Comparison Video / Explanation: Canon Rebel T2i vs. Canon EOS 7D

I sold my 7D and purchased a T2i instead. I used the money left over to buy some additional lenses.

I haven't suffered any resolution changes, over-heating issues or any of the other popular complaints either. To be honest, I think half of these complaints are founded on some adolescent equipment-elitism-attitude perpetuated by some unnecessary desire to appear more professional online.

It's like being 12 years old all over again and saying "my Nikes are better than your Adidas because they cost more..." it's stupid.


Having owned and used the 7D I feel the video quality between the cameras is absolutely identical. I dont care what that nerdy equation over there says, I'm 100% satisfied. I should've purchased the T2i to begin with.

The T2i is definitely more fiddly than the 7D but it doesn't matter, learning is fun. I'm a thrash metal guitarist, I'm used to using my fingers.

As for external monitoring well, I use a powerful laptop as an external monitor and the image quality is excellent. It's sharp and HD. So no SD output worries there. Just use a laptop, problem solved.
 
A laptop is NOT a solution when you are filming a lot of things. I mount a monitor to the top of my camera (smallHD) and can run around with the 7D no problem AND focus with the HD output. It's great.

I've used the T2I, and it's nice, no question, but I would NOT sell my 7D for one. My 7D has been sprayed with water, used at the beach, smacked around quite a bit because I am filming ALL kinds of stuff. I would be scared to put the T2I in the same situations as it is NOT weatherproof.

You are right, the video quality looked the same to me as well.

I'll also say this. The 7D feel heavier and this helps make it a little easier to be stable with it AND it works great on my stabalizer because too little weight makes the whole stabilizer system not work as well. You could just add a weighted plate though to solve that.

I also found the interface on the T2I to not be as nice, in terms of buttons and such.

For casual users I recommend the T2I hands down. For heavy users, the 7D without question. It can take a beating.
 
DSLR cameras aren't movie-cameras, the video feature is just a gimmick that became popular. So as far as I'm concerned it's a new territory and anything goes. Using a laptop as an external monitor is okay by me. I honestly dont give a damn if it makes me look less professional or not, who cares.

It get's the job done.

So just use your laptop and find a way to shade it's screen while you're shooting outside. IMO a DSLR camera with a fancy Zacuto rig looks like an old person depending on a zimmer-frame to move around anyway, it doesn't look professional to my eyes it just looks desperate.

So who cares what you use or what it looks like to others, if it works, it works. The T2i produces amazing video, it's not the greatest camera on earth but it's cheaper next to the others and produces footage which looks just as great.

If you're in this forum chances are, you're a budget film maker looking for cheaper alternatives and solutions anyway. Well here you go, you have a cheaper alternative so use it.
 
It's not a matter of looking professional or not, it's a matter of time and functionality. I don't shoot static shots in one location. I track the actors, I rack focus while the camera is moving, I do all kinds of things that move me and the camera to different locations. The last thing I want is to have to move a laptop sitting on something around while trying to film a shot.

Case in point, we shot a music video this weekend. We mounted the smallHD to a monopod and put the camera WAY UP in the air in the back seat of a convertible. Give the fact the monitor moved with the monopod, it was very easy to film from a variety of angles in the moving car, then, move to another car.

Another example, I flipped the monopod over and walked backwards in front of a group of soldiers moving down a corridor. I was able to track in front of them while looking at the monitor while the camera was 1 inch from the floor. You are NOT going to do this easily with a laptop. Especially the weight and ergonomics.

I've used a laptop with my 7D as well to play around with, but when time and people are involved, I try to optimize every part of the process so people aren't standing around waiting for me to move equipment or hook different things up.

Some people shoot with very large monitors that they have to move around like a laptop, and if I shot that way, I'd probably use the laptop as well since I could run it off of battery. But man, once I got that smallHD, I can tell you FIRST HAND, the things I can do with my setup now are incredible.

My next step is to build a monitor mount that I wear. This way, I can run just a cable to the camera on my stabalizer and be able to monitor what I am doing by just looking at that and not the back of the camera. Gonna be a COOL system.

HOWEVER

All this said, the best thing to do is go out and shoot. DO NOT buy all the accessories first because everyone shoots differently. Go out, do some test shooting and see what aggravates you. Then you will know what you need.
 
