Shifting to 550D from Camcorder !!
 

Hi, as the title suggests i am thinking about shifting to Canon 550D mainly for my short films work. Right now i have a Sony SR11 camcorder with a wide angle lens, Azden mic and Hague cam stabilizer. I am not happy with my SR11 low light video quality as its very grainy and restricts me from taking too much shots at such situation. I do have some tungsten lights but its a hectic job to move around. More then half of my video is shot indoor or at night so you can say my foremost priority is low light quality. That's the main reason i want to shift to 550D while second reason being the film type look of the video cause of dof etc.

Now i know making videos on DSLR have its own negatives. If i shift i will be buying shoulder support rig, follow focus, lcd monitor etc. Rolling shutter wont be much of an issue as well since i dont pan dat fast.

My question is whether i should shift or not, whether i will get much better video quality? If yes then whether i should get the Canon 550D or some other cam in its nearby price range? Also will the canon 18-55mm lens be enough for me or should i be looking for a wide angle lens as well?

hmmm do any one care for a reply ?

Sure go ahead. the 550D is a great platform. but be prepared to do your audio on a separate recorder.
also the kit lens is OK will not really solve you low light issue unless you get faster lens. all of these subjects are extremely well covered in the forum.
but for short film making it is a great Camera and tough to beat the images for the price. but again you'll need external recorder if you want worthwhile audio.

Shahzad, I have never used the Sony SR11 camcorder. However, I did briefly look at the specs on it and it appears that your choice to switch to the Canon Rebel 550D/T2i is probably a good choice. The reason is, you can change out lenses and get the DOF that the SR11 probably doesn't provide as easily. Yes, rolling shutter is certainly an issue. Using a tripod is going to be your biggest friend with the 550D.

Also, this new Magic Lantern firmware that's just cropping up is going to make your world even better with the 550D. You will have the luxury of Zebra, Histogram, Waveform, and many other features that the Sony probably doesn't give you.

Thanx for the replies.

Just read up on the auto gain issue in dslr's which means i have to get a beachtek adapter for it as well as i dont wana record the audio separatly and then go through the hassle of sync in post or should i? Can some one plz elaborate in detail about the audio side of 550d like wat issue may be faced etc.

Also can you plz recommend a wide angle lens dats gud in low light and is on a cheaper side.

For starters, the microphone on the 550D is not very good, however no on board microphone on any camera that I know of is worth a flip. Syncing up the audio really isn't that hard to do as long as you're using some type of editing software that shows a timeline on it. You can record audio on the camera and then audio off-camera at the same time. Then, you can sync both of them up together on the timeline in post. Once you do that, then put the audio that was from the camera on either mute or delete it entirely. It really is simple once you've done it a couple of times.

I do know about syncing but i still think it utilizes much more time then the other way around. Anyways i have the Azden sgm-1x mic so which option would be better in ur opinion, either i get the beachtek adapter or record audio separately? Also which components would i need for recording audio off-cam.

The (free and harmless) Magic Lantern firmware will solve many of your audio problems and you will not need the Beachtek.

For on-camera sound I suggest the new Rode Videomic Pro. The +20db setting will solve many problems.

For off camera audio on a budget the best choice is the Zoom H1 stereo recorder.

Plural eyes software from singular software will make sync so easy you won't even think about it.

With wide lenses for low light there are not that many options, Tokina 11-16, Samyang 14 f2.8 MF lens and Russian 16mm 2.8 fisheye are the widest and most affortable choices.

Instead of the kit lens you can either get a 17-50 f2.8 zoom or a couple f1.4-f2.0 primes. Sigma 20 f1.8, Sigma 30 f1.4, any manual focus used 50 f1.4 (under $100) and for a telephoto (if you need one) either a used MF 85, 100 or 135 prime or a 70-200 f2.8 - f4 zoom lens.

Samyang 14 f2.8, used Nikon 24 f2 + adapter or Sigma 30 f1.4, used Zuico 50 f1.4 +OM to EOS adapter and used Vivitar Series 1 70-210 f3.5 + adapter would be my choice of lenses for low budget purchases.

^ i already have an Azden SGM-1x shotgun microphone. Will magic lantern solve the auto gain issue? i will definitely need either a beachtek adapter(on cam) or some xlr stereo recorder(off cam) cause how am i gona hear the audio during recording. If some one can suggest an xlr stereo recorder that is cheap then i will definitely go for off cam audio option.

Also there is now a Panasonic GH2 cam out as well which is getting a lot of praise for its video mode. Any one has info on that?

Hey Shahzad, the Zoom H1 recorder that Spiros speaks of is an excellent device. I have the Zoom H4n myself, which cost about $300 (American dollars), but I think the H1 is a much cheaper purchase which may meet your budget. If you want to know how to hear your recording, you'll need some headphones no matter what direction you go.
The Magic Lantern firmware will give you audio levels to view on the camera if you decide to use the on-camera microphone. However, you still want some headphones to hear if the sound is even the kind of sound you wanted. Spiros made a good point about the audio features on Magic Lantern that I didn't consider, because I don't use the audio features myself and didn't think about that. I have seen some Youtube videos of someone using the ML audio features to clean up their on-camera microphone and it does seem to make a huge difference.

