Hello guys, I have to urgently buy a new camcorder.
I need the best for low light situations.
I was thinking of :

1) Canon HF S11 / Canon HF S100

2) Panasonic HDC-TM300

3) Sony HDR-XR520V

I am really confused in which is really better.

I would not mind to use the 24p or 30p feature, as long as the camcorder does NOT forget my setting each time I turn it off.
What I mean is that, I turn on and off the camera very often and I shoot video under low light situations. If to increase the low light ability of the camcorder, requires to use the 24p or 30p feature, that is hidden in a submenu that to access requires time, I would lose the scene to record.
I would love that the camcorder remember my setting each time I turn it on or off.
I have an old sony cacorder that has the 24p feature. The problem is that after setting the 24p mode on and turning off the camcorder, when I turned it on later , I have to set the 24p again. I lose the 24p setting when turning the camcorder off.

Thank you

These are the same exact cameras that I am trying to choose between. I am leaning towards the Sony as I have always been impressed with their image stabilization and am interested in it's still shot capabilities.

Why sony ?

I read that has a lower rate encoding and there are some reviews that says that the low light ability is not suck great.
I also read that the face recognition sometimes make the auto focus work not weel and the camera start hunting the subject.
I was more leanyng instead toward the panasonic or the canon.
Problem with the panasonic is that I read that the low light is not that good after all. The images are grainy and washed out.
While the canon is good in 24p in low light. The problem for me with that is that I hate go through the menu sistem each time to select the 24p or 30p each time I turn on the camera. I am not sure if the canon remember my setting. For example I set it to 24p and I turn it off. Then I turn it on ant the 24p is still there.

Than there is the Sanyo hd2000, but I guess forget about the image stabilization and recording concerts. You are going to lose footages every 4gb for the FAT formatting of the card....

So I am so confused, plus different reviews, give positive review to 1 camera and another review says instead is bad....where is the truth ???

Would u like to share with me some of our thoughts about it ?
Why you would prefer the sony?
thank you

Why sony ?

I read that has a lower rate encoding and there are some reviews that says that the low light ability is not suck great.
I also read that the face recognition sometimes make the auto focus work not weel and the camera start hunting the subject.
I was more leanyng instead toward the panasonic or the canon.
Problem with the panasonic is that I read that the low light is not that good after all. The images are grainy and washed out.
While the canon is good in 24p in low light. The problem for me with that is that I hate go through the menu sistem each time to select the 24p or 30p each time I turn on the camera. I am not sure if the canon remember my setting. For example I set it to 24p and I turn it off. Then I turn it on ant the 24p is still there.

Than there is the Sanyo hd2000, but I guess forget about the image stabilization and recording concerts. You are going to lose footages every 4gb for the FAT formatting of the card....

So I am so confused, plus different reviews, give positive review to 1 camera and another review says instead is bad....where is the truth ???

Would u like to share with me some of our thoughts about it ?
Why you would prefer the sony?
thank you

The Canon VIXIA models remember the settings. I use 30P mode all the time and it's always still there when I use it again. Unless you don't use the camcorder for 6 months or more it should be there still.

I would chose the Canon HF-S11. I do a ton of recording at night with the Canon VIXIA series. Nothing but excellent results. Fireworks Mode is another great feature.

Why not get the Panasonic GH1. With the stock lens on, the low-light capability is decent but once you add Panasonic's f1.7 lens, The GH1 kicks the ___________ out of all of them. That lens constantly auto-focuses in the in the video mode just like the bundled lens according to DP Review. The biggest problem is that the 1920x1080 24p mode isn't that great compared to other camcorders if you pan to quick but the 1280x720 60p mode looks very good.

I think I am going to get a Sony also. Unless Canon HF S11 gets to the similar price range, which may fall me into hard decision. But, that would be unlikely.

The reviews do split. Somehow, I manage my way to get this conclusion: Sony is better for point-and-shooter. Especially you talk about low light.

