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Need help, what camera to buy?

post #1 of 20
1/6/11 at 3:09pm
Thread Starter 
I have a predicament, I can't decide which way to go. I'll tell you what I have and what I want, and maybe you guys can give me some suggestions. I have a Nikon D90 with two lenses a spare battery and the SB600 flash approx ($2500 invested). I want something good for video. I really like the look and control you can achieve using a dslr, mainly the canon 5dmark and the 7d. For some reason nikon is lagging behind as far as video goes. I bought a Panasonic TM700, the video quality is great but I want something I can control dof. I have about a 1200-1500 dollar budget unless I sell my D90. What I want I don't think exists, I want something that has excellent video with dof control, that can also be used casually(aka fast auto focus). Something that a family member could pick up and have it on auto and get good results. If it requires me to sell my D90 to afford this product then it must have dslr photo capabilities. If nikon made something comparable to the 7d video wise, I'd sell my D90 body and pick up said nikon, then keep the tm700 for casual use.

The canon hf g10 claims to have dof control, I'm not sure how this compare to dslr results, I'm sure it's not as good. I also hear people talking about the panny g2, I dont really no much about it. Can it use my nikon lenses? It's not a dslr correct?

I hope this makes sense.

Thanks
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post #2 of 20
1/6/11 at 3:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kent_man View Post

The canon hf g10 claims to have dof control, I'm not sure how this compare to dslr results, I'm sure it's not as good.

It has 1/3-inch sensor, what do you think?
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post #3 of 20
1/6/11 at 3:20pm
Get the new GH2 that has better quality HD video than any other DSLR and a Nikon lens adapter.


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post #4 of 20
1/6/11 at 3:24pm
I agree with ungermann. If you want any kind of usable dof, then the bigger the sensors the better.
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post #5 of 20
1/6/11 at 3:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kent_man View Post

....
I bought a Panasonic TM700, the video quality is great but I want something I can control dof.

...
Thanks

To make it more confusing, , hehehe, you can build your own 35mm dof adapter. I'm going to build one sometime this year for my TM700. Quality is not as close to that of DSLRs but it's still great, http://www.jetsetmodels.info/news.htm

Here is a sample video. You can find more videos there.
http://vimeo.com/6686866
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post #6 of 20
1/6/11 at 6:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jogiba View Post

Get the new GH2 that has better quality HD video than any other DSLR and a Nikon lens adapter.

Do you get the dof control of a dslr? is this something you can use for everyday video? With a lens adapter I'm assuming you have to use manual focus, but what about aperture?
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post #7 of 20
1/7/11 at 11:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kent_man View Post
Do you get the dof control of a dslr? is this something you can use for everyday video? With a lens adapter I'm assuming you have to use manual focus, but what about aperture?
Yes.

With 14-140 kit lens you could use it for everyday video with AE & AF in HD video mode with OIS.

I have the two types of PK-m4/3rds adapters , one for lenses that have an aperture ring and another for the newest ones that don't have an aperture ring. It is full manual control of exposure and focus with the adapters for Canon, Nikon and Pentax lenses.




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post #8 of 20
1/7/11 at 11:20am
A great review of the GH2 can be found here. I bought the 14-140 kit.

You can also buy a 3D lens for the GH2, if you're open to that thing. It's a photo lens, but there's an easy mod to allow it to shoot 3D video. I bought one.
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post #9 of 20
1/7/11 at 4:08pm
Thread Starter 
People are still raving of the hacked gh1. If I new the gh2 would be hacked it would be a no brainer. I don't know if in sold on this as being a tm700 replacement. I need to do more research and wait for reviews in canon hf g10. But I'm very intrigued by what I see so far.
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post #10 of 20
1/7/11 at 4:32pm
The Sony HDR-CX700 looks like a good alternative to the TM700.
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post #11 of 20
1/7/11 at 6:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chevypower View Post

The Sony HDR-CX700 looks like a good alternative to the TM700.

the sony hdr-cx700 has the date time stamp feature like the old minidv hi 8 and video 8. no need for hd writer or pmb to remember date video taken.

i will definitely get one as soon as it comes out.
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post #12 of 20
1/8/11 at 4:09pm
The CANON 60D (I have one) is currently the best video and stills quality camera on the market for the average enthusiast.