The emo looking kid in that video is just like every other "how to" nerd online, he's just flaunting how "professional" he is and inadvertently promoting expensive equipment in turn. I'm tired of seeing videos like this, they're all the same.

When did "budget film-making" all of a sudden acquire such a high corporate price tag? If that fancy professional over there "dabbles" with DSLR's and can afford to purchase fancy lenses and Zacuto rigs that's great but I'm 100% indie and proud of it.

I'll use whatever I can get my hands on to get the job done.


I agree, the 7D is definitely a better overall camera than the T2i, there's no question about that at all. However, we're all here to make films and the T2i produces identical looking video footage to the 7D. So where's the problem? lol

I just accepted it's limitations and developed work arounds for them.


It took me a while to familiarize myself with the T2i after using the 7D for so long. There are a few features from the 7D I miss but that's mostly down to creative laziness than anything else.

Using a laptop as an external monitor can be a pain in the backside but it get's the job done. If you have a powerful laptop like me it's great. It doesn't lag, it doesn't jitter. I dont need a corporate video to tell me how to make independent films or what equipment I need. No indie film maker does, period.

I dont miss my 7D at all, not now. I only purchased the thing for video anyway.
 
Grimepooch, I agree man. At the end of the day it's down to personal preferences. I'm a thrash metal guitarist, I use 24 fret guitars and Krank amplifiers. I play brutal music. That other guitarist over there uses Fender guitars through Marshall amplifiers and plays blues music.


He's happy with his rig, I'm happy with mine. I'm just tired of all the squabbling and debating.

Besides, I like the creative challenge of "Macgyvering" filming equipment together. It's fun, if you use DIY or cheap equipment you're willing to take more risks with it and sometimes, that can be a good thing.

If I STILL had my 7D I wouldn't take as many risks with it. I'd be over-protective of it and extra-additionally careful with it like before lol
 
Haha, yeah, I know what you mean. I use a Sigma 30mm that I paid $300 for it, I do a lot more riskier stuff with that lens than my Tokina 11mm-16mm since it was more than twice the price.

What I try to help people with is not make your job harder. Having the right tool for the job can make all the difference, but doesn't mean you need a $530340934 piece of gear (for instance, I don't own and zacuto stuff because I think it is overpriced).

Like tripods. I had a $50 tripod. I could NOT pan with it smoothly. I bought a $250 tripod and head and it works beautifully. Does the $1400 tripod a friend owns work better? Hell yes. BUT, I can get just as good results since I know my $250 tripod very well.

Some equipment CANNOT function as others.

Same as a steadicam rig. Mine costs $650 (blackbird). Others have rigs in the $3k to $5k range. Their rigs are superior in that their moment parameters are MUCH better. Not to mention, they have articulating arms and such. That said, with my stabilizer, I can do some great tracking and really eliminate the rolling shutter issue on moving shots.

By the way, I play a fender strat into a Pod XT :p
 
There's many professional film-makers here who'll have no other choice but to nit-pick at "cheaper equipment". I understand why they do it. I'm also a media-composer and have worked with many film-makers in the past on a professional level.

But they're from a different world to indie-film makers and have knowledge of equipment guys like me can only but dream of owning or using someday. They'll be used to things going a certain way or being a certain way, guys like me are improvising and pioneering new ideas, approaches and techniques instead because we're broke and also have no other choice but to.

They're developing ideas and methods based on equipment they're already familiar with, it's like they're trying to mould these cameras around their professional standards. So there's a significant difference between what they're doing and what guys like me are doing.

They're playing pop music, indie film-makers are playing rock'n'roll. That's just how it is.


This is probably why so many arguments occur in this forum lol
 
Hey Grime I used the POD XT's too they're great fun! As for Fenders, single coils are too bitey for me, I need something that can punch through my rig and physically hurt my audience lol. I'm not all about metal though, I just have alot of fire in my belly and enjoy making a racket lol

Fenders are great guitars though. No doubt about that! I love blues music, love rock'n'roll. I'd love to hear your stuff man!

When I purchased the 7D I weighed things up and thought "okay, now I have the camera it's going to take me several months to purchase these other vital pieces of gear too...." So I just thought economically instead and settled for the T2i.