Then I did the following two researches: 1. See what people talk about. Taking AVS forum for example, people talk about XR 520/500 much more than HF S10/100. HS300/TM300, basically, is not mentioned much.

Then I went to see what people buy. In US, it's XR 520/500 > HF S10/100 > HS300/TM300. In Japan, it's XR 520/500 > TM300 > HF S10/100.

The above three point to a single unanimous winner: Sony.

HF S10/100 has some adventages: 1 Stills performance. 2. Bright light video. But, it has one fatal: stabilization, which ruins everything IMO. Its low light may reach similar performance as Sony's, if you don't mind use menual control to get it. To me, this not acceptable.

Panny, has not any benefit, IMO.

After all three companys launched their 2nd generation of 2009, I checked the Japanese market(US market is not mature yet), #1 is Sony CX 500. Guess what #2 is? CX 520.

I don't believe a good product would miss in the market or discussion I could be wrong though. But, I do see the landslide of Sony this year-- except in some technical review sites.

Why not get the Panasonic GH1. With the stock lens on, the low-light capability is decent but once you add Panasonic's f1.7 lens, The GH1 kicks the ___________ out of all of them. That lens constantly auto-focuses in the in the video mode just like the bundled lens according to DP Review. The biggest problem is that the 1920x1080 24p mode isn't that great compared to other camcorders if you pan to quick but the 1280x720 60p mode looks very good.

Doesn't the Panasonic GH1 has the 4gb limit problem ?
What I mean is that maybe at 4gb of continuos recording the camera stop recording by itself.....am I correct ? or maybe it does like the sanyo that cut the video while saving the file to the card and than start the new video file, making us lose few seconds of video footage ?

than kyou

The Canon VIXIA models remember the settings. I use 30P mode all the time and it's always still there when I use it again. Unless you don't use the camcorder for 6 months or more it should be there still.

I would chose the Canon HF-S11. I do a ton of recording at night with the Canon VIXIA series. Nothing but excellent results. Fireworks Mode is another great feature.


Is it the 30p mode really bad when shooting fast moving objects ?

also

do u use the 30p mode in both night and bright light situations ?
does it really the quality of the night shot videos increase when shooting in 30p ?

1 last question, can I set in the canon the 1/30 shutter mode ? Will the camcorder remeber that setting when shutting it off and than turning it on again ?
I used 1/30 on my canon hv10 to boost low light performance, but getting more noise videos...I hope that new generation camcorders do better than my hv10 in low light situations. On my hv10 I was seing black lines all over the video, when shooting in low light situations.
thank you


I think I am going to get a Sony also. Unless Canon HF S11 gets to the similar price range, which may fall me into hard decision. But, that would be unlikely.

The reviews do split. Somehow, I manage my way to get this conclusion: Sony is better for point-and-shooter. Especially you talk about low light.

Then I did the following two researches: 1. See what people talk about. Taking AVS forum for example, people talk about XR 520/500 much more than HF S10/100. HS300/TM300, basically, is not mentioned much.

Then I went to see what people buy. In US, it's XR 520/500 > HF S10/100 > HS300/TM300. In Japan, it's XR 520/500 > TM300 > HF S10/100.

The above three point to a single unanimous winner: Sony.

HF S10/100 has some adventages: 1 Stills performance. 2. Bright light video. But, it has one fatal: stabilization, which ruins everything IMO. Its low light may reach similar performance as Sony's, if you don't mind use menual control to get it. To me, this not acceptable.

Panny, has not any benefit, IMO.

After all three companys launched their 2nd generation of 2009, I checked the Japanese market(US market is not mature yet), #1 is Sony CX 500. Guess what #2 is? CX 520.

I don't believe a good product would miss in the market or discussion I could be wrong though. But, I do see the landslide of Sony this year-- except in some technical review sites.

