Canon T3i vs competition

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filmninja

New member
So I have been looking at the T3i for a while now, and I was wondering if anyone with experience with this camera could give me some advice. I am looking to use this camera for both stills and video. I love making short films, and am looking to upgrade my little $80 camcorder :grin: I would also like a nice camera for stills as well. I have looked at some competitors, and I would like to get a body and a lens for under $600. I know that it's a tight budget, but I really would like to save some money to get lenses, lights, and accessories (you know how video is with accessories :tongue:.) If anyone has had any experience with this camera, or other cameras around the same price point, then I would greatly appreciate your feedback. I don't need a perfect camera, just something that can be reliable and get me the most bang for my buck.

Thanks a lot,
--Michael
 
I have a t3i with kit lens, and a vintge 50mm f 1.7 , 28-85mm 2.5-3.5, im looking to get rid of, pm me f interested
 
filmninja said:
So I have been looking at the T3i for a while now, and I was wondering if anyone with experience with this camera could give me some advice. I am looking to use this camera for both stills and video. I love making short films, and am looking to upgrade my little $80 camcorder :grin:
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I had the T3i (went through the T1i and T2i), a 60D, and a 7D all at the same time. The T3i was as outstanding a camera as I found the 60D to be. The articulating LCD solved the overheating issues seen in the T2i and 7D (allowed cooling airspace between the LCD and the sensor.

The T3i is an excellent stills camera and a very good video camera once you learn for yourself what you can and can't do with it. Several brands of "legacy" lenses can be used in modes where you set the aperture and focus is of course manual. I used an adapted Nikkor with excellent results.

The Canon FD series lenses are not good candidates for use on EOS cameras due to focusing problems unless the adapter has optics to correct focus, and those often degrade the image.

I'd check out what MaranFilms has.
 
Picked up a T3i when I was first getting into film, used the stock kit lens for over a year before finally getting a decent upgrade (tokina 11-16mm, amazing) This camera will do everything you need it to do. GET MAGIC LANTERN, WHATEVER YOU DO MAKE SURE YOU GET MAGIC LANTERN. You will learn an incredible amount about industry standard features from the magic lantern firmware upgrade, it transforms the T3i into a beast. Pair magic lantern with the T3i and some decent lenses/accesories, with the Cinestyle color preset, and you're golden.
 
kurth said:
well....I'd go with a pany g6 . Alot more flexible camera.
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You know, this was the very camera I was looking at before I got interested in the t3i. However, there were a couple things I didn't like about it.

1. I would have to stick with panasonic lenses (and other mft lenses) unless I got an adapter, but from what I have heard, adapters can have some issues with autofocus and the like.
2. No magic lantern. I really liked the idea of being able to "hack" the camera and get raw video and other cool features; something the panasonic won't give you.
3. No audio monitoring. Now, I know that the t3i straight out of the box doesn't give you audio monitoring, but with magic lantern and a few cables, it's supposed to work. (look it up on youtube)
4. No HDMI out. Of course, on the t3i it's probably compressed and not clean, but I would still very much like to be able to use an external monitor (or three :tongue:)

So, I mean, I really did like the look of the video coming out of the panasonic, but I feel like the t3i might be just a little more flexible, which is why I'm looking at it. The no HDMI out was kind of a no-go zone for me also, but I guess I could use a z-finder or something like that.

And also, I already have a Canon lens from my dad's old film EOS Elan, so I could just use that straight up with my t3i. Plus, I'm kind of a sucker for the look of Canon video... :D
 
GMG802 said:
Picked up a T3i when I was first getting into film, used the stock kit lens for over a year before finally getting a decent upgrade (tokina 11-16mm, amazing) This camera will do everything you need it to do. GET MAGIC LANTERN, WHATEVER YOU DO MAKE SURE YOU GET MAGIC LANTERN. You will learn an incredible amount about industry standard features from the magic lantern firmware upgrade, it transforms the T3i into a beast. Pair magic lantern with the T3i and some decent lenses/accesories, with the Cinestyle color preset, and you're golden.
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Yes, I agree with you. This was also one of the main selling points of the t3i for me.
 
magic lantrern is awesome on the t3i, gives it about 100 more functions than it had stock. It is a great camera, you can also shoot raw on it for short periods, but if your a narrative filmmaker it's doable as most takes are short to begin with on avg.
 
The T3i works as well now as it did a few years back, but there are better cameras out there right now. If you already have one, you may not want to upgrade, but if you're buying new, I'd go with something else. I upgraded to a NEX-5N and felt it was a very nice step up (e.g. I suddenly noticed that my clips are not as sharp in vimeo as they are in my PC; definitely not an issue with my old canon). The D5300 is even better. In 2014, I want a sharper image, with more detail and much less aliasing/more.

