What would be a nice video camera c.£1k?

[singlecoil]

Time for a decent video camera, I thought about getting a DSLR as I have some Canon lenses, but apparently they don't autofocus while shooting, and maybe a specialist video camera would be better anyway?

Mostly studio stuff, but occasional outdoors.

[RobDickinson]

70d can focus very well with video

[Dave 500]

Black magic video camera :-)

[mrdemon]

RobDickinson said:

70d can focus very well with video

This, I have the new 70D and it's amazing

but you will need a STM lens for film, none of mine even L spec really work for film work, but a cheap 18-135 STM IS does very very well.

[Mattt]

Canon DSLR plus MagicLantern firmware should be all you need!

IIRC even parts of the Avengers film were shot on Canon 60Ds during action sequences.

[RobDickinson]

^ note though any pro or semi pro shooting will involve a serious rig, focus follower setup, extra screens etc.

This guy wants a nice and easy autofocus setup.

[singlecoil]

mrdemon said:

RobDickinson said:

70d can focus very well with video

This, I have the new 70D and it's amazing

but you will need a STM lens for film, none of mine even L spec really work for film work, but a cheap 18-135 STM IS does very very well.

I've had a look at some reviews and it does seem like it would suit very well, although having to buy new lenses to get proper auto-focus is a bit off-putting.


Still, with a lot of the stuff I anticipate doing auto-focus isn't hugely important anyway, so maybe that's the way to go, and maybe get the 18-135 STM which should cover most situations that are likely to crop up where autofocus would be useful.


I had a look at the MagicLantern firmware too, very interesting stuff.

[Janesy B]

What lenses do you have?

[singlecoil]

Janesy B said:

What lenses do you have?

I currently have a Canon 10-22, an 18-(can't remember, the kit lens) and a Tamron 80-200, all EF. I'm using these with a Canon 1000D at present.

[Janesy B]

Don't see why they wouldn't work, STM lenses are a bit quieter and more accurate when focusing but I've even used my Tamron SP 70-300 f4/5.6 and Sigma 35 f/1.4 and it tracks and focuses fine. If you're working in really quiet environments you might want to use an external mic to cut down vibrations and noise from the AF motor but once you have some background noise it won't be too much of a factor.

Here's the official list of supported lenses.

http://www.usa.canon.com/CUSA/assets/app/images/ca...

The Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM 'pancake' lens seems popular and is £120 from Digital Rev.

Edited by Janesy B on Wednesday 9th October 09:41

[singlecoil]

That's encouraging, thanks. I would be using an external microphone anyway, so the noise wouldn't be an issue. In fact, it's the need for a radio mic input that is making me think about a new video camera anyway, as my current Sony doesn't have an external mic socket.

[Janesy B]

The only thing that lets the 70D down is the fact it doesn't have a headphone jack so you can monitor the sound output. Maybe if you have a friendly camera shop they'll let you try your lenses and you can test the AF and make sure it does what you need.

70D really is the pick of the DSLRs for video, you don't get the usual hunting/seeking you get with others. Using the screen to tap and choose where to focus is great too.

If you need any further convincing... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc58udMp3Lw

Edited by Janesy B on Wednesday 9th October 10:09