ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

11 years, 7 months ago - Ross Leeson

If you want to be a self shooter you need mroe options than what a DSLR has to offer, you need to be able to plug in mic's for example. Parfocal lens for zooming is always handy too (one that maintains critical focus when you zoom out). A Video camera would do both of these. I've owned a 550d, 7D, 5D I sold the 5D because it was just as good as the 7D now i'm getting C100, but if I started again I would probably buy a Canon low budget Video camera. Video Cameras are easy to operate and run around with too, they are a lot more fun for shooting for the sake of shooting. Hence why sales have gone up this last year.

11 years, 11 months ago - eduardo silva

Hi guys thanks a lot for your support it was very valuable add different comments and opinions. It was a log week of research and I am happy with the output.

I try the camera the video camera option but at the end we wanted to have a good dslr as well to shoot products with a better quality so we went to the canon 5d mark iii and already very happy with the quality images and video.

I put here the cheapest london uk prices i could get on 8/11/2013 in a hurry....

Canon D5 miii £2750 with the 24-105 lens and a licence of premiere elements and lightroom that comes handy for my laptop on field.
I update very easy to the 1.2.3 framework for a clear hdmi output and some other features.
we also analyzing this interesting software that runs on the card http://www.magiclantern.fm/index.html also i am very happy with the extra usb functionality like usb to a pc remote control and to use it as stop motion.

Two extra Battery + Vertical Grip Holder for Canon BG-E11 LP-E6 to be save with energy £83

Memory 2 x SanDisk SDSDXPA-032G-X46 32GB Extreme Pro for 112.

The Atomos Ninja-2 10-bit HDMI Field Recorder (2013 Retail Kit) from digi broadcast for £537 VAT included
and one of the recommended Atomos ninja-2 HGST Travelstar 7K1000 1TB 7200 £54.99 VAT included

We got the lights, external mics and sound recorder.

At the end I finish expending £3500, that it is close from the Canon XF300 2.37 but with accessories become £4500 and we couldn't this time

Now finally i can concentrate in storyboards and shooting :)

Thanks again,

Eduardo

11 years, 11 months ago - eduardo silva

Thanks a lot stuey

11 years, 11 months ago - eduardo silva

Hi Paddy thanks for answering, I completely agree with you when I do "normal interviews" but this type of works I do are is for marketing research and at the end my client just pick 1 or 2 minutes from 2hs interview but they need this 2 minutes in a good quality,

11 years, 11 months ago - Felix Gill

for 3 grand, you can get a D600 Nikon and good lense - an atomos ninja and a zoom H6 recorder. You will have all you need.

11 years, 11 months ago - Susi Arnott

And the XF300 has a baby sister, the XF100 - one chip rather than three, and not such an amazing range to the zoom lens, but still great and half the price (plus it's smaller and lighter than the XF300, which was the other clincher for me while recovering from a spinal fracture - though I'd rather have the XF300 now!).

11 years, 11 months ago - Vasco de Sousa

Don't buy, rent or borrow. 550d is of course not full frame, so for indoor shooting (that is, tight spaces) you'll need wider lenses. The 600 and 650 are basically the same camera as the 550. They all have pretty good quality images, just a smaller, cropped, frame size.

The 5D has HDMI capability, so if I were in the market today, it would be one of my first choices. However, unless you're a full time camera person, you might not use it to the full.

The 1Dx and 1Dc are full frame, and the top of the range. But, they are expensive. However, you might want to rent one of them, or even a phantom flex or arri, if the film calls for it.

If you're not doing a lot of stills, it might be an idea to rent a video camera instead. Also, all dslrs are noisy, and tend to have terrible sound. And no, I don't think Rode microphones that attach to them are worth the money.

11 years, 11 months ago - Stuey Burnett

Just one lens? In that case go for something that offers flexibility in the field. 24-70 2.8L or the 24-105 4L. That way you don't have to move the camera to change the framing, which can be a pain if you're tight for space or have set up lights, sound etc.
don't forget to turn off AF and IS on the lens. The IS is noisy when recording video and you don't need it.
I use a Rode Pro mic on the 5D to improve sound, but use it simply to sync with external sound in the edit.
If you are filming all day with the 5D it will get hot, so factor in some cool down time during the day and consider the Ninja 2 external recorder/ monitor. It uses the HDMI outlet. Made the 5Diii 1000 times better for video.

11 years, 11 months ago - John Lubran

It's not about the two minutes picked for the final film. As Paddy states its about not interrupting the flow of an interview. We've recently produced a 16 minute film with a narrative entirely provided by a dozen or more interviews totaling over four hours of actual recording. You can't make a film from what you haven't got. It's basic film making methodology Eduardo. There's nothing new in film making other than the story and the technology available (and we all know that there are only seven stories but with a multitude of themes!).

