Hi everyone,
Im new around here and looking to buy into a new camera "system". Some background first I think would help you guys help me I think! Im looking for a "hybrid" camera system for both photo and video work with a stronger focus on video this time around. I sold off all my gear about a year or so back after being completely uninspired creatively and Im finally ready to get back into photo/video stuff again. Im not a paid professional of any kind just an inspired "hobbiest" looking to get a bit more serious this time around. I have been working on a short scrip that took me about 6 months to write and I think I have gotten it to a point where I would like to start shooting it. Now Ill state this upfront that I still consider myself a photographer first and someone who'e seriously getting interested in video second. I have done some video work in the past so Im not a complete novice at this and know my basics I would say at the very least maybe even intermediate compared to most people I have encountered. I find myself in the good (or bad) situation of being completely gear-less allowing me for once in long time not being committed to a brand of camera because of owning lots of glass for that particular mount. Balancing what I want, need, my budget and other factors I have brought myself down to two camera's... the Canon 70d and Nikon D7100. Other camera's and systems were ruled out for many reasons specific to my needs even though some of them might have been "technically" better for video work (as in GH3).
So between weighing the differences of these two camera's Im also trying to weigh the pro's/con's of the "camera system" each has to offer (as in glass, peripheral support, etc.). I have concluded two lenses which are available for both systems are must buy's for me... the Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8 & the Sigma 18-35mm F/1.8. Lenses in the telephoto range and longer primes are TBD at this point but Im leaning towards a "cheaper" telephoto zoom lens with image stabilization and maybe a couple faster primes for the times I need them instead of the slower zoom, like say a 85mm & 40/50mm prime.
Ill admit straight off the bat Im no "fan-boy" of either company or brands in general but my background is a moderately long 5 years of shooting Canon camera's previously. So I definitely feel a bit more at home the functions/operation of Canon camera's and there menu system.
Now going back to the two particular camera's at hand when focussing just on the video side of things here is what I have come up with in my research:
Canon 70d pro's:
- New live view auto-focus system is just AMAZING. While not perfect it works damn well and Im salivating at thought of what smooth focus pulls you could achieve from a creative point of view so easily! Not to mention in run and gun this just seems like such a invaluable tool to have at one's disposal especially for people with $0 budgets, lol.
- As gimmicky as I use to think a "tilty-swively" screen is boy I see the value of it from a video perspective and the touch screen on the 70d seems to be awesome. +1 70d here for sure.
- Much larger buffer for action stills. Its not even close the Canon is far better in this regard.
- Continuous shoot time for video appears to be longer then Nikon's 20 minute limit but Im not sure what it's capped at? (32 minuted according to specs? but im not sure).
- Wifi feature is nice no doubt but not something that sway's me towards the Canon. Value added feature? For sure.
Canon 70s con's that bother me:
- No headphone jack!? Canon you really screwed the pooch on this one. Talk about "holding back". For a camera marketed as a video game changer to not have a headphone jack is just something that makes me angry.
- Moire & Aliasing are just straight up disappointing. Not much else to say... its there and its f*cking annoying. If Nikon can figure it out without a AA filter in there camera then Canon's engineer's should be able to do the same.
Nikon D7100 pro's:
- Better build quality - magnesium alloy.
- AF assist lamp that should help AF in low-light situations.
- Dual memory card slots, awesome! Just awesome! This combined with the better magnesium alloy build it really lends this camera to a more "pro" side of things IMO.
- Clean HDMI out
- Headphone jack!
- Better dynamic range for video & stills. Its not that much more but its definitely enough to say the Nikon has an advantage in this regard over the Canon.
- Moire and aliasing is WAY better then the Canon 70d. Amazing considering the AA filter is removed on this camera.
- 1080p with 60 fps whereas Canon is limited to 30fps.
- 100% viewfinder coverage for still over Canon's 98% (not a big deal to me personally but its nice that Nikon gave us a 100% VF).
Nikon D7100 con's that bother me:
- Can't adjust aperture while filming!!!! WTF, Nikon!?!?! (This one really bother's me a lot actually, and no exposure preview in stills mode in live view either = lame).
- Sure would be nice to have Canon's live-view AF system (but im guessing Canon really surprised everyone with this on the 70d)
- No touch/swivel screen... I actually think someone a budget system this is an invaluable tool.
Canon 70d & Nikon D7100 "wash-outs":
- AF systems seem pretty on par with each other from a still perspective.
- ISO performance seems pretty damn similar too.
- Low-light seems almost on par with each other as well with a slight edge it looks like for the Nikon D7100? I think.
- Pop flashes that control off camera flashes.
- Audio levels on screen (I believe this to be true, correct me if im wrong)
- Overall sharpness is pretty damn similar too.
- On board audio sucks for both... Zoom or Tascam here I come!
Other considerations:
- Canon has a chance it will get Magic Lantern whereas I think one can assume the Nikon wont.
- Canon has a slight edge in glass IMO but thats a personal preference thing
Ok at this point your probably thinking this guy's nuts?! He's covered just about everything hasn't he? Why cant he just figure out himself which one to get? Well, I was hoping to hear maybe something significant that I missed or valuable input/opinion from a user of both or one camera since I haven't actually had the pleasure of owning one these first hand. Its always a lot different when you actually get to using a camera then seeing/reading things online. Would love to hear the thoughts/opinions of the DVX crowd here as I value your opinions and have not come here to start a flame war or anything like that. Just some good objective view-points on both camera's and systems.
Thanks for reading my long a$$ post if you made it this far and posting! Its a pleasure to be a member of this community now :thumbsup: (please excuse the poor grammar, wrote this rather quickly to get all my thoughts in my head out and into text form!)
Im new around here and looking to buy into a new camera "system". Some background first I think would help you guys help me I think! Im looking for a "hybrid" camera system for both photo and video work with a stronger focus on video this time around. I sold off all my gear about a year or so back after being completely uninspired creatively and Im finally ready to get back into photo/video stuff again. Im not a paid professional of any kind just an inspired "hobbiest" looking to get a bit more serious this time around. I have been working on a short scrip that took me about 6 months to write and I think I have gotten it to a point where I would like to start shooting it. Now Ill state this upfront that I still consider myself a photographer first and someone who'e seriously getting interested in video second. I have done some video work in the past so Im not a complete novice at this and know my basics I would say at the very least maybe even intermediate compared to most people I have encountered. I find myself in the good (or bad) situation of being completely gear-less allowing me for once in long time not being committed to a brand of camera because of owning lots of glass for that particular mount. Balancing what I want, need, my budget and other factors I have brought myself down to two camera's... the Canon 70d and Nikon D7100. Other camera's and systems were ruled out for many reasons specific to my needs even though some of them might have been "technically" better for video work (as in GH3).
So between weighing the differences of these two camera's Im also trying to weigh the pro's/con's of the "camera system" each has to offer (as in glass, peripheral support, etc.). I have concluded two lenses which are available for both systems are must buy's for me... the Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8 & the Sigma 18-35mm F/1.8. Lenses in the telephoto range and longer primes are TBD at this point but Im leaning towards a "cheaper" telephoto zoom lens with image stabilization and maybe a couple faster primes for the times I need them instead of the slower zoom, like say a 85mm & 40/50mm prime.
Ill admit straight off the bat Im no "fan-boy" of either company or brands in general but my background is a moderately long 5 years of shooting Canon camera's previously. So I definitely feel a bit more at home the functions/operation of Canon camera's and there menu system.
Now going back to the two particular camera's at hand when focussing just on the video side of things here is what I have come up with in my research:
Canon 70d pro's:
- New live view auto-focus system is just AMAZING. While not perfect it works damn well and Im salivating at thought of what smooth focus pulls you could achieve from a creative point of view so easily! Not to mention in run and gun this just seems like such a invaluable tool to have at one's disposal especially for people with $0 budgets, lol.
- As gimmicky as I use to think a "tilty-swively" screen is boy I see the value of it from a video perspective and the touch screen on the 70d seems to be awesome. +1 70d here for sure.
- Much larger buffer for action stills. Its not even close the Canon is far better in this regard.
- Continuous shoot time for video appears to be longer then Nikon's 20 minute limit but Im not sure what it's capped at? (32 minuted according to specs? but im not sure).
- Wifi feature is nice no doubt but not something that sway's me towards the Canon. Value added feature? For sure.
Canon 70s con's that bother me:
- No headphone jack!? Canon you really screwed the pooch on this one. Talk about "holding back". For a camera marketed as a video game changer to not have a headphone jack is just something that makes me angry.
- Moire & Aliasing are just straight up disappointing. Not much else to say... its there and its f*cking annoying. If Nikon can figure it out without a AA filter in there camera then Canon's engineer's should be able to do the same.
Nikon D7100 pro's:
- Better build quality - magnesium alloy.
- AF assist lamp that should help AF in low-light situations.
- Dual memory card slots, awesome! Just awesome! This combined with the better magnesium alloy build it really lends this camera to a more "pro" side of things IMO.
- Clean HDMI out
- Headphone jack!
- Better dynamic range for video & stills. Its not that much more but its definitely enough to say the Nikon has an advantage in this regard over the Canon.
- Moire and aliasing is WAY better then the Canon 70d. Amazing considering the AA filter is removed on this camera.
- 1080p with 60 fps whereas Canon is limited to 30fps.
- 100% viewfinder coverage for still over Canon's 98% (not a big deal to me personally but its nice that Nikon gave us a 100% VF).
Nikon D7100 con's that bother me:
- Can't adjust aperture while filming!!!! WTF, Nikon!?!?! (This one really bother's me a lot actually, and no exposure preview in stills mode in live view either = lame).
- Sure would be nice to have Canon's live-view AF system (but im guessing Canon really surprised everyone with this on the 70d)
- No touch/swivel screen... I actually think someone a budget system this is an invaluable tool.
Canon 70d & Nikon D7100 "wash-outs":
- AF systems seem pretty on par with each other from a still perspective.
- ISO performance seems pretty damn similar too.
- Low-light seems almost on par with each other as well with a slight edge it looks like for the Nikon D7100? I think.
- Pop flashes that control off camera flashes.
- Audio levels on screen (I believe this to be true, correct me if im wrong)
- Overall sharpness is pretty damn similar too.
- On board audio sucks for both... Zoom or Tascam here I come!
Other considerations:
- Canon has a chance it will get Magic Lantern whereas I think one can assume the Nikon wont.
- Canon has a slight edge in glass IMO but thats a personal preference thing
Ok at this point your probably thinking this guy's nuts?! He's covered just about everything hasn't he? Why cant he just figure out himself which one to get? Well, I was hoping to hear maybe something significant that I missed or valuable input/opinion from a user of both or one camera since I haven't actually had the pleasure of owning one these first hand. Its always a lot different when you actually get to using a camera then seeing/reading things online. Would love to hear the thoughts/opinions of the DVX crowd here as I value your opinions and have not come here to start a flame war or anything like that. Just some good objective view-points on both camera's and systems.
Thanks for reading my long a$$ post if you made it this far and posting! Its a pleasure to be a member of this community now :thumbsup: (please excuse the poor grammar, wrote this rather quickly to get all my thoughts in my head out and into text form!)
