Best video camera for £350. (for video recording)

sports_brah

sports_brah

sports_brah

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My budget has been revised thanks to someone else chipping in on a present.

Currently looking for the best camera that will do video. I can spend £350, though in cases of cashback I can spend a bit more til it is refunded.

At the moment, the best deal I can seem to find is the:

Nikon D5100 which comes with 18 55 VR lens, and a 2 year warranty for £359


Can I get better for the money, or pay less for the same?


Criteria:

Main use is video recording, though a few pictures will be taken (not important)

I can buy it by Tuesday morning.



Thank you for all suggestions! :)
 
Hi

If you are almost strictly interested in video, with only occasional photo, why not look into getting an actual camcorder, rather than a DSLR?
 
Well, I thought about camcorder, but it seems like the D5100 has better quality video?

I've got to make a decision tonight, so any other suggestions would be more than welcome.
 
A DSLR wouldn't be a bad idea, but if you are going to do it then spend more on a really good lens, something that can go wide, has fast focus, pref quite focusing and also invest in a decent mic
 
Okay in the end I managed to bag a new D5100 with the VR 18 55 lens, with a 2 year guarantee, an ultra fast 8gb memory card (30mb a second) and a lovely camera bag. All in all cost me £320 (once cashback comes through).

Should do nicely hopefully.
 
Plus depending on what you are shooting and how you shoot, a traditional video camera may be better for its auto-focus.
 
Somthing Else said:
You will want an external mic as the onboard will pick up the focus from the camera very badly.
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Any recommendations that you'd say are worth it in your professional opinion?

Nexus said:
Plus depending on what you are shooting and how you shoot, a traditional video camera may be better for its auto-focus.
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Any suggestions? Can cancel order now if needs be.

Budget is £350 and has to be better than a D5100. :)
 
I couldn't tell you what is a good video camera, as its not something I really follow these days.

Ultimately though, it depends on what you are filming and doing.

If you want a video camera that has a decent zoom, small size, good amount of space and auto-focus, then a proper video camera is a far better choice.

Yes, DSLRs offer very good video quality, especially of the full frame variety, but if your intention is only to shoot video with them, then its fairly pointless over a video camera. People who do use them for video on a more professional basis typically have to spend a great deal more on accessories for it to make a proper video tool.
 
Nexus said:
People who do use them for video on a more professional basis typically have to spend a great deal more on accessories for it to make a proper video tool.
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This is the reason I'd never recomened a DSLR for someone into video unless they have plenty of money to burn. When we are on holiday and want to shoot some video snipets off stuff the S100 compact is the goto option followed by the mobile and then finally the 5D mkii if I really have to. DSLR's while taking excellent footage are not exactly user firendly!
 
^ Yeah, this. It all depends on whether this £350 is going to be 'it', or whether it's just as 'starter' and that you're wanting to get more into it.

Also, the AF on dedicated camcorders is going to be quicker and more accurate than what the AF is like for movie mode in dslrs at the moment.
 
You do realise there is a 10 minute time limit on recordings with that DSLR?

There is a firmware hack to remove, apparently there's issues with overheating sensor. Not worth the risk IMO.

Why not just get a decent panasonic or Sony camcorder? They're very good and user friendly.

You've still not mentioned what you will be shooting and what it'll be used for primarily.
 
Buchanan0204 said:
You do realise there is a 10 minute time limit on recordings with that DSLR?

There is a firmware hack to remove, apparently there's issues with overheating sensor. Not worth the risk IMO.

Why not just get a decent panasonic or Sony camcorder? They're very good and user friendly.

You've still not mentioned what you will be shooting and what it'll be used for primarily.
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sports_brah said:
Okay in the end I managed to bag a new D5100 with the VR 18 55 lens, with a 2 year guarantee, an ultra fast 8gb memory card (30mb a second) and a lovely camera bag. All in all cost me £320 (once cashback comes through).

Should do nicely hopefully.
Click to expand...


It was a present for someone, hence the last minute rush! They are getting into a lot more creative stuff, and we wanted to faciliate that. Hopefully they'll use the camera option a lot as well!

The problem was at my budget it seemed like they were kinda "meh", whereas the D5100 had good all round capabilities. Also, I'm happy with the price paid. The 8gb card would have been around £8-10 on its own, the camera bag (Hama Rexton 170) another £40 so realistically the camera was exceptionally cheap, along with the 2 year warranty.

(I realise that sounds like me justifying the purchase :D, haha. Ah well, if they don't like it, I hope they sell it on and get something better).

P.s Are there any good guides for someone looking to get into video/photo? Good tricks of the trade, good techniques etc.


P.P.S the 20 min record limit shouldn't be a problem, certainly won't advise them to mess around with firmware! I'm guessing you can stop, then start again?
 
I think it's 10 mins not 20. Seems strange wanting a DSLR for it's video qualities when it only records 10 min clips. However the video quality is excellent from them.

You can indeed start and stop again. However it's not recommended as this obviously doesn't allow time for it to cool.
 
Im not sure for £350 but i have had 3 different SLR's in the last yr, but the Sony A65 stands out for me in every way, the onboard image stabilization was amazing, here is a small clip from my hands the other month, you would think its on a tipod.

http://youtu.be/9GRDM-sqoUs
 
Buchanan0204 said:
I think it's 10 mins not 20. Seems strange wanting a DSLR for it's video qualities when it only records 10 min clips. However the video quality is excellent from them.

You can indeed start and stop again. However it's not recommended as this obviously doesn't allow time for it to cool.
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Reviews say 20 mins. Either way, it'll be suffient I reckon!

Either way it was very well recieved so thats my end done. :D

Duties of being an older brother!

Crezzlin said:
Im not sure for £350 but i have had 3 different SLR's in the last yr, but the Sony A65 stands out for me in every way, the onboard image stabilization was amazing, here is a small clip from my hands the other month, you would think its on a tipod.

http://youtu.be/9GRDM-sqoUs
Click to expand...

Lovely video quality. Thought to myself, damn I maybe should have gotten that.

Price: £600

me: how 'bout no.

:p
 
It's 10 minutes (well, more around 12 minutes ish) if filming just 'normally'. It's because of the 4GB file limitation of the FAT32 file system, so if you install Magic Lantern, you can decrease the bitrate and film for longer.

Depending on what kind of filming the person is doing, generally 12 minutes of footage is actually plenty enough time for one continuous footage.
 
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