Hi, I am not 100 % sure about a market research that u did, because it also depend on the amount of money that sony,panasonic and canon spend in advertising. Some camcorder may have been better advertised so that more people buy that camcorder. Sometime that does not mean better product. Also Panasonic TM300, may have been out for less time so that less people bought it or revieved it. Does not mean that is worst.

For saying :
" Sony is better for point-and-shooter. Especially you talk about low light. "

why u think is that ?

I mean, lets say u set the canon to 30p, that boost low light up to pare sony, and you leave it the way it is forever, you are not going to care anymore of manual setting on canon. What do u think ?

I am not supporting any of the 3 camcorders, I just would love to arrive to a real clear idea on these 3 camcorders and which is really best.
Think that I had 2 canon HV10 that broke in my hand 2 times each (remove cassette problem), and I had to pay $$ to let them fix and than broke again, so you can image how I kind of hate canon right now....

I really hope guys with this thread to arrive to a frank review/comparison between the 3 camcorders.

thank you

Hi marcolisi,

I know the market info I provided is not that convincing. But, I do get it through my own effort and welcome someone provide more convincing data to correct me.

Just one more my home-made market survey to share. Panny released TM300 no later than the other two. But, in the US market, it appeared 2~3 months later. TM350, they released one month earlier than the other two. Until now it's still missed from the US markdet. In our scout reports, shouldn't this deserve a big "?". The most famous camcorder review site camcorderinfo.com already named them champion of the year as soon as they released HS300/TM300. What slow down their market strategy? Even you or me can do a better marketing if they really think themselves are. Rather than let people like you or me to worry if we missed the best camcorder just because their lack of marketing effort. And, you do care about $$. Late and slow to the market does cost users $$ if you have watched price curve vs. time line for products.

Talking about low light for stills, Canon wins big this year. That's why I still have some itch for it. As to low light for video, it's Sony. If anyone doesn't know these two, I can only suggest you to read more reviews. At least finish the each model's owners' threads on this site.

According to camcorderinfo, Canon's low light sensitivity is 16 lux. Through manual adjustment, it can get to 6 lux. Pretty impressing, isn't it? My first question, is this 6 lux of noisy picture or decent picture compared to others. Question 2, as we all know picture is not only about sensitivity, can you give me an auto mode for achieving the best overall result this camcorder can provide? Until this point, I still give Canon the bias. It's stabilzation that decides the ball game. If you think stabilzation doesn't matter to you, I will suggest you to go for Sanyo.

According to my reading, HF S11's stabilzation is acceptable, even not as good to CX 500. But the price is $300 difference,or $400 street price now. This following scenrio will not happen as I predict. But, if the price did drop to $150 range, it will cause me tough decision. So far, the decision is not difficult at all.

Is it the 30p mode really bad when shooting fast moving objects ?

also

do u use the 30p mode in both night and bright light situations ?
does it really the quality of the night shot videos increase when shooting in 30p ?

1 last question, can I set in the canon the 1/30 shutter mode ? Will the camcorder remeber that setting when shutting it off and than turning it on again ?
I used 1/30 on my canon hv10 to boost low light performance, but getting more noise videos...I hope that new generation camcorders do better than my hv10 in low light situations. On my hv10 I was seing black lines all over the video, when shooting in low light situations.
thank you

I use the Cinema Mode with 30p mode all the time with the Canon. In sunny bright situations and when there is only artificial lighting at night. I do the downtown skyline shots at night and they turn out great. The 30p mode does not make fast moving objects look bad. I film fireworks in that mode as well and they turn out fantastic.

The Canon HF-S11 remembers the 1/30 shutter mode and the 30p mode. It has whatever settings you had on last when you turn it on again. I stick with Cinema all the time, as it gives the accurate exposure for every situation. At night the downtown building lights look as bright as they do with the naked eye. There is a Night Scene Mode on the HF-S11 to reduce noise, but it won't make the picture overly bright like the Low Light Mode would.

