"No-budget" Video

[Richard Bugg]

A Nikon perspective: I've progressed through the Nikon D200, D700, D7000, D5300 and D750 and used all of them pretty extensively. I have no qualms with the build quality of any of them for travel and landscape. Sure, if you throw them onto rocks then jump on them, some will survive better than others. But in day to day use with being reasonably careful I've never found build quality to make a material difference for indoor/outdoor use. I have however, found the weight and size to make a material difference, and I generally prefer to take the smallest and lightest camera when travelling and when weight and space are at a premium, so the D5300 is a real winner here. In terms of image quality, the D5300 (and hence D5500) is significantly better than the D7000 and consequently I would pick the smaller and lighter camera for its IQ over the D7k pretty much every time for every application, so much so that I rarely used the D7k and in the end sold it. For travel and landscape I've often paired the D5300 with the 35mm 1.8 (small, light, sharp and cheap) and been done with it. I've taken some very nice panorama landscapes in the bush and stitched them later in photoshop, so carrying a wide angle is less critical in that application. One real world limitation vs the D7xxx series is the slight increase in shutter lag and more button presses at times to change settings for the D5xxx. So for events the D7xxx series is a bit better in that way, being somewhat more responsive and with some more dedicated buttons for ISO, WB etc. But again, if I had both the D7k and D5300 at hand for an event I'd likely opt for better IQ and go with the D5300. For video, as others have mentioned, the D5xxx is a lot better, not the least because of the articulating screen, and because you get 1080 60p and a better overall image. Of course, the D750 spanks all of them all round, except for size/weight, but it's a lot more dollars and the lenses are bigger and heavier. Even with the D750 available, when size and weight are important I'll often take the penalties of the D5300 and leave the D750 at home. For my uses the D5xxx series packs a lot of bang for buck. Paired with a 35mm 1.8g, the Sigma 18-35 and something longer, it's pretty darn good.

[Cinegain]

Amen! The only exception to the mirrorless violence here is the D5300. As well regularly have it paired up with the 35mm f/1.8 which is a superb allrounder. What is quite frustrating for me coming from a background of snappy mirrorless liveview cameras is indeed the operational lag, especially using liveview with stills and the mirror flipping around like two times. Still though, especially for landscapes, how are my M43 cameras supposed to compete?! Especially pairing the D5300 up with the amazing 28mm f/2.8 AI-s MF. Wouldn't mind the upgrade to the D5500 for the touchscreen and flat profile. Nikon for me is the brand for stills and the D5xxx line-up is such tremendous value. It really is. I'd like to see them being a little nicer in use though, especially the liveview experience and having the D5xxx line-up as well drive the focus motor of certain lenses. Ulitmately I'd have them just come out with a mirrorless version of the D5500. Anyways. That's a whole other discussion.

[freeman]

Rochester NY, no way! I live here too! You an RIT student? I started shooting with a GH2 myself and I use a GH4 now. I use the GH2 as a b-cam occasionally but would consider selling to you in your price range, send me a PM. It was my first camera and I made a ton of films with it. I'd recommend mirrorless myself because you aren't tied to a lens mount, and your existing glass will transfer. Many great cheap lens options out there too in older mounts. 

[IronFilm]

On 9/10/2016 at 11:47 AM, ncam said:

 

Cool! Thanks for the help! I did look into the D5500 and I'm very interested by it, I'm just not sure that I want to surrender the D7000 as I do use it frequently for landscape and event photography (need the weather seals and mag-alloy body)

Sell it and buy a Nikon D7200, a vastly better idea than going with any Canon APS-C DSLR.

[DBounce]

1 hour ago, IronFilm said:

Sell it and buy a Nikon D7200, a vastly better idea than going with any Canon APS-C DSLR.

Would not buying something denote a budget? Or was the plan to steal gear... or maybe the title needs changed.  I wonder if other groups have these "no budget" threads.  Hmmm... no budget automotive repair... no budget electrical service... no budget cruises? 

If there really is no budget, there really is no project.

[IronFilm]

It is "no budget" in quotation marks, which means in effect some kinda of very ultra low budget.

[ncam]

I bought a Panasonic G7, got a good price from a friend.  The meaning of "no-budget" was that I really don't have a set amount of funds set aside to dedicate to this, just trying to get into a better video camera at the lowest price possible.  I picked up a Zhongyi Nikon Lens Turbo too so that I can adapt some of my Nikon.  All-in, I'm at about $350, and I still have my D7000.  I'll keep details coming once I get the camera.

Also, for all of the D5500 suggestions -- my roommate currently owns one, so I'll be borrowing his as needed (was totally unaware that he owned one, I thought it was a D5200 for the longest time, but he doesn't shoot much at all, so I barely ever see it.)