Best camera for 60fps to Slowmo at 720p or 1080p?

[Damon S]

We are producing slow motion video portraits for a large public artwork and need a recommendation on cameras.  We are shooting closeup faces in a portrait setting and then slowing them down anywhere from 2x to 6x.  I am finding that having 60 frames/sec is massively helpful when using Twixtor/AFX motion blending. 

 

Our current tests were produced using a d800 at 720p60 but I am finding that the video quality is weirdly low, and it looks like an encoding issue.  We also need to deploy this as a photobooth rig and the d800 is a) expensive and B) has shallower DOF than I would like due to FX.

 

Can anyone recommend a camera that does good 60fps at 720p or higher resolution?  We would ideally like to use HDMI and encode to disk but other workflows are considerable too.

 

Thanks

[Julian]

Panasonic GH3. 1080p60, good codec, sharp, enough DOF, hdmi possible.

[jgharding]

I use the Sony RX100 for this kind of 1080/60p thing, it's very sharp, easy to use and works well. Doesn't like low light though. The GH3 will produce higher quality video in terms of bitrate, but has more aliasing and moire problems and is more expensive. Decisions...

[Damon S]

Guys, this is awesome, thanks!  Re the RX100 - does it have usable HDMI out for live video at 1080p60?

[eoslover]

Guys, this is awesome, thanks!  Re the RX100 - does it have usable HDMI out for live video at 1080p60?

not a good idea. its HDMI out is just next to the tripod mount.

 

for better slow motion in good light situations I am pretty sure LX7/FZ200 going to beat RX100.

[Andrew Reid]

The D800 is no good at 720p. Much better at 1080p. For slow mo the GH3 is a better choice. The RX100 is nice but it is only a compact camera with a 1 inch sensor. You need a fast lens and larger sensor for shallow DOF.

[vas907]

For the price grab a GH2, throw a eoshd 88mbit hack on it. The 720p slo mo is great, resolution is on par with canon 1080p when upressed.

[powderbanks]

For the price grab a GH2, throw a eoshd 88mbit hack on it. The 720p slo mo is great, resolution is on par with canon 1080p when upressed.

 

OP could even get by with a gh1. the hacks for that when i used it were great as well. last i saw the gh2 body was going for $500 on amazon. pair it with a canon fd mount 50mm/1.8 or 1.4 and you should be set. though with the crop factor, 50mm (100mm equiv) could potentially be a little too long, depending on your photobooth setup. if you need autofocus, go with a native lens

[lafilm]

If money is an issue GH2 hacked.

[galenb]

Yep, A cheap GH2 or even cheaper GH1 would definitely do the trick. The only issue with the GH1 is that the HDMI out doesn't work while you're recording video. So that might be a deal breaker for you with the Photo Booth setup. However, the GH2 is fine. so yeah, that's probably you best choice. Also the GH1 or 2 will have deeper depth of field due to the smaller sensor. The recommendation of a 50mm lens is good if you are out and about and want to shoot telephoto but I would recommend a wider lens for the Photo Booth. Maybe a 24mm or 28mm lens instead. You can get a cheap Canon FD mount 28mm and an FD adaptor on ebay or Amazon.

[GravitateMediaGroup]

or get the gopro hero 3 black 120fps at 720 ; ) 

[pgre]

I love my FS100 for the Slow Mo.. although I'd love the FS700 if money was no object.