Do Canon 550d have a headphone jack? Zoom H1 dont have any xlr input.

Yes, it has a 1/8" jack on the camera for headphones. Just so you know, the Zoom H4n has two XLR inputs on it along with a headphone jack. That's the one I have.

Gud i didn't knew it had a headphone jack. Well am gona see if audio is not up to par then will buy the Zoom H4n for off cam audio recording. Still though should i be buying the Canon 550D or Panasonic GH2?

No. It does not have a headphone jack.

Wooops means i would need either a beachtek adapter or H4n immediately. Any other recorder other then H4n dats cheaper, something dat just has xlr input and no built in mic's required in it.

Still am waiting for some one to answer the 550D vs GH2 question !!

Yes i have owned the SR12 and T2i and now the GH2, the SR12 has sharper video but the T2i will give better color and low light, the GH2 is sharper than either of the others with great color as well, the advantage of the GH2 is it has many extra options like good AF/ E-T-C. panning with the GH2 is much smoother than the T2i,there is a greater choice of lenses with the canon though.

Oh man, you're right Keith, I'm sorry about that!! I was thinking about the 1/8" microphone jack on the camera. See?? I told you I don't mess with the audio on the camera, hehehe

@Martyn Hull

Which one would u suggest me then? 550D here in my country is on 870$, if i have to purchase GH2, dat i have to buy from U.S which is about 250$ more and will get it like after 3 months since 1 of my friend will be coming form there by then. The main reason i am shifting to DSLR is low light and dof, i will be using manual focus mostly and no fast panning.

So wat do u say, is GH2 worth the wait and xtra money? or is 550d more then enough for me?

Also if we step back a little and calculate the price including the cam+lens+support rig etc its around 2000$ in total or maybe a bit more so this brings in the question whether i should be spending that much money on a DSLR setup or on a camcorder like Sony Nex VG10?

Buy the GH2. The 'good' lenses for the GH2 are cheaper that its canon counterparts. Also, you can use Canon, Leica and Nikon lenses on your GH2 if you want to rent them. The GH2 beats the 550D (it beats the 7D too) in video mode.

Don't waste money on the 550D or 60D.

However, my honest suggestion is to not buy a camera until someone pays you for it. If you're not getting money then it will be cheaper to rent equipment (whatever you get), and spend the remainder of the budget on better sets, costumes and lighting; and more shooting time.

People can tell you what to buy but all i can say is for video use the GH2 is better.

Sareesh, the 550D is HARDLY a waste of money. It takes great video and I've had no problems with it whatsoever.

Guys i need a solid answer to my 550D vs GH2 vs VG10 question asap. One of my family member is coming back from U.S in next 4-5 days and i need to decide on the cam, if GH2 has to be bought then i am gona have to get it form there.

1 question which is bugging me is the micro 4/3 size vs 4/3. Since i am very new to these dslr stuff, i wana know which one is better for shooting is small space like a small room etc, with my sr11 i used the wide angle lens which was enough for me in tight locations. So how far would i need to step back with micro 4/3 vs 4/3..

I don't think I understand what you are talking about with the m4/3rds vs 4/3rds dillema.

The GH2 is m4/3rds and the other two have APS-C sized sensors.
The GH2 is a better camera overall but i'm not sure it will be available. It's in short supply almost everywhere.
The 550D (T2i in the US) is a great camera and with the Magic lantern firmware it will do almost everything you would like from a camera in that class.
The Sony is not even close in my humble opinion. The only Sony I would ever get is the a33/a55 because of the ultra fast and accurate AF that I need sometimes. I would not use that camera as my main camera though. Only as an additional tool for those occations that call for it.

Wide angle lenses are available for all of them.

hmmm well GH2 certainly is not available as far as i checked out earlier, this means its now gona cost me about 1200$ if i get it from u.k. Now its about 330$ difference btw 550D(local) and GH2(u.k) which is quite some difference.

any one knows any online store having GH2 in stock ?

This one says they have one left in stock:

hmm thanx but i dont think it will reach on time since they say it may need 2 days for processing only and plus shipping it will be very tight to reach on time, so dont wana take this risk.

One thing you have to consider is that while the Canon can be set to NTSC or PAL (thus 30/60p or 25/50p) on the fly, the Panasonic comes at NTSC OR PAL version. That means that unless you shoot at 24p if you want to match frame rates with other existing cameras you have to think about which version you want before you buy. The US version is NTSC.

Compare the Canon EOS 550D vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2

Nice summary. Both great cameras. Don't underestimate a 550d with Magic Lantern. Hard to beat. Once you've worked with the peaking filter, spot meter, rack focus, waveform, zebras and histogram to mention a few cool features, you won't want to go back. And there is much more in the pipeline.

I would favour a hacked GH1 over the GH2 at the moment, as the video quality is supposed to be very good.

Magic lantern gives you headphone monitoring, but via the USB, for which it is difficult to source the right connector at the moment.

I use a zoom H2 as an external mic. With the gain set as low as possible on the 550d you get a clean signal with some versatile options.