I was VERY cynical about the T2i and I DID scoff at it too. It looks and feels like a toy. It feels very delicate and "breakable". I agree 100% that the 7D IS better than the T2i overall. But for video, the T2i is just as epic IMO.

I did comparison videos and no one could tell the difference between the 7D or the T2i. Neither could I. So I was sold. The video quality is exactly the same.

I got some lenses I REALLY wanted and the rest is history.

If I could afford another 7D with a fancy external monitor dont get me wrong I'd go for it. I'd do it but right now, I'm not in that kinda position. Right now, I'm broke, I have a bunch of creative ideas I want to put on film and that is that.

I'm a very, very creative person and need to express myself as much as possible. Just like pretty much everyone else here. The T2i offered me a cheaper solution to my visionary angst issues lol
 
just read this most recent conversation...Trauma, right on man, i'm down with the musical brutality...also a lot of great points between you and grime. well said by the both of you!
 
Hey Chris it's a pleasure to meet ya!

Let's face facts, when a professional film-maker offers advice to an indie-film maker it's as practical as a pop musician trying to teach a metal band how to "reach a wider audience of people" or "write better music"

Bob Rock did that to Metallica and it was all down hill from there!

Indie film-makers should stick together and learn from each other, trying to learn from a pro just causes stress.


Although their intentions are good and sincere they inadvertently make you feel like you'll get nothing done unless you own this, that and the other from Zacuto. I can't afford what they use so I have to improvise or settle for cheaper alternatives.

DSLR film-making isn't cheap, not even for a hobbyist. It costs an arm and a leg to make one of these things adequate enough to shoot video with. A professional can afford to experiment with DSLR's, guy's like me can't.


I purchased a lens the other day for $25 dollars which I modified into a macro lens to shoot video with, the results are incredible. Because I'm indie, I'm forced into a position where I have to "Macgyver" things and that's great because it keeps me in an imaginative and creative state of mind.

There's some aspects of the T2i that are actually better than the 7D IMO. The LCD screen is sharper and produces better quality images. Stick it into a powerful laptop and you have an awesome external monitor, sure, it's a nightmare in daylight but there's way's to work around that.

I can't afford Zacuto products. I dont feel they make products for indie-film makers, they make DSLR products for professional film-makers. So selling the 7D free 'd up more money for me to buy more stuff. I accepted that I'm a dirty, cheapskate indie film-maker and made peace with it.

I have my imagination and that's all I need.

When the video quality looks identical to the 7D there's nothing to complain about. I'm not taking photo's with this thing lol I have everything I need. I'd seriously recommend that any fellow cheapskate film-maker out there get's the T2i immediately.
 
Like I said, I do recommend the T2I to people, especially if they just don't have the budget for a 7D. Mainly because when a new camera body comes out, what is it that you keep moving forward? The lenses! :) And that is THE best investment you can make. Without a question, the video quality is the same on both.

What I try to help with is people who don't have a lot of money spending money on something that doesn't help. I know this because I'VE done it. Hooking up a 320x240 LCD screen to the 7D will give you articulation advantage and framing, but you are NOT going to be focusing well on that screen! :) And the colors are probably WAY OFF! (I've tried cheap screens).

But absolutely, when you have a budget, and a tight one, you gotta work within those realms. I don't use a dollie, I use the DIY ZazaSlider because it works well. I "Magyver" stuff all the time. In fact, I am designing some cheap rigs that do AMAZING things at our shoots. I will reveal them soon after I build a few more parts for it and see if they work! Cause I ALWAYS like to share with the community here.

As far as pickups go, I replaced my bridge pickup with a dual hummbucker that fits in a single position :) I believe it is a Seymour Duncan, and it sounds AWESOME! I wish I had some stuff online, but most of my guitar playing is therapeutic. For film scoring I do a lot of synth work mostly (I do a lot of free scoring for SCAD student films for practice).
 
well, once again...awesome points from the both of you! but 2 things...1...i proudly own a GH1, and 2...i'm a drummer...haha...let the jokes begin!

id love to sit and have a beer with you guys though. what i got most out of your exchange is that i never cared what specific cameras you guys were talking about. your reasoning for choosing/using gear is spot-on with my reasoning, amid the bickering that goes on here. thanks for that. i'm not as good at putting things to words here.
 
Hey Grime I use Seymour Duncans too, they make great pups! Maybe us guys could have a jam through MSN sometime in the future, it'd be fun. I've jammed with musicians from all over the world using the MSN hands-free feature, it's a very inspirational experience.