These low cost DSLR stills cameras with excellent video capabilities can be the right choice for some projects but they have suffered from a degree of over hyping with stories of feature films and that one about the US medical TV drama series House being shot on one; but by the time you have got your camera kitted out for such a project its become many time more in both hardware and money than just being an off the shelf DSLR camera. In basic form these types of DSLR don't meet with EBU/BBC HD broadcast standards either because of their slow bit rates and associated motion handling shortcomings and there are quite awkward audio issue with many type as well. What seems to impact disproportionately on the mind of some film makers is the shallow depths of field possible from a DSLR but is that really enough to sacrifice all the other important facets we need from a camera? I can get pretty good control over depth of field from quite ordinary video cameras using fully zoomed lens to focal point from the right distance and maximum open iris with exposure control using any combination of filters and 'shutter' speed. Cameras such as the Sony PDW 200 and 300, especially the latter with non fixed lenses, can provide for all but the most specific purposes at full HD broadcast standard and with the superior operational flexibility over both sound and pictures of a dedicated film camera.

11 years, 11 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

I am out of touch with individual models but just need to flag if you're shooting talking head interviews there is generally a 12 minute limit on shots -that would really spoil the flow of an interview.

11 years, 11 months ago - eduardo silva

Hi Thanks a lot all of you, your comments have being very useful. We decide for the canon 5d mark iii mainly because to go for a good video camera involve 2000 pounds extra and at the end we will use the camera to take stills as well.

We already have lights, mics and external sound recorder and would be nice to have the legria as second camera in the interviews and then one day after we gain more experience we can move to a proper videocamera

Now we have to decide on the lens that it is even more complicated i thought about a 85mm to a 100mm for the interviews what do you think?

11 years, 11 months ago - John Maloney

PPS just my opinion: the cheaper Canon DSLRs (550d etc) are EXCELLENT quality cameras for their price. Unless you really really need the extra features the 5D provides, I would strongly advise buying a cheaper camera body and using the money you save on better/more lenses. Camera bodies are less important than the glass you put in front of them, generally.

11 years, 11 months ago - John Maloney

Just to clarify I believe the newer Canon models (5D mkiii specifically, not sure about the other ones) use different formatting on the cards so aren't limited to the 4gb/12min max recording time. However, due to EU tax rules they can't shoot for longer than 30 mins at a time. So - better than before, but still restrictive.

IMO the full-frame of the 5d etc is a draaaaaag. Using wide apertures on that sensor is a waste of time, it's waaaay too shallow. The crop frame of the 7D / 550D is plenty shallow for me - I would definitely choose that sensor over the 5D's (although the low-light capability is attractive)

11 years, 11 months ago - Stuey Burnett

Ask yourself this... Do I want a great stills camera that also shoots video?

If the answer is no then get a pro camcorder. I use a 5diii for everything. The images are great. Bear in mind that I also had to invest in a Atomos Ninja 2 to record at 4:2:2 pro res and a digital sound recorder, plus xlr mics. I'm really happy with my set up because I take still as well. So was willing to invest in top lenses, knowing that one day the 5diii would be replaced by something that offered more.

I recently hired a Canon XF 300. It is excellent, giving pictures equal to the 5d. You can get deals between £3-3.5k. Hire one for your next job and test it out. Hire a 5diii for the following job. This will answer your Qs.

Try the XF300 and your Legria as a second cam in the same shoot and see how well you can colour match the footage in the edit. I also use a Legria as a second cam for interviews to provide a different shot to use to cover an edit should the interviewee cock up.

11 years, 11 months ago - Peter Ward

The new Sony DSC-RX100 looks really good-features an integral 24-200mm eq. f/2.8 lens with a 1" sensor, and is probably the sharpest photo camera to shoot video to date. It is the only photo camera that shots video that doesn't line-skip to generate and HD image out of a high megapixel sensor. Here in the US it goes for $1300. The one downside is the framerates are 24p and 50/60p. No 25/30p because Sony are dicks and want to protect there processional video line.
-Peter

11 years, 11 months ago - eduardo silva

Thanks a lot John for your comment,

Maybe I am missing something but i though that with 32GB in a standard full frame DSLR I can record about 60 minutes depending on the configuration of course.

Unfortunately at this moment of experimenting into filming I don't have £5000 to buy a camera and I prefer to buy instead of renting because give me the freedom to as much I can and learn in the process.

Thanks again,

11 years, 11 months ago - John Maloney

PS not sure if you're set on 'full frame' specifically but I don't think the 600 or 650 that you mentioned are full frame, they're crop frame. I think the only full frame canon is the 5D (someone may correct me...)

11 years, 11 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

60 minutes of video, but not 60 minutes of *continuous* video. Brilliant for drama where you start and stop the camera the whole time, terrible for filming live concerts or interviews. I believe it's a limitation of the SD card format - at 44Mbps (the data rate Canon use in DSLR's which gives a frankly great quality) you find that the 4GB filesize is what limits a single file to 12 mins. Unlike video cameras, you don't natively have the ability to automagically start a new file. HTH