Best camera for low light handheld action?

U

uforiainc

New member
I have suffered from information overload and keep jumping from camera to camera with each new negative/positive thing I read, so I will post the scenario here for your opinions.

SCENARIO:
You want to shoot at night, on location in the streets of a major city using as much available light as possible. The camera will be hand held and there will be some action sequences. (think the look of Collateral with Tom Cruise & Jamie Foxx)

Also, you may need the same camera to do some in studio green screen work.
You have a camera budget of $8000 to purchase a camera body, but would like to save as much as possible and not blow through all 8k.

SUMMARY:
To summarize: Handheld, night, on location, greenscreen, action. Under $8K

CAMERAS:
From my research I have narrowed it down (I think) to the Canon 5D mark ii, Lumix GH2, Canon 60D, or the Panasonic AF100.

CONCERNS:
I worry about the handheld low light action capabilities of the HDSLRs since they suffer jello, wobble, aliasing, moire problems. Think of a shot of a guy running in front of a brick building, camera is handheld, moving with him. How would this turn out on these cams?
I worry about the sensor size, DOF, low light abilities, videoness of the AF100.


What do you all think?
 
With a EX1R, I would have to get an adapter or use close up filters for any DOF I want, correct? Also, footage I have seen online looks too video-like for my tastes. Is there a good cinematic looking test of the EX1R you could direct me too?
 
I would say in this situation you want a solid camera. Sony Ex1/Ex3 are good enough to do what you're asking and suffer a lot less from rolling shutter than a camera like the 5d mkii in action scenes and most certainly in hand-held action scenes, the footage would probably be problematic. You don't really need an adapter to acheive a decent depth of field you just shoot further back and slightly more zoomed and with the right lighting and picture profile you can easily obtain a 'film-like' look close to that of an adapter, you just won't have that 'softer' look you get with an adapter or film. I think that if you're trying to obtain a look like in the movie Collateral, then 'film-like' isn't too much of a concern, as its style has a very film/video hybrid look to it being that some of it was filmed on the sony f-900 - the ex1,ex3 and F900 being all apart of Sony's Cinealta range . Although I hear good things about the Af100 it's quite new and who knows what problems it might have.nI think unless you get some good glass it's probably not a sharp as the ex1/ex3. For sure you want a proper camera, not a DSLR. As good as they are, they're just not as diverse as a dedicated video camera for professionals, they're just another weapon for the arsenal and I don't think they should ever be the main camera. Whichever way you decided to go, for what you're after I would rule DSLR out and either go with the ex1/ex3 or the Af100. The only advantages of which I can see by going with the latter are 1080p/60fps versus 720p/60fps on ex1/ex3, the af100's ability to use PL cinema lenses and its lower priced media.

You could also buy a GH1 or GH2 alongside your main camera in order to get shots you might find difficult to get with a larger camera.
But if you were to go DSLR then Canon 1D MkiV would probably be a better option at your budget. It's quite superior to the 5dmkii in low light.
 
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