October 21, 2012 - 21:37
I'm interested in buying a decent stills camera to capture more stills field filming.
I'm looking to buy a second hand 550d around the £400 mark through Amazon or Ebay etc, but just looking through other cameras, for instance I saw a brand new 650d in a shop today for £600 and I was windering whether it would be worth getting the newer (and brand new) camera for the money difference?
I know very little about stills cameras so I would appreciate your help!
October 22, 2012 - 09:25
#1
Re: Canon 550d - still holds up?
Does it have to be a canon? if you are after a decent low cost stills only camera have a look at the nikon D3000, I just picked up a mint body for £150 off e-bay and a 18-55 lens should be around £50. (I already had a 18-70mm which is perfect for it)
That's a 10megapixel camera and it seems to do most of the things that my larger D300 does but is far lighter.
October 22, 2012 - 10:51
#2
Re: Canon 550d - still holds up?
You say you want this DSLR 'to capture more stills field filming', and I'm not sure what you mean by this. If you want a DSLR to capture still images then the 550 will give you results that are every bit as good as those from the 650, and the money saved will buy you a nice lens. But the 650 does have rather better movie making capabilities so if that's your primary aim, I'd go for it.
October 22, 2012 - 10:55
#3
Re: Canon 550d - still holds up?
does it have to be a mac? i have a pc.
Nikon and Canon both make excelent cameras. Either manufacturers products will be perfectly OK. Go to a shop (remember shops?) and have a look at the canon and or the nikon which competes with it, see which fits your hands better and makes more sense with menu navigation etc.
If you have existing lenses then get the camera they fit on. Otherwise just pick the one which feels right to you.
October 22, 2012 - 19:01
#4
Re: Canon 550d - still holds up?
tom hardwick wrote:
You say you want this DSLR 'to capture more stills field filming', and I'm not sure what you mean by this. If you want a DSLR to capture still images then the 550 will give you results that are every bit as good as those from the 650, and the money saved will buy you a nice lens. But the 650 does have rather better movie making capabilities so if that's your primary aim, I'd go for it.
Hi Tom, I must admit I would be interested in using the camera to film some video, but I have heard different reports as to how well the results would be.
*Again I'm not an expert here and I have only done limited research. I'm currently reading into everything now as this is certainly something I'm not looking to rush into*
I own a DigiBeta and a PD170 and I've never been comfortable about how well the footage comes out when both film the same thing (i.e. an interview) however the specs of the processor on the PD170 on the surface looks like it would do a better job than the Canon cameras in matching up footage with my primary filming device.
So yes, if the results were OK (has anybody tried matching up with DigiBeta or a similar professional broadcast camera?) it certainly is something that I would use when purchase. So to go to what you're saying, when you say the 650d is better at filming, in what regards Tom?
Also another major factor - how does the footage physically import into NLE? Is it PC compatable?
October 23, 2012 - 00:40
#5
Re: Canon 550d - still holds up?
DP2012 wrote:
Hi Tom, I must admit I would be interested in using the camera to film some video, but I have heard different reports as to how well the results would be.So yes, if the results were OK (has anybody tried matching up with DigiBeta or a similar professional broadcast camera?) it certainly is something that I would use when purchase.Also another major factor - how does the footage physically import into NLE? Is it PC compatable?
I've got a 550D and primarily bought it for underwater use - stills and video.
How good is it.....? Frankly, depends what you're comparing it with. And whether you see pots half full or half empty.
It's better than it should be for the price would be my first comment - so personally I'm well satisfied. I'm not using it for professional use.
Compared to even a halfway decent video camera, it's not as good. That's noticeable especially as regards moire, even on ordinary pictures, and when I'm not looking for it. But that's true of pretty well all cameras with chips designed primarily for stills. Like all DSLRs, it takes extremely good stills - but don't expect it to compare with even such as an EX1 for video, let alone anything higher spec.
Underwater, it works well, the water tends to act as a softening filter and I haven't noticed the moire at all on underwater shots so far.
Probably best to transcode the footage for editing to a more edit friendly codec, depends on your NLE.
October 23, 2012 - 09:13
#6
Re: Canon 550d - still holds up?
Does it have to be a DSLR? Is that reflex mirror with its extra weight (and the sound) essential?
My choice earlier in the year was a Compact System camera. All the DSLR doobries but smaller and lighter because of no moving parts. Full manual as well as 'point and shoot', interchangeable lenses, viewfinder as well as screen, 14 Mpixels, video, 16:9 as well as 4:3 and square, etc, etc. My choice was the Samsung NX11 because there was a good deal at the time but there are other makes. Pictures are very good and I've used the video for inserts on productions.
Worth a thought.
Ray
October 23, 2012 - 10:25
#7
Re: Canon 550d - still holds up?
I have purchased a mint second hand Panasonic Lumix GH2 four months ago and find that the video and stills more than meet my requirments. Just personal video making these days. Just used it for 70 days in SE Asia (Myanmar mainly) often using up 3 batteries a day. I am using the Panasonic external microphone partly because I couldn't find a decent 3.5 to 2.5mm audio adaptor before I went on my travels. It worked fine for some close interviews. I did find a adaptor that works fine in Malaysia but didn't take extra mics.
So I would suggest you add the GH2 to your mix of cameras under consideration. I gather a GH3 is close to release.
One thing though, I did find that it was a bit slow writing to the SDHC card.
Gordon
October 23, 2012 - 12:57
#8
Re: Canon 550d - still holds up?
DP2012 wrote:
I'm interested in buying a decent stills camera to capture more stills field filming.I'm looking to buy a second hand 550d around the £400 mark through Amazon or Ebay etc, but just looking through other cameras, for instance I saw a brand new 650d in a shop today for £600 and I was windering whether it would be worth getting the newer (and brand new) camera for the money difference?I know very little about stills cameras so I would appreciate your help!
I have a 7 month old Panasonic GH2 for sale, with 14-42 lens, Olympus 50mm 1.8 & Vivitar 24mm 2.8 lenses, with an OM to MFT lens adaptor, and a Nissin Di466 dedicated flash, 6 months old
Camera 14-42 lens and flash are in as new condition.
Olympus and vivitar lenses are in excellent condition.
Complete with all original boxes, packaging, manuals etc.
The GH2 has no 30 minute recording limit, shoots amazing stills, and unbelievable video.
As with anything I sell on the forum, all above equipment has been very well looked after.
PM me if you would like further information
October 23, 2012 - 17:30
#9
Re: Canon 550d - still holds up?
And RE photo quality, are the 550d and 650d producing the same results?
October 25, 2012 - 09:48
#10
Re: Canon 550d - still holds up?
The GH2 would be one of my recommendations as well, as it does without a flapping mirror so makes shooting movies somewhat better and easier. The GH3 has improved on it yet again, but there you go.
The still pictures will be indistinguishable between the 550 and 650. It has far more to do with you the photographer, your experience, your understanding of focal lengths, of light, of Photoshop and so on. A 10D (6mp) in the hands of a pro will produce better pictures than a 650 (18mp) waved about by a newbie.
tom.