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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

What do you recommend?

What do you recommend?

  • USED Canon Xh-A1

    Votes: 4 5.8%

  • Canon 7D

    Votes: 24 34.8%

  • RED Scarlet Fixed

    Votes: 33 47.8%

  • Canon 5D MKII

    Votes: 8 11.6%
  • Total voters
    69
D

DDirector

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I AM PASSING ON THE SCARLET & 5D MKII - Too expensive in total!

I am looking at purchasing a camera but due to my limited amount of money, its a hard choice.

I originally wanted the fixed Scarlet but it might be too expensive for me.

This is what I had in mind. First, I am looking for something in the $2,000 price range. But, I can accept more.

Which of the 4 would you recommend?
USED Canon XH-A1 ($2,500)
*Canon 7D - no lenses inc. ($1900)
*Canon 5D MKII - no lenses inc.($3300)
...or even the Canon t1i? ($850)

*Since these dont have lenses, and don't have much money, I will only purchase 1 cheap, but good lens for the time being.

Although I don't like shooting with a still camera, it seems to be common. As I can see on this forum. I'd prefer a video camera, but whatever.

PROS:
With a digital camera you can shoot on really small locations - same with the Scarlet. Unlike the XH-A1.
CONS:
It seems as though it will be really shaky. Having a steadicam will seem odd.

So..?
 
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I would go with the Canon 7D for your price range. If you are willing to wait, you could also consider the Scarlet 2/3 and a miniprime. 7D seems to be the best bet. Cameras like the Xha1 are great but the industry seems to be moving away from those types of cameras and tape minidv is on the way out.
 
btw, where was your profine pic taken?
 
Cool, the cup came to my high school as well.
 
Cool.

So, for the 7D; you would record on the memory chip? Is that how everyone does it?
 
Class 6 cards for optimal quality to be precise. Size is up to you, whatever you can afford. The 7D does not have built in memory.
 
Andrew Rieger said:
Class 6 cards for optimal quality to be precise. Size is up to you, whatever you can afford. The 7D does not have built in memory.
Click to expand...

Do they have a lot of recording time? how many min.
lets say for a 32g.

What about recording on the Canon T1i?
You think that would be OK?
Reason is, I want to get a rid; shoulder mount, follow focus, and possibly a matte box if I got money. Like this:
http://store.zacuto.com/DSLR-Sniper.html
or I might as well get the Marksmen kit with a Redrock follow focus to reduce the costs.

With the T1i, I would be able to afford it.
But, I don't know if the video would be good enough compared to the 7D.
 
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not sure, the canon website will give you recording times for different size cards.
 
So, would it be better, or even possible to use some other thing to record on?
Like the RED, it has the CF card, and a RED-Drive. Can I do something like this for these cameras?

Im guessing that the recording time wont be so long, and I dont want to be running into problems where I run out of memory while shooting. Especially if its a long scene.
 
you will be limited to recording on cards, as of now,there is no practical way to record on uncompressed modules like a nanoflash.
 
Do you have a modern computer that can handle file and or codec conversion, drive space, and editing required by the newer cameras?
Do you have to shoot in HD?
What other gear do you own now?

My suggestion... and if I'm mistaken please forgive me, You are a young high school film maker who is plenty green, or you would not be asking this... Great deals are out there on very nice used Standard Definition gear like the Panasonic DVX100b, Canon XL2 and such, which are still great cameras which are used daily. Forget about the latest greatest high def cameras, and concentrate on learning the craft. With the money you save, purchase items that will have a greater impact in your films than a new camera. Like proper lights and a good microphone/boom. Remember there is a difference between resolution and quality.

All the Best!
 
We love our RED ONEs but have also recently added 7Ds to our kit. They are fantastic! I like to tell people that I just got my first 'video' camera in many years, and it's an SLR! And also, as someone who has spent a career living and breathing video tape, it is fantastic to no longer deal with tape, decks, digitizing, etc. Man, when I think back to film school, one of these little 7Ds would have been so cool! Yes there is some file conversion required, and yes there are limitations when shooting (jello effect, recording time, etc.), but it's a computer and software world from here on out.

That being said, David has a good point about finding some gently used gear. I can't bring myself to sell my DVX-100 to this day because it is bomb-proof and shoots a very nice SD picture on $5 tapes. There is something to be said about that. You can use iMovie and it's very difficult to screw up! My own personal advice (not to piss anyone off) is to stay away from HDV cameras. If you really want/need HD, I'd go with the 7D. In my opinion, HDV presents post headaches you don't want on your first time out.

BTW- We get about 22 minutes on an 8GB card shooting 1920 at 24fps.
 
I recently sold my Xh-a1 for a 7D... The a1 was a great camera, but, just like any 1/3" camera (even the ones with great codecs) you can't get the picture the 7D/5D produces. And I never realized how much of a PITA tapes were until shooting to a card.

Remember though, the 5D is allot more forgiving lens wise. You need expensive fast lenses on a 7D to get a sharp picture. The difference between video shot with the kit lens and an L-series is huge.
 
If you are strapped for cash and DOF is NOT a giant priority for you, consumer level cameras have been getting pretty good with 24p and codec compression. Something like the Canon S11 or even S10 can do well. They accept audio input and depending on your goals, they can be more than enough.

I also wholeheartedly agree with David. SD cams with pro features such as manual lens play and good audio input can trump HD any day. Again, depending on your goals, an upres to HD in an editor might even suffice for what you're looking for.
 
I had a 6 hour commercial shoot last Friday where we used a 7D and an XH-A1.
In all honesty the XH-A1 had a higher quality looking picture than the 7D.
 
David W. Jones said:
I had a 6 hour commercial shoot last Friday where we used a 7D and an XH-A1.
In all honesty the XH-A1 had a higher quality looking picture than the 7D.
Click to expand...

What lenses were you using on the 7D? My 7D looks better or at least on par with my A1 (besides aliasing). The Xh-A1 has an L-series lens on it though. So if you're not using an equivalent lens on the 7D it won't look as sharp.
 
My suggestion: get a 2nd job or whatever it takes and save your $$ for the Scarlet fixed.
 
If your on a budget and are seriously considering a dslr for video don't forget about the Panasonic GH1, it just had a price drop, $1300ish at Amazon WITH a kit lens. The alaising is a little worse on the 7D than the GH1, GH1 has more lens mount options and is the better cam for video. At $1300ish maybe it would let you get both the GH1 and a used A1, I see used A1's for $2k. If you work for a place that qalifies for the Panasonic Direct discount then it's $1,050 (with lens), If you have lenses you can buy the body only out of Japan for $800 and use the lenses you already have.

Just something to think about.
 
Bryce O said:
What lenses were you using on the 7D? My 7D looks better or at least on par with my A1 (besides aliasing). The Xh-A1 has an L-series lens on it though. So if you're not using an equivalent lens on the 7D it won't look as sharp.
Click to expand...

I was using my Contax Zeiss primes. The camera belonged to my AC on the shoot. Thought I'd give it a test to see how it compared to my GH1 which looks great cut in with the XH-A1.
 
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