7D

[liverpool 1]

So recieved my panasonic sd700 cam, spent a day with it and sent it back... sorry chris... the thing was to small to fiddly, not good enough to be a pro at my weddings, so? had quite a few enquiries to do the stills with a video full package so i have to make the jump to a dslr without doubt..... yes i know all the problems associated with the dslr video.
I have looked at the 550d v 60d v 7d v 5d... so at the moment 550d can get for £595 with kit lens... 60d can get for £895 with kit lens... 7d can get for body only £995 then need a couple of good lens? any ideas on lens if i choose anyone of these?? 5d seems to be the king but at £2700 plus l series lens... so i then look at the panasonic gh2... now at the moment i have the sony hvr1000e. a hc7 in a big case, pro looking has its limitations good in great light terrible the slightest low light... hv40 for cutaways and b-roll.. so do i sell the sony? get another hv40 and get the dslr, if so which one, i have spent hours and the 7d seems to be slightly edging them all!!!! any takes on advice for me...is the hv not pro looking enough to have as my main cam? The way i am filming at the moment? small clips apart from the ceremony and speeches would i use the dslr more than the hv anyway?? steve

[Bif]

the 7d seems to be slightly edging them all!!!! any takes on advice for me...is the hv not pro looking enough to have as my main cam? The way i am filming at the moment? small clips apart from the ceremony and speeches would i use the dslr more than the hv anyway?? steve

First off I would quit worrying about what "looks" pro. There was a time when "large" impressive gear seemed to get one more respect and for a few weddings I "lugged" a Mamiya RB 67. About the only difference in percieved attitude was one individual who was going to try to get in front of me changed his mind when I put that "beast" up on my shoulder for a moment to rest my arm and wrist. I guess he felt I might "club" him with it.

There has to be a lot of people covering weddings with HV cameras and not having an "image" problem, folks attending a wedding take their cues from how the "photographer/videographer conducts themself.

As far as which camera...

I feel either the 60D or 7D would be a good choice. Remembering that the 7D has no manual audio control, the 60D might get my choice here. Now the tough part...Lenses.

On many weddings, low light performance may really be needed, so I would suggest the EF 28mm f1.8 and the EF 50mm f1.8. Yes, both are primes and that may take a lot of getting used to if you have been working mainly with zooms. The 28mm will give you what we used to call "normal" perspective (somewhat close to how our eyes see spacial relationships) and you will find yourself doing a lot of "moving around", what some Pentax ads used to call being the "human zoom".

But I covered a ton of weddings with mainly a "normal" lens (80mm on a Hasselblad) and once you're used to it that works. First wedding or two may drive you nuts but the low light performance will be worth it.

The EF 50mm f1.8 makes an outstanding "portrait" perspective lens and is small enough that changing between it and the 28mm when needed should not be too much "trouble".

That's my advice FWIW.

Bruce Foreman

[liverpool 1]

And great advice you give Bruce as per usual on every post! always positive thank you for your wise advice. I think at the moment the 7d is on my mind but the 60d swivel screen sounds good. whatever i choose the lens is important as you say, i think i am used to working with my feet so i have in mind my workflow? near to the action, armed ready monopod and dslr, get there set the frame, scene, sort my focus and shoot? i already do that anyway with the cams i have.... with my editing going back and forth and mixing the day up i generally at most do 6 second clips..apart from the ceremony and speeches where the hv40 is more than capable in tv mode.. may i ask Bruce how the dslrs cope with constant stopping and starting of the video button/switch? i have just got a couple of h1s for my audio also and going to get the singular software. Just one other question Bruce i notice the 5d uses the 24-70mm L series lens is that because its a full censor cam? i presume the 24-70mm is a slight zoom? there may be times in the church i need to zoom, do you think i then need a third lens? steve

[jet]

So recieved my panasonic sd700 cam, spent a day with it and sent it back... sorry chris... the thing was to small to fiddly, not good enough to be a pro at my weddings, so? had quite a few enquiries to do the stills with a video full package so i have to make the jump to a dslr without doubt..... yes i know all the problems associated with the dslr video.
I have looked at the 550d v 60d v 7d v 5d... so at the moment 550d can get for £595 with kit lens... 60d can get for £895 with kit lens... 7d can get for body only £995 then need a couple of good lens? any ideas on lens if i choose anyone of these?? 5d seems to be the king but at £2700 plus l series lens... so i then look at the panasonic gh2... now at the moment i have the sony hvr1000e. a hc7 in a big case, pro looking has its limitations good in great light terrible the slightest low light... hv40 for cutaways and b-roll.. so do i sell the sony? get another hv40 and get the dslr, if so which one, i have spent hours and the 7d seems to be slightly edging them all!!!! any takes on advice for me...is the hv not pro looking enough to have as my main cam? The way i am filming at the moment? small clips apart from the ceremony and speeches would i use the dslr more than the hv anyway?? steve

Steve why are saying sorry to me i only told you about its video quality, on another site another bloke bought a 60D after i said what nice footage i get from my 550D but he went balistic hating the footage moire etc so he sent it back and got a 700 what he had before saying the footage is vastly superior and blaming me when all i did was show some of my footage,i agree with Bruce you are too worried about not looking pro enough, if i had to do a wedding now it would be with my HV not 550 as i know it would be far easier and with my HV, i always get good footage on auto focus and aperture only making sure i have the right WB, with my 0.7 wide angle lens its ideal for the job,if you are going to get a dslr for stills as well consider the GH2 as you dont have canon lenses, good luck Chris

