Video Camera vs DSLR

**molo78** · 04-13-2011, 01:18 AM

You should defo sell the XL1. We used to have one and was amazed that we were able to sell it

wedding videographer London filming modern wedding video

**ge3k** · 04-13-2011, 11:39 AM

I did sell it, but then the buyer returned it mentioning a problem with the viewfinder near/far switch and the tape deck playback.

The day I got it back I recorded this video:

As you can see, no issues there. But it has gone off to have the viewfinder switch repaired, and it will be back on eBay next week.

To be honest £560 was a bargain considering what it comes with. As well as the camcorder which was fully serviced (including the Canon 2000 hour service kit) 6 months ago, and the viewfinder was replaced shortly before it went on eBay, I also bundled this lot with it:

Canon MA-100 dual XLR microphone adapter and shoulder pad
Nikon F Adapter
Windjammer
5.6" TFT Colour Monitor with Nebtek battery adapter and horse shoe mount bracket, custom leads, remote and Canon carry bag
Canon CA-900 compact power adapter and charger including DC Coupler
Canon CH-910 dual battery charger and holder, boxed with instructions and DC Coupler
Canon WL-D2000 wireless controller
Firewire lead
BP-941/945 6000mAh 7.4v li-ion battery
BP-915 2000mAh 7.4v battery (less than 6 months old)
Kata DVG-53 Camcorder Guard brand new, never used (suppose to fit the Canon XL1, but I haven't tried it)
Plus somes tapes and the manuals

Not bad for £560. Still as I said It'll go back on eBay next week, and hopefully it might sell for a little more.

**molo78** · 04-21-2011, 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by ge3k

I did sell it, but then the buyer returned it mentioning a problem with the viewfinder near/far switch and the tape deck playback.

The day I got it back I recorded this video:

As you can see, no issues there. But it has gone off to have the viewfinder switch repaired, and it will be back on eBay next week.

To be honest £560 was a bargain considering what it comes with. As well as the camcorder which was fully serviced (including the Canon 2000 hour service kit) 6 months ago, and the viewfinder was replaced shortly before it went on eBay, I also bundled this lot with it:

Canon MA-100 dual XLR microphone adapter and shoulder pad
Nikon F Adapter
Windjammer
5.6" TFT Colour Monitor with Nebtek battery adapter and horse shoe mount bracket, custom leads, remote and Canon carry bag
Canon CA-900 compact power adapter and charger including DC Coupler
Canon CH-910 dual battery charger and holder, boxed with instructions and DC Coupler
Canon WL-D2000 wireless controller
Firewire lead
BP-941/945 6000mAh 7.4v li-ion battery
BP-915 2000mAh 7.4v battery (less than 6 months old)
Kata DVG-53 Camcorder Guard brand new, never used (suppose to fit the Canon XL1, but I haven't tried it)
Plus somes tapes and the manuals

Not bad for £560. Still as I said It'll go back on eBay next week, and hopefully it might sell for a little more.

Wow seeing the footage makes me nolstagic it was/is a brilliant camera. I remenber how cool I felt lining up to cover something with everyone shooting with PD150. Seeing your vid also reminds me how brilliant it was when there was good strong light.

wedding video London and wedding videos London

**ge3k** · 04-23-2011, 09:01 PM

Yeah, they really are lovely camcorders.

That video was shot and edited with no correction of any kind. It is raw footage, because I wanted to prove to ebay users viewing the auction (it's now back on ebay) that it works fine and can produce great results.

Sad to see it go, but I'm moving on to the D7000 now.

**videodirector** · 05-31-2011, 11:49 PM

HDSLR is good for some scenes but for most scenes they are not a good choice. Their limited DOF is a problem when shooting scenery, weddings and in many other situations. In particular in wedding videography it looks out of place, when most of the scene, with important people are out of focus. When it's there once or twice for an effect it's ok, but when the entire ceremony looks this way, it looks as amateurish as constant zooming. They are good for specific shots, to show emotions though. I prefer Panasonic camcorder to any DSLR for footage. I can do shallow DOF when I need it and have great sharp frame anytime. Another limitation is macro. You need dedicated macro lens and they almost universally aren't OIS.

**ge3k** · 06-01-2011, 12:59 AM

As I may have already mentioned in this thread, the amount of benefit in lens choice alone that I would gain by moving to the Nikon D7000, is enough to say it is a good choice.

Every camera has its pros and cons, and yes, if I had an insane amount of cash kicking about, I would stick to HD camcorders over DSLR. But, the amount of cash I would have to throw at a camcorder to get the lenses and effects I'm looking for, far out ways the benefit. Not to mention carrying a DSLR around is a little more compact than a camcorder and extras you need for a shoot.

Pros and cons are obvious, for example if you where filming a concert close up, a DSLR would be fine. But at a distance, say from behind the crowd, a camcorder with a professional telephoto lens would be a better choice.

As I said though, pros and cons, but for an independent film maker looking to shoot in HD on a budget, or someone like myself who does nightclub work, a DSLR is a good choice.

**proboy** · 06-20-2011, 06:51 PM

i have a camcorder and a dslr. when it comes to what is better then it comes to what you want out of it. if you want a better lens then go with the dslr. but as noted above there are flaws to it. so it all depends on what you want most out of it.

**Stephan** · 07-06-2011, 08:03 AM

The D7000 is an excellent, excellent DSLR, I've used one for several days as a back up to my D300. As a video camera though I think it may not be handling great. Having said that, has anybody tried accessories like these Redrock for video DSLRs ?

**Mannering Media** · 07-06-2011, 09:57 AM

I have both HD Camcorder and shoot mostly 16X9.
I find that 80-90% of the time i shoot video with the camcorder and find the DSLR only used for close-up effect shots.
My opinion.... Go for a camcorder for video work every time, use a DSLR only where their use warrants it.
As for full size sensors, Where will your productions be seen.... on your 50" plasma at home/club or in the big screen in the theatre?

Buy within your budget, and buy what is most appropriate for the job and don't be persuaded by sales hype... or the conviction that you MUST have that full frame capacity, when in reality you don't need it.

That my 2p worth.

**mkkid28** · 07-10-2011, 11:31 PM

Originally Posted by molo78

We shoot EX1 and EX3 with a nanoflash unit or a Z7 for live events and sometimes use DSLR for corporate work. However a "video" camera is pretty good for both, where DSLR does have a lot of impracticalness when shooting live.

With Magic Lantern, I can shoot Live events quite well with a DSLR, that's obviously not the point but still.

I've only spent about £1500 - 2000 tops on my DSLR and Equipment and I didn't find a camera that could be the same results in as many different shooting situations as a DSLR can, which is why I went for one and that my main passion is narrative film making. Now if I had about £6000 I'd probably want to get a Sony FS100 and a lens or two, perhaps some Canon/Sigma primes with adapters but at the moment I don't have a spare 6 grand.

I see people still think DSLRs can't do deep focus but they can, either get wider lenses (at 24mm my Sigma 24 - 70mm even at 2.8 as quite a bit of focus range) or step up your aperture, now the might not be as a deep focused as a standard camcorder but there still is a lot of focus range.