Best 2 camera setup for under $2500

G

gutterball321

Well-known member
I am a videographer that does photography as a hobby. I currently own a Panasonic GH2 and a GH3. I chose the Panasonic GH series because I love not having a recording limit and they do not overheat and shut off. I have been getting questions from my clients why I cant get the shallow depth of field as your average youtuber, and I realized its because the Panasonic line just doesnt cut it. Sharp images but just doesnt stand out on youtube as your average 12 year old with a t3i.

So i am thinking of selling my gear and going one of 2 options. I do video first but also enjoy photography, and I know either option would be fine for photography.

so option 1:
2 Canon 70d's. 2 of the same camera would make my life easier and probably look more professional. I wouldnt have to worry as much about matching footage in post either. Just need to know if this camera has a recording limit or overheats? I had a Canon 7d in the past which over heated, had to be restarted every 12 minutes and ruined me on a couple shoots when it overheated and wouldnt turn back for the rest of the shoot. Is the 70d improved from this?

Option 2:
Either a Canon 5d Mark ii with a T3i/T4i or something similar
or
Canon 6d with the T3i/T4i or something similar/cheap.
I cant find which would give better video between the 5dmii or the 6d.

Some of you may say to stick with the GH cameras. If these canon cameras will all over heat or not be able to break the recording limit I may have to. But I would like that extra shallow depth of field and something a little better for photography. I didnt notice much of a difference between my GH3 and Canon 7d video wise, but mixing my gh3 with a friends 5dmii was not even useable because the 5d was so much better.

any advice or recommendations on these options? I need the cameras for interviews, filmmaking, weddings and promotional videos so pretty much every situation you can think of.
 
After a lot of research similar to what you're doing now, I went with the 5D2, and the 60D as a second camera. Buying both used, that only cost $2000. My main reason for skipping the 70D or the 7D or the 6D is that my two camera both can use stable versions of Magic Lantern, which allows for the auto restart of video recordings. There is a 2-3 second gap between the end of one 4gb clip and the beginning of the next, so it's not ideal, but it's better than forgetting to restart a camera and losing everything.

The other nice thing about this pair is that the 60D shoots 60fps, which the 5D2 does not, and it has the flip-out screen which is handy when using stabilizers or other movement devices. The 60D does not get the shallow DOF that the 5D2 does, but it is comparable to the DOF we are used to seeing from standard movie cameras, and will definitely be shallower than on the GH2/3.

Basically what I gathered from my research is the the 5D3 is a small but not massive leap forward from the 5D2, and consistently sells (used) for $1000 more. The price on the 5D2 keeps dropping, and you can find them on Fred Miranda for $1200–$1300 these days. The 60D seems to have the same relationship to the 70D—same sensor, just fewer bells and whistles. Once you add Magic Lantern to the mix, the older choices seem best for video, and the 60D sells for around $500.

The one thing I can't comment on for the 60D is overheating. Anecdotally, it seems to do OK, and there are tests online showing it running for hours straight (https://vimeo.com/16574594). But I've never tried to run it for that long. The 5D2 has never had a heating problem for me, or anyone else as far as I can tell.

Because these are both Canon cameras, the intercutting should also be a lot easier, although having two of the same camera would be even easier. If you're patient, you could get 2 5D2s on your budget, but again I like the 60D for the 60fps. Also the 60D takes SD cards which are about half the price of CF cards, so you save a little money there.

One caveat is I don't do weddings, so I don't know how I'd feel about those 2 second gaps coming at just the wrong time. But those two cameras really work for me, and the image quality of the 5D2 is superb.
 
Assuming that you're going the Canon DSLR route, which you can debate, but I won't, here's what I think:

First off, the 7D has the most problems with overheating of any Canon DSLR. Anything that you get now will be better. I've worked with the 70D and 5D MKII and have never had any overheating issues, although I normally don't shoot in very warm conditions.

As far as I know, the MKIII, 6D and 70D have about a 30 minute record limit, but I may be wrong. I know the MKII has a 12 minute record limit. You can always just stop and start recording for less than a second to make a new clip. The only issue I've had with this is syncing. I've edited a lot of 2 camera weddings shot on DSLR's that have 10 clips that need to be synced up, instead of just 2. Most of the time Pluraleyes can figure it out, but if not, it's more of a pain manually syncing 10 clips.

As far as the MKII vs 6D question, I'd definitely say go for the 6D. It has more recording options and better low-light performance. The morie is supposed to be pretty bad compared to the MKIII, but I feel that it's pretty similar, no worse, to the MKII. I feel the only advantage to the MKII is the name recognition. More clients have heard of the 5D than the 6D, if that matters.

Mixing FF and Crop Canon DSLR's doesn't seem to be too big on an issue. I shot a short on both a 70D and a 5D and it matched perfectly. I did close down about a stop on the 5D and increased the ISO, so that both cams would have a similar DOF.
 
I've never used the 6D, but the only reason to choose the 5D2 would be ML and a few hundred dollars in price. The 6D does seem to be a slightly better camera because of low light and 60fps video, and does record for 30 minutes rather than 12 before needing a restart. But ML gives you peaking, a zoom box to help you focus while you're recording and the auto-restart.
 
My $0.02: Keep the GH cameras, and get the Voigtlander f/0.95 lens set of 17.5mm, 25mm and 42.5mm lenses. If you need shallower depth of field than that, then about the only thing that will do is a 5D with f/1.2 lenses.
 
Sorry, I need to revise what I said about price. The 6D has come down in price (used) and now they're really selling for about the same.
 
I'm with Jamie - keep the GH and invest in some nice primes - Voightlander, Rokinon - I have an extensive set of FD canon primes and love them - there aren't many lenses that won't fit the GH2/3 with the right adapter.
 
tired said:
I'm with Jamie - keep the GH and invest in some nice primes - Voightlander, Rokinon - I have an extensive set of FD canon primes and love them - there aren't many lenses that won't fit the GH2/3 with the right adapter.
Click to expand...

This was mentioned in the OP's duplicate thread.

Also mentioned using the Metabones Speed Booster.
 
I recommend you to keep at least one of the GH.

May be buy a 70D or a 6D, but except for the 70D there is nothing that can match the GH on AF.

IF you want DOF you need FF like 6D



But your major problem of DOF is LENS, what lens do you have? get something with both large focal length and aperature. ( and how you use your camera)

I can get shallow DOF on a DC, you just need to use as high a aperature and facal length you can with what you have.
 
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