Camcorder v DSLR

Supernova

Hi all,

Want to get something primarily for shooting video, often in low light conditions e.g. pub basements. Stills would be a bonus.

Was looking at the Panasonic X920 for about £700 plus accessories and maybe a Nikon D5200 for about the same.

The Camcorder is attractive to me partly because it is far more portable for budget flights as well. Plus I get confused about what lenses (or how many) I need for the DSLR.

Both shoot in 1080p so I was wondering how complex that would be for editing and rendering (I'm on PC and have Sony Vegas Pro 10).

Any contributions to my thought processes most gratefully received.

Cheers!

kwikbreaks

My thoughts...
The primary function of a DSLR is to take still photographs.
The primary function of a camcorder is to take movies.

Both are capable of doing the alternate functions but there is usually some compromise. A DSLR will make a better job of movies than a camcorder will of stills. In fact camcorder stills are usually poor.

Gloomendoom

If you are travelling on budget flights a camcorder may make better sense. My DSLR and associated paraphernalia weighs in at around 5kg.

Supernova

Thanks both.

The X920 apparently takes pretty good stills.

Depends how much more flexible a DSLR really is to warrant the weight or how many lenses I need? Would a Camcorder lens be pretty flexible?

Guess I could always take a point and shoot on Ryanair.

Cheers

kwikbreaks

I've not seen a camcorder with anything other than a non-changeable big zoom lens. I don't do a lot of looking though.

A DSLR is going to cost a lot more than a normal camcorder and will not be as flexible in use for sure.

Johnmcl7

DSLRs are not very flexible for video, they have the advantage of a large sensor but because the reflex mirror is up when recording video they lose their high speed autofocus and also the viewfinder. Most DSLR lenses have not been optimised for video so their AF motor noise may be picked up the onboard mic and zooming is achieved using a manual ring which doesn't tend to be smooth rather than a power zoom as most camcorders use. DSLRs are certainly capable of very high quality but they're not as convenient to use when getting the best out of them.

Some of the mirrorless cameras (Panasonic/Olympus micro 4/3, Sony NEX, Samsung NX, Nikon 1 series) attempt to take the advantages of DSLR video without the disadvantages, they have an electronic viewfinder instead of optical so it can be still be used during video and as they've been designed for video from the start their AF is quick and quiet. There are also some powerzoom lenses available although there's not many of them.

As I primarily shoot stills I went with a mirrorless camera for video as I was used to the body style and lens system so I normally use a Panasonic GH1/GH2 (both are now older models, I haven't used the newer G6/GH3) with the 14-140mm lens or similar as this gives a versatile 10x zoom range. However Panasonic haven't re-released this lens in a power zoom version so zooming when recording is messy.

I've also tried Sony NEX cameras for video recording (NEX-5N, NEX-6) as their larger sensor is better in poor light but they don't do well with longer video as the sensor overheats when indoors around the 20 minute mark for me and the camera shuts down.

John

Gloomendoom

I'm not sure that it is correct to say that DSLRs are not very flexible for video.

Our media people at work use Canon DSLRs for video. They have become the tool of choice by independent film makers. Full length movies are being filmed using them.

Example here...

http://vimeo.com/27377057

Supernova

Thanks guys, yes I see Canons used all the time for video - not sure how much you need to spend and what accessories to get good results or how complex it is?

The camcorder route seemed simpler, almost point and shoot but maybe I'd be missing out on better quality.

It's mostly for posting up videos of music workshops and maybe music promo videos later on.

No easy answers it seems...?

WTFH

I am slightly biased, having been shooting with Canon gear since I was a teenager, but here's a recent review from the gadget show...
http://gadgetshow.channel5.com/gadget-show/videos/jon-test/episode-1-jon-test-dslrs

I don't do much video, but I've shot some hanging off the side of boats...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/psj_picdump/6196981283/

I videoed in a pub a few years ago where all we had was a few incandescent lights (normal 40w ones) on the walls of the pub. Cranked the camera to ISO 6400, lens wide open and left the camera sitting on the bar, that way the singers thought I wasn't recording and that I'd finished. It ended up being the best bit of the night.

Johnmcl7

Gloomendoom wrote: »

I'm not sure that it is correct to say that DSLRs are not very flexible for video.

Our media people at work use Canon DSLRs for video. They have become the tool of choice by independent film makers. Full length movies are being filmed using them.

Example here...

http://vimeo.com/27377057

I was in no way disputing the quality of video from DSLRs but they're not flexible in the sense you can't use the DSLR viewfinder, you can't use the DSLR's high speed AF systems and there are very few video optimised lenses. Therefore to get the best results you're generally limited to manual focus and exposure, the rear screen and fixed lenses which is not a problem for those who know what they are doing but it's clearly very limiting for more point and shoot type use. (I'm assuming the OP is the latter)

Many people see these great videos made by DSLRs and then expect point and shoot type convenience when shooting their own home video and are sorely disappointed to find the video isn't that easy to use.

John

Johnmcl7

Supernova wrote: »

Thanks guys, yes I see Canons used all the time for video - not sure how much you need to spend and what accessories to get good results or how complex it is?

The camcorder route seemed simpler, almost point and shoot but maybe I'd be missing out on better quality.

It's mostly for posting up videos of music workshops and maybe music promo videos later on.

No easy answers it seems...?

Mirrorless cameras offer the large sensors (Sony NEX and Canon EOS-M both use APS-C sensors) of the DSLRs but with point and shoot convenience for video as unlike DSLRs they were designed with video in mind. Due to the very short distance from the lens to the sensor, they can take just about any manual lens ever made.

There are tradeoffs with the larger sensor as well though, lenses are larger so the amount of zoom available compared to similar sized camcorders is reduced. The larger sensor has a shallower depth of field (the area of the scene that's in focus) which is great when you want a blurry background effect with the subject in sharp focus but makes focus in general much more critical.

John