Talk to me about dslrs

[Loren Littlejohn]

As if I was retarded.

Thinking of snatching one up.

What I want to do with it:

1: take decent pics, nothing more than personal use though. Good low light would be good as well.
2: take video, again personal use only. With today's tech I want at least 720 though.

Things I don't think I care about:

1: build quality of body (plastic over metal)
2: super ultra high pixel count (again not for professional use)
3: audio quality (plug in external mics for example, don't need it)
4: screen size on back
5: if the tech is slightly dated
6: wireless transfer (plugging it in or using a card reader is ok and prefered)
7: if flash is built into camera.

I've been thinking about the nikon d3100 with nice glass down the road unless this camera isn't worth the time. Seems like a decent first camera. I would love to keep this down around 4-500 used or refurbished.

 

[Joematthews]

Any canon or nikon is good for entry level stuff. I personally dislike the user interface and shape of the nikon d3100, so I'd rather get a Canon Eos 550d, but you might feel differently so it's worth trying a few.

If you're more interested in video than photography then it might be worth considering a panasonic gh2 because the resolution is much better than dslr's and doesn't show artifacts like moire or aliasing as much, although it won't have the shallow depth of field that dslr's do, or the choice of very wide lenses.

 

[DullElysium]

I have canon eos 550d and i'm more than happy with it.

And if you want to shoot in darker places you can buy the canon nifty fifty (50mm f1.8) for under 100

 

[Potshot]

The GH2 is indeed a fabulous beast for video, picked one up last week after umming and ahing over various demo vids on youtube/vimeo, and I must say once you behold the raw footage out of this thing, it's a revelation. I spent a fair whack of money on a voigtländer f/0.95 prime for low light shooting to go on it, but the kit 14-42 or 14-140 that comes with it is fairly decent with enough light. It's also pretty snazzy for stills.

 

[AntonioPetrole]

I was literally gonna post a thread about this today. I'm also in the market for an entry level camera. I have a friend who wants to sell me his D3100 but recommends I get a t2i. I don't want to spend the extra $150 bucks to get a T2i because I feel like I would be fine with the D3100 but I know it has a lower pixel count and the D3100 doesn't have a jack for external mics (which I really don't think I will care about).

I wanna get a camera mostly for HD studio videos and amateur pictures but I don't want to regret not going the extra mile and getting the t2i. From what I gather though an expensive lens on a cheaper camera goes much farther than an expensive camera with a cheap lens.

 

[Axonic Rot]

I would say the best value on the market right now is a T2i body(around 500 USD new) only paired with a canon 50mm f1.8(100 USD new).

http://youtu.be/W39sWcWIiyI

http://youtu.be/v9NkNJfxny0




I own a t2i and a sigma 30mm f1.4. It's an upgrade over the canon 50mm, but the cost five times as much. It's still a bargain. I get footage off of my rig and I look at it and can't believe it was shot with affordable consumer equipment.

 

[Joematthews]

The D3100's video mode is hideous in terms of usability (not in quality), I'd definitely get the canon (or panasonic) over the Nikon if video is something you are interested in.

 

[arv_foh]

canon t2i or t3i, video on nikons is not nearly as good

 

[Atheist]

I don't know about newest models, but if I'd have to compare Canon and Nikon in one sentence it would be: "Nikon does the better job at auto-focusing in low light condition, Canon has better video".

 

[Nolly]

I would say the best value on the market right now is a T2i body(around 500 USD new) only paired with a canon 50mm f1.8(100 USD new).

http://youtu.be/W39sWcWIiyI

http://youtu.be/v9NkNJfxny0




I own a t2i and a sigma 30mm f1.4. It's an upgrade over the canon 50mm, but the cost five times as much. It's still a bargain. I get footage off of my rig and I look at it and can't believe it was shot with affordable consumer equipment.

Yep, exactly this. A T2i and a 50mm prime will get you excellent results for relatively little outlay

 

[arv_foh]

I don't know about newest models, but if I'd have to compare Canon and Nikon in one sentence it would be: "Nikon does the better job at auto-focusing in low light condition, Canon has better video".

this is a very accurate statement

 

[Atheist]

this is a very accurate statement

And I don't even own a camera. Few of my friends are pro photographers and they talk about equipment a lot, so that's the conclusion I got to about Canon vs Nikon.