[liverpool 1]

Ye your right, i only said sorry because we have discussed it?? Also i suppose it seems i am only getting orders from clients that are on a budjet and i suppose they think i look more pro than the norm if that makes sense. So turning up with a small hv? maybe that could be me? If i jump into the gh2 great for video but stills not brilliant, then somewhere along the line if the stills take off then in the future i may get an upgrade mark 3 5d soon if the jobs come in so i have to be careful with the outlay as i dont want to waste money, so i will have to invest in glass.. steve

[cgbier]

I played around with a T2i the other day. When I took a still while videoing, the footage gave some frozen frames. Is that normal?

Steve, I wouldn't do video and stills when you are a one man show. A lot of hassle. Can you subcontract the stills?

[Bif]

I think at the moment the 7d is on my mind but the 60d swivel screen sounds good.

With the way you described you might be working, camera on a monopod, etc. that swivel screen may not be of any advantage. Were I doing that I would have the Hoodman Cinema Pro Kit (Hoodcrane with Hoodloupe and 3x eyepiece) mounted in the hotshoe with the loupe adjusted so it was in correct position over the LCD. Framing and focusing would be much easier when you get your eye right down to a magnifying eyepiece and where you can see clearly. The swivel screen would be folded in and functioning exactly the same as the LCD on most other cameras.

The Hoodman kit (or any other you can attach and work quickly with) is as much an absolute necessity as the lens is.

i generally at most do 6 second clips..apart from the ceremony and speeches where the hv40 is more than capable in tv mode.. may i ask Bruce how the dslrs cope with constant stopping and starting of the video button/switch?

Mine cope just fine. Now when you know there is a minute or two you won't be using it you avoid or hold off overheating by turning the camera OFF, but I've gone for about an hour keeping the video mode on and ready when not filming a take. The overheat warning icon came on just as I was starting my last take (Canon T1i in 95degree Texas sun). I've not had that warning even show on my T2i or 7D but I shut the camera off whenever I can.

Just one other question Bruce i notice the 5d uses the 24-70mm L series lens is that because its a full censor cam? i presume the 24-70mm is a slight zoom? there may be times in the church i need to zoom, do you think i then need a third lens? steve

I believe all of the "L" series lenses are EF lenses designed for the full frame format. On a 5D MkII the 24 to 70 is a wide angle to portrait perspective telephoto lens. On an APS-C sensor camera (T2i, 7D, 60D) it will function as the equivalent of a 38.4-112mm on a full frame. That's slightly wide normal to a bit longer portrait perspective.

The f2.8 aperture would be a plus in that you can run the ISO up and I believe this lens does not change aperture as you change the zoom. But this has a rep for being a bit of a heavy lens (plus it's a $1300 lens).

The 28mm f1.8 is $459 (at B&H), MUCH lighter and no zoom, you do the work. If you do need some more "reach" that's where the EF 50mm f1.8 ($99.95 at B&H) comes in. You have to practice quick lens changes. I "tuck" one lens near the armpit, pull the back cap off of it, remove the lens on the camera and "cap" the back, put it in the bag, and mount the lens just being held near the armpit. Since I keep a quality Hoya SMC UV filter on the front of each lens I don't worry about a bit of dust from the bag getting onto a lens surface.

Both of these primes are compact and light weight. If you have to have a zoom, see if you can get to a camera store where you can try what you think you'd like to work with on your camera.

My choice for a general purpose prime was the EF 24mm f2.8, not as fast an aperture, "wide" normal perspective allowing me to work closer to my talent and f2.8 kind of gets me into the low light arena when needed.

For zooms I have the 18-55mm "kit" lens sold with the Rebels, an EF-S 55-250mm (lightweight), a 17-40mm f4"L" (great lens but a tad heavy-the f2.8 version would be even heavier), the EF 70-200mm f4"L", and a "leftover" EF 70-210 from my first EOS 650 film camera.

But for most video projects, I start out with the EF 24mm f1.8 and usually reach for either the 18-55 or 17-40 when I need their wider field of view.

Bruce Foreman

[Bif]

I played around with a T2i the other day. When I took a still while videoing, the footage gave some frozen frames. Is that normal?

Yes, the process of taking a still temporarily interrupts the video recording so a frame is frozen until video can resume.

I believe the Panasonic GH2 now takes stills while allowing the video to continue. There is no mirror box involved and it can all be done electronically.

Steve, I wouldn't do video and stills when you are a one man show. A lot of hassle. Can you subcontract the stills?

He would likely be better off doing as you suggest. But with some solid practice it could be done.

Bruce Foreman

[liverpool 1]

I played around with a T2i the other day. When I took a still while videoing, the footage gave some frozen frames. Is that normal?

Steve, I wouldn't do video and stills when you are a one man show. A lot of hassle. Can you subcontract the stills?

I suppose i could subcontract! that would mean me getting the order passing it on then if something goes wrong would it be me that gets it in the head? but if i choose a good photographer? my brother is not bad but not pro and he is on a refresher photo course he may be able to help me?

[liverpool 1]

Bruce thank you ever so much for your advice it is superb and well taken in, thank you... thanks cg also...