Camcorders . DSLR differences....

[Eijnaix]

Hi Pros

I'm using Canon HF S10 Camcorder and Canon 7D to shoot photo...but as u know its abit trouble to bring so many gears out on a holiday. Mind if i ask whats the big difference between shooting a camcorder and using the moive mode from Canon 7D ?

Cause if canon can achieve the same effect as my ...i'll rather just bring my DSLR in future. But i do notice there's abit of focusing differences between camcorder and DSLR....can some pro kindly highlight on how to improve it or something ?

I'm not doing big editing....but just a simple guy shooting our family daily life , mainly my 10 month old daughter crawling around

Many thanks in advance

 

[ggodetucsamoht]

camcorder able to archieve high frame per second video while 7D cable of 30 with setting of 1080I. although you can use 7D to shoot video but the effect of DSLR video is sure lost out to a common camcorder....The auto focusing function is already something which is very important on video shooting.

I am having quite a similar doubts as you. i am preparing my holiday in 2 mths time, i am using 7D too but i feel i still need to get a proper camcorder to get reasonable smooth and well focus clips for my little princess 1st bday celebration and oversea.

if you mind too heavy weight, you might want to try sanyo xacti models. although xacti is nothing to shout about on its video quality but with its price and weight i am sure the handling confirm is still better over DSLR.

 

[jasonjoseph]

your 10mth old daughter is subliminally screaming out to you to bring your 7d.

 

[photoart]

Video recording on the 7D takes up alot of space on your memory card. So unless you have lots of memory cards to burn or is able to transfer your video files to another hard disk during your trip, then a separate camcorder is a better choice

 

[Eijnaix]

I'm starting to find it abit hard to video on 7D....need to constantly check the focusing to ensure that its sharp. While using a camcorder, the focusing is way faster... -_-

 

[DXNMedia]

from a consumer or home-user point of view, I think the most important consideration in choosing between a DSLR or dedicated video cam of today's standard is the compatibility of your video clips.

If I don't want to be editing my videos, I would wish to be able to play my clips back without hassle.....you may not be to do this easily with the 7D video file unless you use your 7D as your player plugged via HDMI to your plasma tv.

If I am to use an AVCHD video cam, I can plug in the AVCHD formatted SDHC card into media players, blu-ray players, playstation3, or tv sets equipped with SDHC card readers and your video files would be played back without problems.

both formats are an equal pain to work with in post production, but as an end-delivery format, AVCHD would yield the best quality vs. size vs. compatibility in today's video technology.

We actually master a lot of edited videos to back to AVCHD compliant format for many professional applications these days and it's because more and more devices are adopting the AVCHD as a standard for HD playback.....even the cheapest china-made HD media player that you can find in Sim Lim can read & playback AVCHD file structures or .MTS video stream.

 

[Eijnaix]

Totally agree AVCHD is a pain... Most mid range 1k notebooks will have problem playing them smoothly. I'm finding myself kinda stupid to be own such a camcorder shooting in avchd format but only to be converted back to Mpg or DVD using Cyberlink PowerDirector -_-"

Mind if i ask...which format is good quality for playback on 42 Inch HD TV or Notebook...there's so many types of format to save as and it's kinda confusing for me

 

[doom102938]

In your case, bring the camcorder along.

You'd face many issues with shooting the dslr.
1) Space, at about 48Mbps, 12 minutes of video means 4GB files.
2) Zoom. Most camcorders have many x zoom which is run by servo. This means that you'd be able to zoom slowly and smoothly by using the zoom rocker or button. Zooms DSLR on the other hand depends on your lens. Most common would be the 11.1x 18-200mm. However, zooming is manual and non linear.
3) Probably the biggest problem, focusing. Even on the rather good screen on the 7d, it is extremely hard to focus accurately quickly as the screen is too small. Its not a nice feeling when you find out most of your video are out of focus when you review them on a computer.

There are some upsides to shooting video with a DSLR.
1) Excellent low light performance
2) Cinematic feel(if used correctly)
3) Relatively high quality video for the price of the camera.

 

[henry soh]

hi, Second, half-year end will be interesting as while sony will introduce camcorder with APS-C
interchangeable lenses, Panasonic will introduce 3-D Camcorder.

 

[Eijnaix]

hi, Second, half-year end will be interesting as while sony will introduce camcorder with APS-C
interchangeable lenses, Panasonic will introduce 3-D Camcorder.

Omg...Camcorder with Interchangable lens.

It's just getting way too crazy.......cant imagine a camorder that allow dop play with super fast AF.:bigeyes: