Which camera (budget $ 2500)
 

Hellow guys.

A friend of me wants to buy a camera (avchd), and the budget is around the $ 2500. He's not very rich huh... ! :) Offcourse I can recommend some camera's above that budget. But the only camera I would suggest is the Canon 7d... Any other propositions?

Thanks a lot folks...

Gerdy

The most important thing when buying a camera is knowing exactly what you want it for... What is he going to do with the camera? Just vacation shots? Will he be shooting for local news, documentaries, business promotion video's or what?

Based on that information you can pick out a camera..

Much depends on what your friend intends to do with the camera. Is it mainly going to be used for video or video/stills?

If video only, the new Rebel T2i might be a good option & less money.

I happen to own both a T1i & a 7D. The 7D is better for still photography for sports shooting 8fps vs the T1i that shoots less, in fact the specs are misleading on the Rebels on fps. The fact is after 2 shots, it has a delay (regardless of the memory chip you use) because it cannot load the info fast enough this I would not suggest a Rebel for continuous shooting of still shots.

If your friend has no reason to spend 2X more on the 7D because he does not need the added functions then he can spend more on lens etc. Again, more specifics about the use of the camera would make it easier to give an accurate answer.

Personally I am of the mind that if you want to do video you buy a video specific device, ie a camcorder. With that budget and thinking you want to do HD, I would look at the Panasonic HMC40, or the 150 although I think it is more than $2500 even with the best deal. I have read a number of reviews on this unit and it seems like a great little cam.

Jeff

You can shoot HD video with a DSLR nowadays, but an HMC40 was actually designed for it from the get-go.

I own a couple of Sony V1U's that now sell for around $2700 but they are HDV and not ACVD. I agree that probably the Panny HMC40 is probably your best bet.

Another important question to ask your friend is whether portability is a factor. The HMC40 scores way high on that, also.

HMC40 is definitely the #1 contender in that price range. The HDSLR's are a whole different beast and while some people are using them exclusively, they are really only suitable as secondary cameras for most applications.

The HMC40 plus the Panasonic XLR box and a shotgun mic should come in just under $2500. With the change he might just be able to get a usable tripod (eg Libec TH-650) and a few memory cards.

If he doesn't need XLR audio, then I would recommend the Canon HFS10 or the just announced Panasonic TM700.

I agree with everything John said. Although as I am currently pricing one out, I can't see much room for a tripod in addition to the XLR Adapter if he isn't getting a cheap mic. If he goes cheap mic, he may as well get a VideoMic and skip the XLR adapter for now and then pick up some sticks and a couple 16gb cards.

Great advice you all gave us. Seems he's gonna buy the panasonic hmc40. Never heard of this camera. Didn't thought avchd existed at this price range.

Kind regards and many thanks
Gerdy