I think the GH1 is an amazing camera for video, personally I feel it's better for video than any of the Canon DSLR's. If it could connect to an external monitor while shooting video we'd be using that right now instead.

Let's face facts guys, does image quality REALLY matter when you're making films for the internet? Whatever we do is compressed anyway and regular people rarely ever watch things in HD on youtube.


A professional has a reason to be fussy, indie film-makers dont.

I've seen all these self-indulgent videos online which follow the same theme, it's a little on going contest with all these people competing in the "I own this lens" or "I own this camera" arena. Guys emulating eachothers videos and sticking the same piano instrumental soundtrack in there on Vimeo. "Hey look, I filmed a flower in my garden... it's so boss... it's oh so cinematic" no, really it isn't. It's boring and dull. I dont care about your garden, I dont care about flowers.


I'm not entertained or impressed by watching flowers or DOF shot's of tree's. I honestly dont care. I wish those people would get over it and actually start making movies instead! Internet cinematography is nothing more than a competitive, over-priced hobby for people who have no intention of having an artistic career.


For the price of some of the equipment Phillip Bloom promotes in his blogs I could hire a bunch of actors and some kooky props to make a kick-ass short film with. I'm not gonna spend $800 on a piece of equipment which slides my camera 36 inches just so I can upload a video and show off a tracking shot of a plant later!

To him gear like that will appear cheap because he's a pro, for everyone else it's another can of worms.

Too many corporate and professional filmmaking companies (and filmmakers) are promoting DSLR's under the pretence of being "indie" themselves. Us indie and guerilla filmmakers should form our own band and put a different message out there instead.

That Zacuto "great camera shoot-out" video for me was the final straw. 3 episodes of biased corporate shpeal. They should've just made a trailer for their product range instead lol
 
I'd love to take a seasoned pro and put him (or her) in my situation. Then see if he (or her) can produce a film with a budget which is genuinely indie. I'm talking about home made equipment, I'm talking about bargain-bin lenses from ebay, the works.

I'm talking about taking an awesome guy like Phillip Bloom, stripping him of his current rig and replacing it with a T2i and 450 bucks to find lenses and other gear to shoot a video with. 450 bucks is like a million dollars when you're an indie filmmaker lol

These guys talk about indie and guerilla filmmaking so much well, let's see if they can actually do it. Out of everyone, I feel Phillip Bloom could. I feel that he'd pull it off and get amazing results with money he'd consider to be pocket change too.

I haven't yet seen any of these people do anything "indie" at all. Let's see if they can.
 
TraumaBunny said:
I'd love to take a seasoned pro and put him (or her) in my situation. Then see if he (or her) can produce a film with a budget which is genuinely indie. I'm talking about home made equipment, I'm talking about bargain-bin lenses from ebay, the works.

I'm talking about taking an awesome guy like Phillip Bloom, stripping him of his current rig and replacing it with a T2i and 450 bucks to find lenses and other gear to shoot a video with. 450 bucks is like a million dollars when you're an indie filmmaker lol

These guys talk about indie and guerilla filmmaking so much well, let's see if they can actually do it. Out of everyone, I feel Phillip Bloom could. I feel that he'd pull it off and get amazing results with money he'd consider to be pocket change too.

I haven't yet seen any of these people do anything "indie" at all. Let's see if they can.
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Do I get a tripod? Also what length project you talking about? It's clearly possible to shoot something with a T2i and say a 35mm Nikon F1.4 AIS, but if there is sound that needs to be done properly if you are doing sync or a doco and good indie guy would just call in favours to get the gear. That can be cheap but it is essential.

Set me a challenge that wouldn't take a long time to do and a will rise to it...just nothing that will take too much time as got very little of it!
 
philip bloom said:
Do I get a tripod? Also what length project you talking about? It's clearly possible to shoot something with a T2i and say a 35mm Nikon F1.4 AIS, but if there is sound that needs to be done properly if you are doing sync or a doco and good indie guy would just call in favours to get the gear. That can be cheap but it is essential.

Set me a challenge that wouldn't take a long time to do and a will rise to it...just nothing that will take too much time as got very little of it!
Click to expand...

I think this is an appropriate time for my first post :D
 
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