The 60D has much better low light ability than the GH2 and the 60D is also cheaper than the GH2.

The 60D looks good @ ISO 2000 - the GH2 does not.

Quality CANON lenses can be sourced anywhere and are higher quality than the Panasonic offerings.
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post #13 of 20
1/8/11 at 5:01pm
Here is a basic comparison between the Panasonic GH2, Canon 60D and Sony Nex VG10:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_DFIExVRaA

Watch the sample clips starting @ 3:12

The 60D has much greater detail in the low lights, with the GH2 being better than the VG10.

BTW, the 60d does 1080P 24/25/30 fps.
The GH2 only does 1080P @ 24 fps.
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post #14 of 20
1/8/11 at 5:20pm
http://dslrhd.com/2010/12/panasonic-gh2-vs-canon-60d/

And, speaking of seeing what you’re shooting, one of the features of the GH2 is clean HDMI output. Not only is it perfect for feeding an external HD monitor, the HDMI output on the GH2 is uncompressed 4:2:2 8bit like the AF100. That means you can add an external recorder like the KiPro and the GH2 delivers 100Mbit ProRes 422 video.

The Canon 60D has a higher quality LCD on the camera but it suffers the same fate as other Canon DSLRs (except for the 7D). When you hit the record button the HDMI output drops from HD to SD.


One BIG advantage to the gh2 and one reason many hacked their gh1's. To get a higher bitrate.
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post #15 of 20
1/8/11 at 5:32pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pepster returns View Post

Here is a basic comparison between the Panasonic GH2, Canon 60D and Sony Nex VG10:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_DFIExVRaA

Watch the sample clips starting @ 3:12

The 60D has much greater detail in the low lights, with the GH2 being better than the VG10.

BTW, the 60d does 1080P 24/25/30 fps.
The GH2 only does 1080P @ 24 fps.

That's really the first time I've heard of the 60d being better. If I was going to sell off my d90 and all my nikon stuff and switch to canon I'd get the 7d. But that doesn't solve my predicament. The GH2 appears to be the closest to a camcorder replacement but the control of a dslr.
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post #16 of 20
1/8/11 at 10:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ed lynn View Post

the sony hdr-cx700 has the date time stamp feature like the old minidv hi 8 and video 8. no need for hd writer or pmb to remember date video taken.

The TM700 has it too. Somehow I mastered the 60p test disc with the stamp burned it, though this was not my intention.
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post #17 of 20
1/8/11 at 10:30pm
I've seen examples that put either the GH2 or 60D on top in low light video shooting.

The GH2 does 1080 24p and 1080 60i. The real resolution is higher, it has less aliasing and less moire when shooting certain complicated scenes. The differences are far higher when you compare it to the 720 60p mode. There is a lot of reports talking about how bad the 720 60p mode of the Canon can be if your not careful.

There's also thankfully no time limit in non European models. The European models have 30 minute limit.
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post #18 of 20
1/8/11 at 10:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ungermann View Post

The TM700 has it too. Somehow I mastered the 60p test disc with the stamp burned it, though this was not my intention.

you mean if i copy the single .m2ts video file into a usb drive. and plug the usb into a computer. the m2ts video will show with date and time stamp on the bottom right of the video screen? without having to render the video file with vegas, or hd writer? tia

if that is the case. I will consider buying the tm900.
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post #19 of 20
1/8/11 at 11:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ed lynn View Post

you mean if i copy the single .m2ts video file into a usb drive. and plug the usb into a computer. the m2ts video will show with date and time stamp on the bottom right of the video screen? without having to render the video file with vegas, or hd writer?

I mastered an AVCHD disc without re-rendering and the native clip got the timestamp in it. I don't really know how this happened.
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post #20 of 20
1/8/11 at 11:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ungermann View Post

I mastered an AVCHD disc without re-rendering and the native clip got the timestamp in it. I don't really know how this happened.

i don't have a blue-ray player. so i play most of my m2ts files on dvd player, via disk or usb.

can the tm700 burn and stamp the date/time directly into m2ts file while filming the video? the sony 550 can not do that (direct stamping of date and time into main video file while recording).
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