Canon, Nikon, Panasonic - What should I get?

[ethan_gd]

Im a novice filmmaker and I've been following websites like EOSHD, reading blogs like Philip Blooms and generally for the last 6-8 months researching camera gear while I have been saving up enough to buy my own gear and not just borrow friends. I am looking to spend about $1500 at first.

 

I love video and intend to shoot more, but I also shoot a lot of stills as well and that is obviously where my problems start. I would be very happy to buy a G6 or a used GH3 for video as I know these will outclass almost anything at that price range for video. Add a bunch of old nikkor primes and id be set. But I know stills and the DOF id get with the mft mount is nothing like that of a APS-C or FF nikon or canon. 

 

THE SONY A7s is amazing and if i could afford one I'd get it in a heartbeat, it retails at 3300 NZD here in NZ so its ridiculously out of my price range. Im looking to go second hand as it'll mean i can buy more lenses and such. 

 

Ive been looking at used 7D and D7100 bodies as both sit between 700-800 used meaning i could easily pick up a 50mm 1.8 prime, a 17-50 sigma or tamron 2.8 and maybe a telephoto lens for stills. 

 

Any suggestions or help I don't know what else to read or look at but I know what I buy now will influence my decisions and I'm not sure what to invest in. 

 

Also side note; if I purchase a 7D i will be shooting near exclusively with ML.

 

[andy lee]

 I would recomend g6 and nikon primes and the amazing nikon 28-70mm f2.8 IF ED

[pablogrollan]

Maybe a Sony A5100 and an E-mount to Nikon F speedbooster? The camera is really cheap, with a great 24MP APS-C sensor, XAVC-S codec for video, and the speedbooster would allow you to use those lovely legacy Nikkor lenses and get the full frame look. There is also a cheap but supposedly very good Commlite adpater for EOS glass in case you need to use stabilized lenses, and even some decent and affordable native Sony glass. Add a kinotehnik or zacuto loupe and you have quite a versatile camera for about 1000$.

[Inazuma]

Get a Panikonan :)

[Cinegain]

I'd forget about the 7D... unless you're really into sports and wildlife stills shooting as well.

 

For a hybrid shooter I'm not sure if it gets much better than the 5DmkIII. It's a serious stills camera and the RAW video is very pleasing, albeit the pretty demanding workflow. Might not be 4K and what not, but there's just some instant fullframe magic going on there. But well... and same goes for the A7S... pricey dicey. And glass that covers fullframe doesn't come cheap either.

 

So, I would kinda lean towards the Nikon D5300? Get a bunch of awesome lenses and you're good to go for stills and video.

 

That would kind of be my two dSLR picks for hybrid shooting I guess. 5DmkIII 1st, the D5300 coming in as a worthy 2nd.

 

I just went with the M43-system myself, since a 5DmkIII, or even a D5300 for that matter, kitted out with a few lenses is already way too big for what makes sense for my kind of shooting. I need to be able to keep it compact and light when needed. And although the mentioned two imho are superior for photography (and sometimes wish I had one of 'em), for video there's just a lot of possibilities and qualities to be found in some M43 cameras. G6 is nice, the GX7 is very affordable nowadays. Get a lens turbo and some nice 2nd hand lenses. Of course, Pablo has a good point suggesting the Sony A5100 as well. I guess any camera would do, it's just a matter of which suits your style a little bit better than another.

[/p/]

Just listen to Andy Lee.

[IronFilm]

Why are you even considering the Canon 7D?? :-/ 

 

Nobody sane should get a Canon DSLR to film with if they have researched the performance.

 

Soooooooooo many cameras are ruthlessly beating Canon, for less money too!!

 

I shoot with a Nikon D5200 professionally.