The Cinema Mode with 30p is the way to go with Canon. It produces accurate colors and brightness for me all the time. I recommend Canon all the way.

canonhd: Thank you so much for the review. It really helped.
seanwha90 talked about the eventually canon :

1) noisy videos in low light

and

2) the canon image stabilization.

Do u really think that the canon cinemamode 30p has problem in these 2 aspects in comparison to sony ?


seanwha90:
thank you for the reply. I really appreciate your feedback, and I understand what you mean. I have 1 last question pls:

how image stabilization would effect the videos ?
I mean , I would love the sanyo, but I am scared of the IS and the 4gb limit...
I do not shoot videos using the zooming. I shoot at zero zoom. I shoot while walking and while standing with the camera in the hand.

I wish I could se a good review comparing the canon and sony.

Also, about the panasonic, I really think too that camcorderinfo cheat on the review of the panasonic in some way for marketing reason.
I wish I could find a good review that compare the 3 cameras without pregiudice....

Thank you

canonhd: Thank you so much for the review. It really helped.
seanwha90 talked about the eventually canon :

1) noisy videos in low light

and

2) the canon image stabilization.

Do u really think that the canon cinemamode 30p has problem in these 2 aspects in comparison to sony ?

Thank you

I didn't mention in the above post, but the Image Stabilization on the HF-S11 is improved greatly over last year's models. The new Dynamic Super Range OIS is very nice. I don't usually need to use it since I use a tripod mostly, but I wouldn't be so concerned now about using it, as the picture stays very smooth while moving and panning.

I don't think with the Canon that there's any problems regarding noisy pictures during low light, plus the Image Stabilization is done very nicely on the HF-S11. Everything I have shot has been to my liking and beyond. Night time video makes up a large % of what I film.

I didn't mention in the above post, but the Image Stabilization on the HF-S11 is improved greatly over last year's models. The new Dynamic Super Range OIS is very nice. I don't usually need to use it since I use a tripod mostly, but I wouldn't be so concerned now about using it, as the picture stays very smooth while moving and panning.

I don't think with the Canon that there's any problems regarding noisy pictures during low light, plus the Image Stabilization is done very nicely on the HF-S11. Everything I have shot has been to my liking and beyond. Night time video makes up a large % of what I film.

Tx for the reply.
Do u shoot low light videos also without tripod , holding the camera with the hand ?

Also, how long last the bibbest battery ?

and

which is the maximum storage capacity that we can add on the canon ?
Thank you

Tx for the reply.
Do u shoot low light videos also without tripod , holding the camera with the hand ?

Also, how long last the bibbest battery ?

and

which is the maximum storage capacity that we can add on the canon ?
Thank you

With the battery that comes with the HF-S11 you'll get 95 min. recording time with the MXP mode. You can go up to the BP-827 battery pack and that will give you 295 min. recording time in MXP mode.

Besides the built-in 64GB memory you can use a removable 32GB SDHC memory card. For recording in the best mode you'll want cards with a Class 4 rating or higher.

I've used only a tripod so far at night. The Image Stabilizer would still work great at night as well.

Hi marcolisi,

I feedback because I like to see this kind discussion before I finally make my order.

To clarify, I didn't say Canon is noisy. The pre-condition is "when compared to sony". On youtube, type in these model names, it won't be difficult to find clips to compare these models.

Let me know your final decision. I will be interested to know.

Hi marcolisi,

I feedback because I like to see this kind discussion before I finally make my order.

To clarify, I didn't say Canon is noisy. The pre-condition is "when compared to sony". On youtube, type in these model names, it won't be difficult to find clips to compare these models.

Let me know your final decision. I will be interested to know.

I understand your point.
Sony camcorder is better in shooting videos in auto mode, if compared to the canon in auto mode. In the auto mode conditions, sony can reach a lower lux rating than canon, shooting maybe up to 14-16 lux. Sony videos would be clearer and without noise.
If we instead turn on the canon cinemode 30p, canon can see under lower lux conditions, where sony can't unless you use the IR feature.
Canon in cinemode 30p maybe can reach 8-9 lux, while sony can't see.
Of course canon add noise in the videos shoot in so dark conditions.

