Camcorder or DSLR?

eyetrip

eyetrip

eyetrip

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8 Nov 2006
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I have a Canon SX200is, which is decent and compact enough to carry around, but it was always bought as a backup essentially as I tend to prefer video these days.

Have been holding off buying a nice camcorder til I had reason to use one and may well be going on holiday soon.

While I was considering getting something like the Panasonic SD600, I am wondering if I wouldn't be better off getting a DSLR for both photo and video.

I am under the impression the video features offered by DSLR's is pretty decent these days.

Of course, the camcorer would be far less bulky, but perhaps the overall benefits would make it worthwhile?

What DLR's offer good video functionality these days? Perhaps in the region of £500 - or am I asking a lot for that price?
 
The quality you get from a DSLR can be great, the larger sensor works far better for low light use etc. However it's not that easy to use in comparison to a dedicate camcorder. I believe newer DSLR models now offer better AF, in your price bracket you would probably be looking at something like the D3100. However for your money you would get greater flexibility (zoom, handling, af) from a dedicated camcorder.

I occasionally use the video on my 7D, but not often.

I'm not an expert on this though so I'm sure someone with more knowledge will add more detail.
 
I've got a 550D and a HF100 HD camcorder. I've only had the 550D a short while so haven't had that much of a chance to try the video (I bought it for stills). From my limited testing, the video quality is very good but AF is a pain. It may just be my lens (kit) but I found the low light recording to be better on my camcorder than the 550D. My camcorder can be set to 25fps cine mode which makes low light level very good imo. As Rojin said above, camcorder is much easier to use.
 
Last edited:
ffallic said:
......I am under the impression the video features offered by DSLR's is pretty decent these days.................What DLR's offer good video functionality these days? Perhaps in the region of £500 - or am I asking a lot for that price?
Click to expand...

This video shows a comparison between the Sony A55 and Canon 550D video.

 
I once had the idea of replacing my canon hv30 camcorder with an eos 5d mk iii dslr which can record video too. I was going to purchase one either way but it simply can't replace a camcorder outright, no matter how decent the quality is.

I believe the Sony NEX-5 is meant to be a very good DSLR camera (or a 4/3 camera I think it's called!) it's very compact and can record AVCHD auto focus video very well.too @ 1080i.
 
If you want a video DSLR, then the Sony SLT series is the only ones that have full time Phase AF during video mode which is infinitely better than contrast based AF. However the recording time will be limited due to overheating sensors, especially with steadyshot enabled.
 
mcc49 said:
If you want a video DSLR, then the Sony SLT series is the only ones that have full time Phase AF during video mode which is infinitely better than contrast based AF. However the recording time will be limited due to overheating sensors, especially with steadyshot enabled.
Click to expand...

Correct.

I'd just get a the camcorder.
 
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