7d/72i/gh1 my concerns for these and which one suits me?

[xander1]

hey. im looking at venturing into the cdslr world and am looking for a few opinions on which of these 3 cameras will suit me best. i have done a lot of reading on these forums and others on all of these cameras and just cant decide which compromise to make. at the moment i shoot alot of action sports (bmx, skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding) but am looking at getting into shooting alot more short films and music video clips. now i know that the 720p for the canons is alot worse than the gh1 due to the aliasing which i dont think would be a huge problem as i would be using 720p to shoot most of the action sports which would be just for internet upload and i could benefit from the better quality 1080p from the canons when shooting my short films. i currently have 3 canon lenses, efs 17-85mm f/4-5.6, ef 80-200mm f4.5-5.6 and a ef 20-80mm f4.5-5.6. so that is my background now here are my concerns. by the way i would be looking at getting each unit in body only.

1) as i will be shooting a bit in the snow i like that the 7d is water resistant. my main concerns with the t2i and the gh1 would be condensation when getting my camera out of a bag and out into the cold then back into the bag again.
2)canons poor 720p as i would be shooting alot of slow mo with the action sports. not sure if this would effect me greatly for just web edits.
3)i like the ability to adjust WB using kelvin which is available in the 7d and gh1 but not available on the t2i. this would be very helpful to cut back colour correction in post for alot of the action sports shots. not so much in shooting short films and video clips
4)the pulldown removal of the gh1. this is probably the main concern for me with the gh1. how much extra time is it actually going to be. i have adobe cs3 and a quadcore 1.6ghz processor with 4gb of ram and a nvidia 9600gt graphics card if that helps.
5) i am from australia so really like the ability to be able to adjust frame rates between pal and ntsc with the canons
6) the ability to set custom presets in the 7d. again a feature that would be very helpful in shooting similar situations in the action sports environment when shooting is more spontaneous and less planned out.
7) finally the cost. if it werent for cost i would probably go out and get the 7d. however im not sure if i can justify the extra expense over the t2i for better adjustability for WB and custom presets and over the gh1 for not having the hassle of the pulldown removal.

so they are my concerns with each of the cameras. i would greatly appreciate any opinions on what i have said and if anyone has anything new to bring to the table for me to consider. sorry for making another "which camera" thread but i've tried to be specific in order to get the most from you all.
thanks alot
xander

 

[Rory_B]

What is your overall budget? If the price is scaring you on the 7D, aside from the weather sealing issue, you could get a T2i and a Gh1 for probably around the same price as a 7d. I'm in Canada so not sure of your pricing scehem down there.

Probably similiar to here, but I bought the gh1 in the states since it was crazy cheap compared to up here.

I shot a music video on the gh1 and 7D and it was really cold out and I didn't have a single issue with condensation with the gh1.

720p is horrible on the 7D compared to the GH1. I use the GH1 for any slo-mo effects I want to do.

Gh1 pulldown removal isn't slow for me, but I have a mac-pro with like 6 gigs of RAM.

You'll want to convert any footage from these cameras to ProRes or similar codec, since h264 is a ***** to edit even on a fast system if you want to start adding filters and transitions.

For action sports will you mainly just do video or some stills? The 7D shoots 8fps which is great for some action, and you can take a picture at any given time during filming of video which could come in very handy, plus you can choose from some pretty nice AF telephoto lenses.

If you're shooting in bright-light you'll need to ad a z-finder, lcdvf, or similar to allow yourself to actually be able to focus properly on the 7D/T2i whereas the GH1 has an EVF which is really handy.

You'll need ND filters for both for your applications most likely.

I like both cameras and think they both have their place. GH1 would come in more handy for any mounting situations since it's lighter and smaller.

I really suggest getting into a store if possible and holding both cameras so that you can play around and get a feel for them.

There's way more to it, but I'm sure others on here can be very insightful to help you out too.

I just realized you said you have 3 canon lenses, so 7D might be your best bet just based on that, otherwise you'll need to start building some lenses wide enough for the GH1. You could get an EOS-micro 4/3 adapter, but you won't have aperture or AF control.

 

[Gene Sung]

I really don't think the 720 on the 7D is as bad as people say. I use it all the time to film skateboarding and you do see some Moire, but it far more than useable.

On certain lenses, like the Tokina, it can be really bad at 720. Then you have to soften the focus a bit to take out the moire.

I was in this dilemma a while back between the 7D and the GH1. One of the main non-technical reasons I went with the 7D was because the people on the GH1 forum just seemed really disgruntled about the Codec and Panasonic's deaf ears; while on the 7D forum, most people were really happy with their cameras and it seems that Canon just supports their DSLRs much more than Panasonic.