Check my Flaat shootout 2012.
 
For several years I shot with the 550D and 60D (all very similar video image from this generation of Canon cameras) and was largely satisfied. Did not have many problems with moire - I was usually careful not to have patterned shirts -- but one day, there was a fine but highly noticeable moire even on a plain shirt. Seemly, the sunlight on the surface weave of the shirt itself produced a pattern, which was a wake-up call that maybe I should be looking out for a new camera. Last year, I bought a Nikon D5200 and immediately found the video image somehow more likeable than what I was used to. It's not easy to explain why, maybe it's a personal preference with the skin tones, but I'm not alone (Nikon's image processing is certainly different). I miss the live histogram of the 60D, there's the live view aperture issue (not really much of an issue; a non-issue with manual lenses), the LCD resolution is disappointing compared to Canon, and basically you are stuck with Nikon-fit lenses. But in spite of these negatives, I just can't shoot video with the 60D any more; the newer D5300 is reportedly even better. From my own point of view I can't recomend the current crop Canons above the crop Nikons right now.
 
You really can't go wrong with any of those cameras. Nikons dont have moire and they re sharper, Canons (with ML) are more user friendly and they have many added features in both photography and video. Colors, skin tones etc are very subjective.
I said something in another thread about choosing gear and I ll say it again. Its not just a camera body, its a camera system. If you start to invest in a system (lenses, batteries etc) it will be difficult and costly to switch later...
 
Opinions are like…and well here's mine: Canon is a fantastic system. Great lenses, beautiful images, long term development, innovations, etc has kept me using them for two decades now. I've upgraded the camera bodies many times (anyone wanna buy a 7D?) but I still have some of the first lenses I ever bought. No regrets with any of the Canon purchases. That said, if I were in your shoes today, I'm not 100% sure I'd go with Canon. At the high end like the 5D3 and C100 that I own, Canon is still king IMO. If you were in that budget I'd recommend Canon. But if you're at the lower end of the budget spectrum and not planning on moving up to the high end gear soon, there are a lot of options that give a good image and all of them will be better than your $80 camera or your phone.
 
TrueIndigo said:
Last year, I bought a Nikon D5200 and immediately found the video image somehow more likeable than what I was used to. It's not easy to explain why, maybe it's a personal preference with the skin tones, but I'm not alone
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This started around the D7000 - I owned one for stills, but the D90 was so bad I never shot video with the newer body. When I did, I was really blown away - it's much harder to get those yellow-orange skin tones that the Canons just wanted to do. There's something going on in the shadows, a cooler sort of blue-ness to the blacks that's not blue. The D7000 had very bad jello though. The 7100 is probably the best mid-level camera body since Nikon went digital.

I'll be renting a 5300 in a couple weeks for a mutli camera project, but from reading the manual, I'd far prefer the 7100 as my main camera. The consumer-intended interface is pretty limiting (there's a freaking "baby" button on the mode dial...) With DSLRs, I rend to rely on manual white balance and ISO a lot to fine tune exposure, and a lot of the 5300 features aren't that quick to access (far as I can tell). Is the 7100 worth $400-$500 more? I'd say so, but on a tighter budget, maybe not.
 
I really liked my t3i and used it a lot. I then got the 5200 which is prob my all time favorite camera. The t3i is still a good camera but at this point there are newer ones out there for not a lot more. Although if the budget only allows it its still a very capable camera.
 
And if you're eking up into the $1k body range, take a look at the pocket cinema cam. The small sensor doesn't turn me on, but for some shooters it may be a moot point.
 
I have a Canon t3i which I use for both video and stills. It is not my primary video camera...but there are times I have a client who has a tight budget. They don't want to spend the money on a true second camera for reverse angles during two-camera interview shoots so I use the t3i as a locked down reverse cam.

I put Magic Lantern in it too. As mentioned by others, that program upgrades the t3i with a lot of features found on more expensive DSLR's.

Bottom line, if you are wanting the best bang for your buck, buying something to give you a decent product with lots of options for the future...including not emptying your bank account right away...I think the t3i is still a good choice.

A great learning tool which will also give you a quality image...and a smile on your face as you venture deeper into the world of video.

Of course many will point to other model cameras...with their own price points and extra features...but the t3i will be a great choice at this point.

Oh yes...it also takes pretty nice stills with the right lens on it too!

Enjoy!
 
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