, maybe it's a function of the fact that in general, the people who can afford the 7D are also able to afford better lenses, a good mount and follow focus, etc, and are perhaps more experienced filmmakers. But I feel confident that it's not a result of the hardware -- on the inside, these cameras are practically identical.

P.S. It's nice to see someone on here who isn't a dude. This place is too much of a sausage party, most the time. :lol:
 
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Cracker

Thanks for the continuous replies and yes bbmagee32 is a woman!! honestly I would love to save the money on the camera and put it towards the audio. For the drama i wish to create sound really has to be on point for the effect.

Do you have any examples of footage shot on your own t2i?

If i go this route I can afford to buy it now along with all the audio equipment.
 
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bbmagee32 said:
Cracker

Thanks for the continuous replies and yes bbmagee32 is a woman!! honestly I would love to save the money on the camera and put it towards the audio. For the drama i wish to create sound really has to be on point for the effect.

Do you have any examples of footage shot on your own t2i?

If i go this route I can afford to buy it now along with all the audio equipment.
Click to expand...

I do, but I'm not the guy who's footage you should judge. I'm not anything remotely resembling a cinematographer -- I like working with actors, and stuff. The video bez posted above looks awful nice to me, and that was shot on the T2i. The video I'll post is in it's raw state -- all in-cam audio, no color correction or color grading.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfHTnPlRJVg

This video looks considerably better than mine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqn6mWuqwE0

If I find the time, I'll post one of my clips shot with the T2i, and one shot with the 7D, under the same conditions. They look the same.
 
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If I had the money to buy a portable HD monitor as well, I might consider going with the 7D… otherwise, I think the 550D/T2i is a much wiser purchase. (Incidentally, the 550D has the highest resolution screen of any of Canon's DSLRs at the moment, including the top-of-the-line 5D MKII and 1D MKIV - very helpful when pulling focus.)

If it will free up money to purchase audio equipment, I'd definitely go with the cheaper camera - from what I've seen, and what people who use these cameras professionally think, there's not really any difference between the footage from the two.

(Give me five minutes and I'll PM you some footage from the 550D…)
 
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chilipie said:
If I had the money to buy a portable HD monitor as well, I might consider going with the 7D… otherwise, I think the 550D/T2i is a much wiser purchase. (Incidentally, the 550D has the highest resolution screen of any of Canon's DSLRs at the moment, including the top-of-the-line 5D MKII and 1D MKIV - very helpful when pulling focus.)

If it will free up money to purchase audio equipment, I'd definitely go with the cheaper camera - from what I've seen, and what people who use these cameras professionally think, there's not really any difference between the footage from the two.

(Give me five minutes and I'll PM you some footage from the 550d…)
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There you are! I was waiting for you to chime in; in fact, I searched the forum looking for any footage you might've posted, but only found that one still you posted earlier.

Good point, mentioning the HD monitor. That's definitely something to take into consideration, bbmagee -- I've gotten by without it, but many people feel HD monitoring is a necessity.
 
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