So I got the 7D and have been super Stoked. Plus, the 7D is a MUCH better stills camera than the GH1.

 

[Jester2138]

1) as i will be shooting a bit in the snow i like that the 7d is water resistant. my main concerns with the t2i and the gh1 would be condensation when getting my camera out of a bag and out into the cold then back into the bag again.

Never had any problems with humidity or condensation with my 7D. I had my lens fog up when I left it out overnight for time lapses in humid and cold weather, but that has nothing to do with the camera itself. I would think that the 7D has much better weather sealing than the GH1 and T2i.

2)canons poor 720p as i would be shooting alot of slow mo with the action sports. not sure if this would effect me greatly for just web edits.

It will look great for web edits! No problems there. Just don't expect it to hold up to the 1080p24 mode when projecting it in a theater

3)i like the ability to adjust WB using kelvin which is available in the 7d and gh1 but not available on the t2i. this would be very helpful to cut back colour correction in post for alot of the action sports shots. not so much in shooting short films and video clips

Honestly I think this would just be a matter of adjusting. I almost never use the K setting on my 7D unless I'm in really weird lighting situations.

4)the pulldown removal of the gh1. this is probably the main concern for me with the gh1. how much extra time is it actually going to be. i have adobe cs3 and a quadcore 1.6ghz processor with 4gb of ram and a nvidia 9600gt graphics card if that helps.

Quadcore 1.6? Do you mean 2.6? I've never seen a quad in 1.6 GHz. If it's 2.6 then I don't think pulldown will be much of an issue. Just another step. If it's 1.6, well then it might be a problem.

5) i am from australia so really like the ability to be able to adjust frame rates between pal and ntsc with the canons

I thought you could do that with the GH1? Someone correct me if I'm wrong please.

6) the ability to set custom presets in the 7d. again a feature that would be very helpful in shooting similar situations in the action sports environment when shooting is more spontaneous and less planned out.

Yes, this has been a huge help to me. However, it's probably due to the fact that Canon's default presets were so horrible that you basically have to use their custom settings to get anything good out of it. The GH1's default might be good by itself. You should ask on the GH1 board if the default settings are a problem.

7) finally the cost. if it werent for cost i would probably go out and get the 7d. however im not sure if i can justify the extra expense over the t2i for better adjustability for WB and custom presets and over the gh1 for not having the hassle of the pulldown removal.

I wouldn't want to spend an extra thousand on WB specificity and custom presets either. I think your best option is the T2i. Much more bang for your buck, especially considering its a nice still camera as well (which, honestly, the GH1 is not - especially considering its price).

so they are my concerns with each of the cameras. i would greatly appreciate any opinions on what i have said and if anyone has anything new to bring to the table for me to consider. sorry for making another "which camera" thread but i've tried to be specific in order to get the most from you all.
thanks alot
xander

One additional thing you may want to consider is getting faster lenses if you get the T2i. If you're shooting in bright daylight then you're probably OK, but anything less and you'll find yourself wishing you could go lower than f/3.5.

Also consider the LCDVF if you go the T2i route. It's basically a necessity. The Z-Finder is nice too but the much higher price isn't justified, really.

 

[xander1]

thanks everyone for the replies. i think i am leaning towards the canons just because of the codec. i suppose now the choice between the t2i and the 7d comes down to budget. i would probably look to buy the camera body, zoom h4n, probably the canon 50mm f1.8 and the opteka 6.5mm fisheye. so i suppose the difference between the t2i and the 7d would be an extra lense, maybe something like the tokina 11-16mm. the other thing i was wondering having never used a dslr for shooting video before would i be better off buying say a 7 inch HD monitor or something like the LCDVF or z-finder? i would be using the camera for a little bit of stills photography which the 8fps for the 7d does appeal to me. i just cant decide whethere i would be better off with the t2i and an extra lense or the 7d and custom WB, custom presets, 8fps shooting and a water resistant housing.
opinions welcome...

 

[rundavids]

Lcdvf and the zfinder won't fit on t2i. The screen ratio is wider.

 

[CiPO]

From Zacuto site: "Special Instructions & Warnings:
- The Z-Finder will work with the Canon 550/T2i camera. However, the frame does cover the proximity sensor on the camera and we don’t recommend adhering the frame on the sensors. Therefore, Zacuto will be marking and cutting a slit in the paper covering that would normally attach to where the proximity sensors are. So when you pull off the adhesive covering, you will have to rub off the adhesive in that area so it will not adhere to the proximity sensor. It will be about a 1” space that you will rub off the adhesive and then you follow the regular z-finder instructions for mounting."