So my questions would be :

1) at what low lux rating canon start adding noise in the videos when using cinemode 30p ?
Of course if the canon noise is not there at the same low lux than sony, that would not be a problem.
I could handle the canon noise if it let me see at lower lux...but I could not accept the canon noise at 14-16 lux , where sony can see....

2) how the worst IS of the canon affect the videos ?
To tell youu the truth I am surprised of the rumors of the worst IS of the canon.
I own a sony pc330 and a canon hv10. I know, one is SD and the other is HD ,but......
I love HV10 IS. It almost never lose focus...it is super quick in focusing..
while the pc330 instead lose the focus easier, and start hunting. The canon focus indeed, it seems to me that focus on a short range. It focus better on object closer to the lens, while the sony can see better and focus better on objects a little bit farther from the lens (shooting with no zoom). Maybe is the sony focus ring, that can adjust the focus distance of the camcorder...I love that...
The pc330 low light, seems better than the one on the hv10. The pc330 automode beats the 1/60 hv10 settin in low light. With the hv1o there is a huge difference when shooting with light and without light..

So if I take this to the newer sony and canon camcordes, I do not know what to think and what to buy..
If someone would assure me that sony, in some way could reach the same lvery low lux (6-8 lus) of canon, I would buy the sony. I really shoot a lot under very difficoult light conditions. The darker my camcorder can see, the better...of course having some kind of usable footages.


With the battery that comes with the HF-S11 you'll get 95 min. recording time with the MXP mode. You can go up to the BP-827 battery pack and that will give you 295 min. recording time in MXP mode.

Besides the built-in 64GB memory you can use a removable 32GB SDHC memory card. For recording in the best mode you'll want cards with a Class 4 rating or higher.

I've used only a tripod so far at night. The Image Stabilizer would still work great at night as well.

Thank you for the info

What MXP mode means ?
Is the BP-827 battery pack much bigger in size ? Do u have a picture of teh 2 batteries ?
I am courious if the BP-827 battery pack , stick out from the camcorder much farther than the original battery.
Do u have any pic of the camcorder (from the top or side) when having both bateies on ?

How much minutes of footages can I record on 64GB + 32 GB at the highest rate/quality ?
and also will the camcorder keep recording the videos without stopping , when reaching the 64g limit ? I mean will the camcorder keep recording my footages without interruption from the 64 GB to the external32 GB card ?

Also I live both in USA and Italy. Right now I am in Italy and I would buy the UE version of the canon.
I noticed that there is difference in the encodings between UE and US.

US:
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/30p

UE:
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p

It seems that with the UE version, I would lose 60i and 30p.....so does it meansthat I will not have the cinemode 30p ? What is the diference if I use the 25p instead in low light ?

Thank you

Thank you for the info

What MXP mode means ?
Is the BP-827 battery pack much bigger in size ? Do u have a picture of teh 2 batteries ?
I am courious if the BP-827 battery pack , stick out from the camcorder much farther than the original battery.
Do u have any pic of the camcorder (from the top or side) when having both bateies on ?

How much minutes of footages can I record on 64GB + 32 GB at the highest rate/quality ?
and also will the camcorder keep recording the videos without stopping , when reaching the 64g limit ? I mean will the camcorder keep recording my footages without interruption from the 64 GB to the external32 GB card ?

Also I live both in USA and Italy. Right now I am in Italy and I would buy the UE version of the canon.
I noticed that there is difference in the encodings between UE and US.

US:
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/24p
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/30p
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/30p

UE:
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1920 x 1080/25p

It seems that with the UE version, I would lose 60i and 30p.....so does it meansthat I will not have the cinemode 30p ? What is the diference if I use the 25p instead in low light ?

Thank you

You can record 5hr 55 min in MXP mode on the built-in memory plus 2 hr 55min on a 32GB card.

When the 64GB limit is reached you'd have to switch to the 32GB card or whatever size card you have. I don't think it would do that by itself. You choose from built-in memory or card for recording in the menu.

I don't have the largest size battery but have one down from that and it barely sticks out. The BP-827 would maybe a little bit but hardly anything noticable.

There's a link to a picture of how far the three battery's stick out, in one of the older threads, the 827 sticks out quite noticably. the 819 isn't sticking out too much. Hmm 95 minutes, does the HF-S11 come with the 819, not the 809. In that case the 827 wouldn't stick out as much, as it does on the HF-10/100/11.

There's a link to a picture of how far the three battery's stick out, in one of the older threads, the 827 sticks out quite noticably. the 819 isn't sticking out too much. Hmm 95 minutes, does the HF-S11 come with the 819, not the 809. In that case the 827 wouldn't stick out as much, as it does on the HF-10/100/11.

The HF-S11 comes with the smaller size battery like they always have. The HF-S11 has the battery release inside when you open the LCD panel, like the HF-S100 did. The back of the camcorder comes outwards and when you put the battery in you don't see any of the sides of it, only the back part of it. I use the BP-819 and it doesn't stick outside of that enclosure area. The BP-827 would only a little.

Here's where to view the HF-S11 manual
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&tabact=DownloadDetailTabAct&fcategoryid=369&modelid=19063

The Sony XR500 and XR520 will give the best low light performance with their Exmor-R CMOS sensors and do very well in all light conditions. Another way to get excellent HD video and for much less money, is with a Sony HX1 camera. It gives surprisingly good overall video quality, especially in 720p mode.

The Sony XR500 and XR520 will give the best low light performance with their Exmor-R CMOS sensors and do very well in all light conditions. Another way to get excellent HD video and for much less money, is with a Sony HX1 camera. It gives surprisingly good overall video quality, especially in 720p mode.

On which basis , can you support the idea that the sony has better low light ?

I understand that ir could be better at about 14-16 lux, but what about in very dim light ?

I think the sony has much lower mnoise that the other competitora, but it can see up to a certain low lux. If you go more down, the sony can not see anymore.
So my guess it depends from the people use of the camcorder.
If u want a camcorder that can see in very very dim light (maybe 9-6 lux), you need another camcorder (no sony) , but you will get grainy images.

If u get the sony, u have no grainy videoa maybe up to 14-10 lux, but it does not see at 9-6 lux.


Anyway, I am leaning toward the Panasonic TM350.
I read that it is an improvement of the TM300, that is already a good camcorder.

I am scared of using an HD in my camcorder.
I had a bad experience with my PC external HD.
I lod valuable information, when my new HD flip on the side just few millimiters....and I am talking about few millimiters. The hd disk is not spinning anymore around its axes....

Anybody got a review of a TM350 ?

Do the current Sony's still come with night mode (infrared)? My old HC3 has that and it gave good footage (although green!), came in handy around Halloween when I taped my kids trick or treating. Sony even made an extra infrared light that attached to the camera to give long range

Do the current Sony's still come with night mode (infrared)? My old HC3 has that and it gave good footage (although green!), came in handy around Halloween when I taped my kids trick or treating. Sony even made an extra infrared light that attached to the camera to give long range

Yes.
Although if you don't like the green, you can easily change it in post in an editor. I usually shoot with IR then in Sony Vegas I'll color correct to more of a skin tone. It looks a bit more natural that way.

FWIW, I haven't tried it on the XR500V yet, but on the SR11, you could turn on the Monochrome effect while using the IR, thus removing the green hue. It was pretty effective and didn't require any post-process. :)

I use the Cinema Mode with 30p mode all the time with the Canon. In sunny bright situations and when there is only artificial lighting at night. I do the downtown skyline shots at night and they turn out great. The 30p mode does not make fast moving objects look bad. I film fireworks in that mode as well and they turn out fantastic.

