Anyone use 70d for speakers/presentation/conference?

[grantw]

I'm trying to figure out the best camera to use for recording speaker presentations or conferences. These are small events or company workshops, not TED scale productions.

I have a 6d and two 5d's so I'm tempted to go with the 70d so everything stays the same workflow.

Has anyone used the 70d for these types of events? How is the autofocus when following a speaker? What's the time limitations?

Is the c100 a better option?

 

[Ebrahim Saadawi]

I wouldn't use a DSLR for this type of job at all, a camcorder is much better. Mainly due to the 29min restriction, bad audio and too shallow depth of field. Yes the Dual pixel AF is excellent. I guess if you're already comfortable with DSLRs doing this job the 70D is good, the image is nearly identical to the 6D (has moire) but with a better AF system, articulating touchscreen... But I would definitely use a C100.

Or even better a Canon XF205 or some sort of small-chip camcorder with long recording times, tiny file sizes, excellent autofocus and zoom range, and excellent audio recording with adequate depth of field, it's a better tool for this specific job.

 

[nickpiegari]

I agree with Ebrahim, although you might be able to get away with a DSLR if no presentation ever goes longer than 29 minutes and your lens can get a tight shot on the speaker. Just as long as the presenter remains roughly the same distance from you, you shouldn't have to worry too much about maintaining focus.

I know this is kind of an old thread, but just in case you'll be doing more presentations like this in the future (and for those listening at home), here are some other things to consider.

• How far away will the camera be from the presenter? This will determine what kind of lens you need. In any case, consider moving closer if you can.
• How much light will be in the room? If it's extremely dark, you may be better off with a DSLR than a prosumer-level camcorder; they get a better picture in low light. The C100 should be fine too.
• Will the presenter be presenting alongside a projection screen? In that case, you'll need to think about how you're going to synchronize the slideshow and presenter in post-production. Simply grabbing the slides from the presenter afterwards will usually suffice.