What Camera Should I Buy?

S

Scorer

I am not sure what camera to get. I am making cinema style short films. We are currently using a Canon T3i, which I am pleased with, but I am not sure if that is what I want to purchase.

However, so far I am thinking it is between that and the Canon HV40.

Any suggestions?
 
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Hi Scorer - if you are already shooting with the T3i, you probably already know that it loses both autofocus and the viewfinder in video mode, that it won't shoot over 12 minutes continuously, that it has no way to set sound levels and that it has a tendency towards moire when shooting complex, patterned objects such as brick work, shingled roofs and patterned fabrics.

If you're OK with that, they're on sale right now, with the kit lens, for $599 at Amazon.

If you're not OK with that, you might want to look at the $749 Panasonic GH2. The autofocus and the viewfinder continue to work in video mode, it shoots essentially unlimited length clips (no artificial 12, 20 or 30 minute limits), it has 4 step audio level control, the autofocus on video-optimized Panasonic lenses is silent, and it is far less susceptible to moire than the Canons - see these examples (GH2 vs Canon 60D):

https://vimeo.com/20565849

https://vimeo.com/21962491

And here is what the GH2 can do:

Roberto Miller - US
Mandorla anamorphic narrative trailer - (hacked GH2): https://vimeo.com/40844162

Gami Orbegoso - Spain
Musgo narrative trailer (hacked GH2): https://vimeo.com/33025136

Gami Orbegoso - Spain
Musgo intro - first 5 minutes (hacked GH2 - caution NSFW): https://vimeo.com/45596420

Ryan Elliott - US
Unattended narrative short - (hacked GH2): https://vimeo.com/41379315

Harvey Walton - UK
Salome narrative short (hacked GH2): https://vimeo.com/34569159

Stephen Nguyen - US
Dysphoria narrative short (hacked GH2): https://vimeo.com/42892833

Michael Tsim - UK
Blacks spec commercial (unhacked GH2): https://vimeo.com/42204451

J. R. Dise - US
release anamorphic narrative short (hacked GH2): https://vimeo.com/42252615

Gunther Machu - Austria
Oh Angkor documentary (hacked GH1/GH2): https://vimeo.com/42107369

Hope this is helpful,

Bill
 
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I agree with brunerww. I am very happy with the hacked GH2. You pay for a $700 camera that will perform like a much more expensive one.

The only things that you have to be aware on this option are:

- There is no reason to buy GH2 and use the official firmware. This is a gear to be hacked. If you want an official firmware with support from the manufacturer, forget it. GH2 is a camera for those who don't mind with manufacturer's support and want to research things by themselves.

- Complicated audio interface. 2.5mm input, no output to monitoring. I don't mind, since I record audio from another device.
Edit: in this guide ( http://osgfilms.com/gh2-quickstart chapter 5 ) you find a nice solution for this issue.

- You need fast SDHC/SDXC memory cards, which are expensive in comparison with ordinary cards.

Other than that, a great camera.
 
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It's the easy part, hehe. You just need to choose which patch you want to use, upload to the camera card by usb connection, turn on and go to playback mode. The camera asks you to confirm the change, and in 2 minutes it's ready to use.

Read this guide, is very simple and you get the first notions. In chapter 3 you learn how to hack step-by-step. http://osgfilms.com/gh2-quickstart

And on this forum, you find any hack you want: http://www.personal-view.com/talks/categories/hack-top-settings


About your second question, do you mean DOF?
 
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Yes I do mean DOF haha.

So can you change hacks and remove them if you don't like them, etc. ? Because the video that I watched with that camera had impressive quality for the price, and its certainly in my price range.
 
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Yes, you can change the hack anytime you want, and even you can go back to the official firmware if you need assistance on guarantee, for example.

The DOF is pretty good, and just depend on the lens. Take a look on my last video, that I made with a lot of light so even with the lens quite closed, I got a nice bokeh (in my opinion).

https://vimeo.com/54239511
 
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Lenses will always depend on what you want to shoot. As you said you want short films, in my personal opinion I recommend 3 lenses:

- A vintage 50mm 1.4 from Canon FD/Minolta/Pentax. Anyone from these 3 will be awesome.
- A wide angle and sharp lens like Panasonic Leica Summilux 25mm 1.4, which will cover you for autofocus situations and sharp needed images.
- Sigma 30mm 1.4 which specially for GH2 have an amazing cinematic look for videos (not so much for pictures)

And there are wider lens if you need, like Nokton 17.5mm, or SLRMagic 12mm.
 
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I recommend the canon T4i for you. You said you are pleased with T3i, and you are making cinema style short films.May be you are interestd in T4i. The canon T4i is an absolutely recommendation for most people who want to shoot cinema quality HD video with the a video camera.Compare the T3i and T4i, maybe it's a good choice for you
 
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katty said:
I recommend the canon T4i for you. You said you are pleased with T3i, and you are making cinema style short films.May be you are interestd in T4i. The canon T4i is an absolutely recommendation for most people who want to shoot cinema quality HD video with the a video camera.Compare the T3i and T4i, maybe it's a good choice for you
Click to expand...

I thought it might be a good choice for me too, but I was wrong. After selling my T2i due to lack of autofocus and video viewfinder, I rented a T4i to compare with my GH2 because I thought that, with touchscreen and autofocus, I might be able to go back to Canon. Here is what I found:

PROS
- Canon JPEGs are still noticeably better, out of the camera, than the GH2's
- The video autofocus is fabulous - lightning quick - and the touchscreen is much more responsive than the GH2's
- Clip length limit has been raised to 22 minutes - still short, but better than the ridiculous 12 minute limit on earlier Canons

CONS
- Autofocusing lenses are still noisy, even Canon's new "quiet" 40mm STM, which can clearly be heard on the soundtrack in a quiet room
- Not compatible with my new favorite Canon FD lenses
- I would need to go out and buy an LCD viewfinder for bright sunlight because it still has the viewfinder blanking problem
- Moire and Canon 'softness' are still issues

The T4i doesn't convince me to go back to Canon yet. They've shown they can beat the moire problem with the 5D Mark III - I don't know why they haven't done it with the Rebels.

Best,

Bill
 
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You've already got a good camera. Keep it. Spend your money on audio, glass, and/or lighting.

EDIT: Oops, like a dork, I totally read your question wrong. Anyway, if you're happy with the T3i then maybe get that. My only objection to the GH2 is the increased crop factor. That being said, I know a couple of really talented filmmakers who use it as their first camera.
 
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