I played with lots of their equipment and I don't like Canon's dial for navigation (or how do you call it), but that's completely subjective.

 

[Charlie E.]

I would say the best value on the market right now is a T2i body(around 500 USD new) only paired with a canon 50mm f1.8(100 USD new).

http://youtu.be/W39sWcWIiyI

http://youtu.be/v9NkNJfxny0




I own a t2i and a sigma 30mm f1.4. It's an upgrade over the canon 50mm, but the cost five times as much. It's still a bargain. I get footage off of my rig and I look at it and can't believe it was shot with affordable consumer equipment.

Videos like this make me feel silly for buying a high quality HD camera.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

I've got a 60d for stills and a pair of hacked GH2's for video. One of the main reasons I haven't been online in a while is because I've had so much video work. I've got 2 music videos on the go & a concert vid I'm editing as well.

When it comes to video, the GH2 annihilates Canon, especially with the hack.

As for shallow depth of field, not a problem. throw an old 50mm Nikon or 58mm Helios and it's Depth of Field like any other camera.

For wides, i use a 12mm Olympus that's freakin' beautiful.


The added bonus about the GH2 is that it's mirrorless & you can adapt just about any lens to it. Including the old Canon FD glass which won't work on EOS cameras without an adjustment lens. I've got an old Canon 20mm FD 2.8 that's incredible. You can get old Canon FD's for pretty cheap.

don't take my word for it though: Check out this hack demo reel. it's got all kinds of amazing stuff in it: Wide shots, close ups, DOF shots.
https://vimeo.com/32563119


here's an amazing piece done with an anamorphic lens on a GH2
https://vimeo.com/33047750

And finally, this is what clinched it for me:

https://vimeo.com/33025136
FWIW, this is the most cinematic piece I've yet to see come from a DSLR.



A pair of frame grabs from a concert video I'm editing. That's not a typo: these are actual video frames, not stills.

 

[Damphire]

T2i is definitely the way to go. I've used both D3100 and 550D for video and the canon is better (though I liked the pictures with the nikon better).

I filmed this at NAMM with a T3i (same camera, more extras) with the kit lens and a 50mm 1.8. It was the first time I used the camera, and has no post processing.



Be warned tough. The 50mm is indeed sharper that the kit lens but it is well... fixed at 50mm and it has no stabilization. If you'll be filming exclusively "close ups" with a tripod then its ok, if you'll be moving around and want wide shots too then its no so good. I'd go with a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM

 

[Charlie E.]

The videos I've seen of the hacked GH2 look great.

Glenn, are these "hacks" easy to install? Does the hacked GH2 work well with Final Cut X?

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Thanks guys. Seems like the 3100 or even the newer 3200 is off the list. I'll snag a bit more cash and grab a t2i (used hopefully) down the road. I'm not in a hurry to get this, again it's more for amateur stuff and to learn Final Cut Pro HD better (I bought version 7 a bit ago).

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I would say the best value on the market right now is a T2i body(around 500 USD new) only paired with a canon 50mm f1.8(100 USD new).

http://youtu.be/W39sWcWIiyI

http://youtu.be/v9NkNJfxny0




I own a t2i and a sigma 30mm f1.4. It's an upgrade over the canon 50mm, but the cost five times as much. It's still a bargain. I get footage off of my rig and I look at it and can't believe it was shot with affordable consumer equipment.

This is more than good enough for what I'm after. I'm sure the stills looks great as well?

 

[Glenn Fricker]

The videos I've seen of the hacked GH2 look great.

Glenn, are these "hacks" easy to install? Does the hacked GH2 work well with Final Cut X?

Yes, the hack is easy to install. Just make sure you're on a freshly charged FACTORY battery, not a substitute. You don't want the power interrupted as you're upgrading the firmware. The only time anyone has ever bricked their camera is by installing firmware with a non-factory battery.


Not sure about final cut, I'm on PC.

check out http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussions for more information. Do some research before posting a question, though!


here's a Youtube link to the Musgo trailer.... doesn't do it justice, IMO. Looks much better on the Vimeo player.

https://vimeo.com/33025136