7D Dumb Question about the 7D.....

[FilmBoy77]

so i'm completely oblivious about these dslr cameras and have been tunnel visioned on shooting with my hvx/hpx the last several years....but i've been seeing the footage from the 7D and am very impressed.

my question is this: how different is shooting a video or short film with the 7D than it is from using a video camera?

i'm assuming you can't just buy the body and a couple of lenses and start getting all this cool footage and depth of field no?

i noticed there's no xlr inputs, so how do you handle audio with it? just record to an external source like a mixer?

what other accessories do you need at the minimum and about how much money would that be in addition to the body of the camera?

 

[PerroneFord]

so i'm completely oblivious about these dslr cameras and have been tunnel visioned on shooting with my hvx/hpx the last several years....but i've been seeing the footage from the 7D and am very impressed.

They can do some amazing things. But they have some serious limitations too.

my question is this: how different is shooting a video or short film with the 7D than it is from using a video camera?

Night and day. Shooting a DSLR is as close as most people will get to the experience of shooting film. And all that brings with it.

i'm assuming you can't just buy the body and a couple of lenses and start getting all this cool footage and depth of field no?

Actually, that's exactly how it works. The trouble is getting it in focus.

i noticed there's no xlr inputs, so how do you handle audio with it? just record to an external source like a mixer?

Mixers don't record. But yes, using an external recorder is the common way of doing this.

what other accessories do you need at the minimum and about how much money would that be in addition to the body of the camera?

There are about 1000 threads on this on this site alone. Pull up a chair, and browse through the Canon 5D/7D, and the Panasonic GH1 areas. All the answers are there.

 

[FilmBoy77]

They can do some amazing things. But they have some serious limitations too.


Actually, that's exactly how it works. The trouble is getting it in focus.

what are the main limitations?

i've seen a few BTS photos where people are using 35 millimeter adapters or something larger than just the camera itself. so you're saying that's not really required?

 

[ydgmdlu]

i've seen a few BTS photos where people are using 35 millimeter adapters or something larger than just the camera itself. so you're saying that's not really required?

The entire point of HDSLRs, the entire reason why they've exploded in popularity within our community, is because they've made 35mm adapters obsolete for most people. Remember, the entire reason why people used 35mm adapters with their camcorders in the first place was because the sensors on those cameras were too small. 35mm adapters not only allowed the mounting of SLR lenses, but they also simulated the 35mm frame. With an HDSLR, the sensor size is already begin enough, and the lens mount is built into the camera. It's same principle as the RED. In fact, many users like to think of their cameras as mini-REDs (although I think that's going too far).

You should take a closer look at what you've seen. The fancy extra equipment basically just consists of accessories that make the task of using a still photo camera as video camera easier. We're talking about shoulder mounts, follow focus, matte boxes, and monitors, none of which have anything to do with DOF.

 

[ydgmdlu]

what are the main limitations?

Oh, so many...

Off the top of my head:

• Moire and aliasing in every shot (which can be made largely invisible if you shoot properly)
• Far worse rolling shutter artifacts than any traditional camcorder
• Manual focus only, in video mode, on the Canon models
• 12-minute-per-clip time limit for the Canon models
• Occasional overheating on the Canon models
• No articulating LCD on the Canon models
• Automatic gain control for sound in Canon 7D/T2i/1D and the GH1
• No histogram in 7D/T2i/1D
• No XLR or headphone jacks
• GH1 has a weaker codec than other consumer and prosumer camcorders, which can result in compression "mud" for shots with a lot of detail and movement
• Ergonomics of all DSLRs are not as well suited for video as camcorders' are

 

[Richard J. Johnson]

Just buy one and get to shootin!