550D seems to have more accessories and lenses available at the moment but the way GH2 can auto focus with video as well as the way it records the footage it eliminates moire and alias as it doesn't pixel/line skip like the 550D, so there are pros and cons for both. That being said if you learn how your camera works you can usually work around the cons by how you use it.

If you're on a budget, go for the cheaper option and if you require some lens, check out second hand M42 for the 550D, they might work on GH2 as well. You can usually get some fast M42 (1.8 - 2.8) for around £20 a lens on ebay.

Well i have decided to go for Canon 550D as instead of selling my Sony SR11 i am keeping it for event coverage etc so now budget aint the same as before.

@Matt Thomas
i have no clue wat m42 is, i guess its an adapter for some lenses but can u explain in a bit detail. i am thinking about buying the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 wide lens in near future.

550D is great, with Magic Lantern it's very powerful.

The Tokina is a grat wide angle lens. You will get it in canon mount.

m42 is an old manual focus mount and there are hundreds of cheap used lenses on ebay with that mount.

Can some one suggest a cheap fd lens for low light and an adapter for it as well for 550d from ebay.co.uk, preferably in wide angle.

Canon FD lenses as well as Minolta MD lenses are not recommended because these lenses have different mount-to-sensor distance and need adapters that have an optical element to correct this. That makes these adapters more expensive and the final image quality depends on the quality of the optical element on the adapter. Nikon mount, M42, Pentax k mount, Olympus OM mount are some of the most common mounts that work.

ebay links plzz !!

There are very few wide angle lenses with f2.8 or lower.

The cheaper options are the 16mm Zenitar fisheye Lens Zenitar-K f/2.8/16mm Pentax Fish-Eye FREE SHIPPING on eBay (end time 25-Feb-11 12:04:40 GMT)
and the 14mm Samyang http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=350344487536.

Other than those two the tokina 11-16 is a better and wider lens and that would be my choice.

Other options are the Sigma 20f1.8 (32mm equivalent) and the Tamron 17-50 2.8 with VC (Vibration Control, Tamron's Image Stabilizer) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=330515454792 or without http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=360231511867

Shahzad, it would behoove you to do some of the leg work on your own when people make suggestions on where to find stuff. Otherwise, you're not going to know where to go in the future when you are wanting other items. The lenses you need are all over ebay and can be found by a simple search on your own. I have purchased some really good used FD mount lenses on ebay for as little as $30 and they were in great condition. Just make sure you are buying from someone who has a good history and has sold a lot of stuff in the last 12 months.

Spiros, I have some FD lenses and have been using them for quite some time. They can provide very good picture quality for people, such as myself, who don't have a lot of money to spend. In the end you're spending less money for the adapter that goes with it. I would just urge that people know they have to use the adapter with the glass in it, not the one that is without glass. Otherwise, you can't focus to infinity.

Russ my head aint getting round this m42 and fd stuff most probably cause am working on so many projects right now. There are many items on ebay and dats the reason i am asking which ones r better. All i need is a cheap lens for low light use, will be buying the tokina 11-16mm after 2-3 months for wide angle use. So if i can get a gud lens for around 100$ for low light use immediately that would make things easy for me for the next few months until i get the tokina. So i will be very thankful if u or some one explained briefly wat should i be looking to buy.

I hope i am clear !!

I think that depends on what you plan to film with the camera. I personally use mostly prime lenses. I've found actual Canon FD 50mm and 100mm lenses. Of course, you have to buy the adapter. I am basing this off of what sounds like a limited budget for you:

Here is a link to a 50mm lens I would consider:
CANON FD 50MM F1.8 S.C. PRIME LENS EX CONDITION - eBay (item 290529517529 end time Feb-03-11 15:50:30 PST)

Here is a link to a 135mm lens:
CANON FD 135mm F.3.5 PRIME LENS *EXCELLENT* - eBay (item 190493678515 end time Feb-21-11 03:54:13 PST)

And here is a link to a good adapter to use for those lenses (you have to get this if you're going to use FD lenses):
Canon FD Lens to EOS EF Adapter Infinity Focus Japan - eBay (item 320560553232 end time Feb-06-11 16:59:21 PST)

I've also read that Zenitar and Helios make good lenses. I've never used these, but hear they do very well. So, I'm including some links to some of those. You would need an M42 adapter, which I will include here as well. The only thing is, these lenses come from Russia. So, it will take some time for them to get to you:

Zenitar 50mm:
New MC Zenitar M2S 2/50mm + adapter M42-Canon EOS. - eBay (item 160519722312 end time Feb-13-11 02:53:01 PST)

Helios 58mm:
Lens "Helios 44-2" f/2/58mm. M42. FREE SHIPPING - eBay (item 160519722300 end time Feb-13-11 02:53:01 PST)

M42 to EOS adapter:
2ndGeneration AF confirm M42 to Canon EOS EF adapter 7D - eBay (item 280559884614 end time Feb-05-11 22:12:14 PST)

Alright so which road to take? some says that the correction lens inside the adapter for fd lens make the image quality bad etc so should i be looking into m42 then?