 

Here you can see how the Nikon D5200 compares against the best of Canon's DSLRs, the very expensive 5DmkIII. (Well... if you ignore the insanely priced 1DC, which is ridiculous):

http://www.eoshd.com/2013/02/nikon-d5200-vs-canon-5d-mark-iii/

http://www.eoshd.com/2013/02/nikon-d5200-review/

http://rungunshoot.com/nikon-d5200-studio-and-documentary-footage/

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[ethan_gd]

 I would recomend g6 and nikon primes and the amazing nikon 28-70mm f2.8 IF ED

 

 

I've been considering this a lot, is it possible to get that depth of field and bokeh with the mft sensor? with or without metabolise?

 

 

Why are you even considering the Canon 7D?? :-/ 

 

Nobody sane should get a Canon DSLR to film with if they have researched the performance.

 

Soooooooooo many cameras are ruthlessly beating Canon, for less money too!!

 

I shoot with a Nikon D5200 professionally.

 

Here you can see how the Nikon D5200 compares against the best of Canon's DSLRs, the very expensive 5DmkIII. (Well... if you ignore the insanely priced 1DC, which is ridiculous):

http://www.eoshd.com/2013/02/nikon-d5200-vs-canon-5d-mark-iii/

http://www.eoshd.com/2013/02/nikon-d5200-review/

http://rungunshoot.com/nikon-d5200-studio-and-documentary-footage/

'>

 

Or check out the A6000 which take the great sensor from the D5200 and puts it in a mirrorless body (yay!), then adds more extra features on top.

http://www.eoshd.com/2014/04/surprise-sony-alpha-a6000-video-mode-huge-improvement/

 

Alternatively, you can get the A5100 for even cheaper than the A6000.

 

The A5100 is basically the same camera as the A6000, but you lose the EVF and a few buttons, but you gain a touch screen and XAVCS codec. Which is a net gain in my books for filming with. I just picked up an A5100 myself for only US$330 thanks to the Black Friday sales.

 

So yeah, if you like the awesome A7s but have a tight budget you can get more than 90% of the A7s for a fraction of the cost by getting an A6000/A5100 instead. (you'll just lose a few things, for instance 4K but that costs $2k anyway to get as you need the Atomos Shogun. And you'll lose 120fps 720p, and have a max of 60fps HD instead. Although... the initial press release for the A5100 mentioned it had 120fps HD! I hope it will get it back in a firmware update...)

 

[Cosimo murgolo]

 

Why are you even considering the Canon 7D?? :-/ 

Have a look at this video!!!!

and this is the comment of the guy who did this.

 

I am really happy with 7D though, I think the image holds up very well. Until majority of cinema projectors and household TV's switch over to 4K, (which is a few years off IMO) I think 7D is more than sufficient for independent films. 1728x724 scales very nicely to 2k, no one can tell the difference, honestly... and most  film festivals and theaters will continue to project in 2k for a few more years, so I think 7D is a good investment. I plan to pick up a few more so I have backups. I really feel like camera is no longer limitation for great production. I will invest my money into lighting and  grip and stay with this platform for a few more productions.

7D was used for the majority, and 5D for a few scenes inside cars and stuff where I needed a REALLY wide FOV. I think the image quality of 7D is far superior to 5D2 because of the vertical lines on 5D2 (even with vertical stripe correction...) plus i like the Super35 sensor of 7D the best, it's much easier to pull focus, and the FOV is what I'm used to. 

[Cinegain]

Sure and while you're at it, drop some videos from a GH2 here as well.

Remember this post earlier this year? http://www.eoshd.com/2014/05/kendy-ty-t2i-one-guy-amazing-things-5-year-old-dslr/

Nobody says last generation cameras immediately suck as soon as something newer comes out. They've been used to great extent for a reason.

But does it really make sense to put your money down and get that kind of camera, when there's so much else out there that's affordable and has 2014-tech? Not so sure...

[Cosimo murgolo]

Sure and while you're at it, drop some videos from a GH2 here as well.

Remember this post earlier this year? http://www.eoshd.com/2014/05/kendy-ty-t2i-one-guy-amazing-things-5-year-old-dslr/

Nobody says last generation cameras immediately suck as soon as something newer comes out. They've been used to great extent for a reason.