The Canon HF-S11 remembers the 1/30 shutter mode and the 30p mode. It has whatever settings you had on last when you turn it on again. I stick with Cinema all the time, as it gives the accurate exposure for every situation. At night the downtown building lights look as bright as they do with the naked eye. There is a Night Scene Mode on the HF-S11 to reduce noise, but it won't make the picture overly bright like the Low Light Mode would.

The Cinema Mode with 30p is the way to go with Canon. It produces accurate colors and brightness for me all the time. I recommend Canon all the way.

canonhd -

What settings do you use when filming fireworks, just cinema and 30p or are other settings changed as well? I assume you use a tripod.

Thanks.

canonhd -

What settings do you use when filming fireworks, just cinema and 30p or are other settings changed as well? I assume you use a tripod.

Thanks.

I use the Fireworks Mode with 30P and that's it. Everything is set and turns out amazing. I always use a tripod. You can check out these videos I shot with the HF-11 this summer. The image moves somewhat with the loud bursts, because the tripod wasn't equipped for the camcorder. The original video was much better.

http://vimeo.com/6538543
http://vimeo.com/6626541

Why not get the Panasonic GH1. With the stock lens on, the low-light capability is decent but once you add Panasonic's f1.7 lens, The GH1 kicks the ___________ out of all of them. That lens constantly auto-focuses in the in the video mode just like the bundled lens according to DP Review. The biggest problem is that the 1920x1080 24p mode isn't that great compared to other camcorders if you pan to quick but the 1280x720 60p mode looks very good.

Buy a CANON 7D, fit a F1.2 prime and the GH1 is completely blown out of the water.

check out:
Dublin's People: Canon 7d 24p
431 ‘likes’ on Vimeo in just 2 days !!
http://www.vimeo.com/6475938

The GH1 cannot do this.

Phil’s blog; http://philipbloom.co.uk/2009/09/07/dublins-people-shot-on-a-canon-7d-in-native-24p/

Another superb 7D clip;
Perya (Town Fair) - a Canon 7D Short
204 ‘likes’ on Vimeo in just 1 day !!
http://vimeo.com/6487566

Buy a CANON 7D, fit a F1.2 prime and the GH1 is completely blown out of the water.

check out:
Dublin's People: Canon 7d 24p
431 ‘likes’ on Vimeo in just 2 days !!
http://www.vimeo.com/6475938


Looks nice. I've been pricing camcorders, and while the HFS10 has my nod, I'm wondering about using a 35mm camera with video capability. How much video can one store on a 7D? How does it handle sound? Could I use it as a full-blown HD camcorder? Or is it best to use it for particular shots that a regular HD camcorder couldn't do?

Looks nice. I've been pricing camcorders, and while the HFS10 has my nod, I'm wondering about using a 35mm camera with video capability. How much video can one store on a 7D? How does it handle sound? Could I use it as a full-blown HD camcorder? Or is it best to use it for particular shots that a regular HD camcorder couldn't do?

Dammed MACs !! - due to the MACs using the FAT32 file format, the 7D, 5DMKII and GH1 have a 4GB file size limit. This equates to approximately a 12minutes recording limit on the 7D.

If MACs didn't exist then NTFS file format may have been used - ie no limit.

But, no continuous shot should be 12mins long anyway.

The on board sound is poor on the 7D, and whilst the 7D has stereo mike input, the AGC cannot be defeated with the current firmware. I expect Tramm Hudson to release a firmware fix shortly. Most people are recording sound separately eg with the Zoom H4N. No autofocus.

For sheer low light capability (much much better than the RED One) the 5DMKII cannot be beat. This video was shot with the light of 3 candles only !!
http://www.vimeo.com/2666377. Tram has written the 'Magic Lantern' Firmware that defeats the AGC and adds a bunch of cool features.
http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Magic_Lantern_Firmware_Wiki
Also no autofocus.