But does it really make sense to put your money down and get that kind of camera, when there's so much else out there that's affordable and has 2014-tech? Not so sure...

yes I like  Kendy's stuff, I absolutely agree with you, I am sure there are some beautiful gh2 stuff, of course!.

The guy was mentioning the 7D and others cameras, while on vimeo watching videos  I found it nice for him to share this video, so he could have an idea about what he can achieve with this camera, but it could have been any camera..

[studiodc]

I'll chip in and say Andy's advice on the G6 is pretty spot on for budget filmmaking - my only complaint at all about the G6 is the lack of clean HDMI out, but that hasn't stopped me (or Andy, or a bunch of other folks here) from making some really great product with it. It's also very lightweight, makes a great B-cam when you upgrade later on, and has a fantastic image compatible with the GH2/3/4 series. I use mine with a speedbooster all the time and yes, you can get some very nice DOF with it - it's a very slightly different aesthetic from full-frame glass but it's very similar to Super35 cinema (with the speedbooster) or Super16 cinema (without it) - so I seriously don't think you're losing out on anything!

 

Really, any of these smaller-than-Super35 sensors can give you beautiful results with the right glass - I mean films have been shot on Super16 for decades and nobody complained about it not being "filmic" (hah!). It's not even a limitation - to many filmmakers it's an advantage - lighter weight gear, less expensive glass (in general, especially vintage), more options as more glass will cover the smaller sensor, etc. 

 

As for stills, there are of course better stills-only cameras out there, but I've also taken some quite nice shots with the G6 - it just tends to get noisier faster than the newest generation of sensors. Again, that hasn't stopped me from taking some really wonderful shots with it. The MFT family has some fantastic photo heritage by now, so I'd say to put your money in good glass and nice adapters and just upgrade bodies from time to time as you have money.

 

The GM1/GX7 also take some fantastic footage and photos too, I'd say the video quality is on par with the G6 but the photo quality is slightly better.

 

Whatever you do, I highly recommend the Speedboosters (or similar, quality, focal reducers) and vintage glass - Nikon glass focuses the "wrong" way so I recommend you either get all Nikon glass or not at all.

 

Either way since you're on a serious budget my advices is to get a Canon (FD or EOS) speedbooster and adapt it to your glass - don't get the Nikon 'booster as that limits you - you can adapt a Nikon lens (or Contax-Yashica, or...) to a Canon mount but not the other way 'round. Also note that you can't adapt FD to EOS or vice versa - the mounts are too similar to be adapted but too different to be compatible. So make your commitment to which Canon line of lenses you're likely to have better access to - buying, renting, and borrowing included. With a quality Canon-Nikon adapter I've had no problems, but some people don't like to stack adapters, especially with heavy lenses, and I don't blame them. You have to decide if the cost of owning multiple dedicated adapters is worth it to avoid that, if you're faced with a slew of different mount lenses to play with.

 

I can't speak for Sony mirrorless as I don't really use Sony gear, but I can definitely say that the advantages of mirrorless over DSLR for filmmaking (and photography) - for me - outweigh any perceptible "quality" differences, so I'd recommend any quality, well-reviewed mirrorless system (particularly with the focal reducers) over any DSLR, personally. Then just get out there and make films!

[Andrew Reid]

If you're shooting raw with Magic Lantern check out the used price of the 5D Mark II, it's a bargain especially with the VAF anti-aliasing filter.

 

Then stick a cheap fast prime on it.

 

If that is out of your budget then yeah the G6 is a nice choice, but you'd need to invest a lot more in lenses to get it to look as good as the 5D

[/p/]

If you're shooting raw with Magic Lantern check out the used price of the 5D Mark II, it's a bargain especially with the VAF anti-aliasing filter.

 

Then stick a cheap fast prime on it.

 

If that is out of your budget then yeah the G6 is a nice choice, but you'd need to invest a lot more in lenses to get it to look as good as the 5D

 

Lenses like what? Why couldnt you just adapt some vintage glass?