Nikon D3100 or Canon T3i?

S

stevevaus

Active member
This will be primarily a video camera for music vids and architechural/real estate videos.

Looking for that wonderfully rich filmic look - can't wait for the shallow DOF it's so hard to get from our HVX.

Looking for input as to which is the better choice and why. (Audio is not a concern.)
 
the D3100 has the worst rolling shutter of all DSLRs, by far (just as bad as that from the D90)

it is so bad that it is a dealbreaker for me, so I'd say go D7000 or forget about Nikon
 
Agree with Norman - D7000 is the way to go for Nikon, and the D3100 against t3i question for video is an easy answer: T3i hands down. The t3i has an articulating screen, 1080 30P, 720 60P, better control over manual exposure, and the rolling shutter/jello on the D3100 is pretty bad.
 
I personally would go with the t3i since it has everything that pulp has noted in addition I feel that canon makes pretty solid cams. If you can though go with the 60D just for the body since its a magnesium alloy with I think weather seal.
 
Amir Assasnik said:
I personally would go with the t3i since it has everything that pulp has noted in addition I feel that canon makes pretty solid cams. If you can though go with the 60D just for the body since its a magnesium alloy with I think weather seal.
Click to expand...

I believe you are thinking of the 7d, 60d isn't magnesium allow or weather sealed. But a great cam non the less. Personally I would go for a GH2 w/ 14-140mm and 20mm f1.7 if I was looking for a primary video camera (in a dslr form factor).
 
Get the D3100, that way when you sell it three days later and get a 600D, you won't be second guessing yourself at all!

Seriously though, the Canon's just outperform the Nikon's entirely in the video department. The only Nikon worth comparing for video is the D7000, but despite being more expensive that the 600D it still lacks certain things such as a true "what you see is what you get" live preview, full time aperture control & 720p60. The only reason to consider the Nikon is if you'll be shooting a lot of stills as well, or you already own a large collection of Nikon lenses.
 
+1 for the T3i if your main focus is video. I would have bought the T3i if it was available at my time of purchase. I bought the 60D instead. The articulating screen has already proven to be worth the extra money over the T2i for video, so the T3i is a great choice. I also think there's an audio hack that lets you control the audio levels on the T2i and T3i. Am I correct on that?
 
there's a hack that brings an amazing lot of lovely extras for the t2i: manual audio gain and increased bitrates are the most talked about features, but I haven't actually used any of those yet; what I love are the custom cropmarks, zebras, live histogram and waveform, focusing aids (peaking, and 10x zoom-in while recording), etc

it doesn't work for the 60D or t3i yet, but it may arrive in a few months (probably first for the 60D)

you may want to check this site:
http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/550D
and these threads (the t2i one is really long, just jump to page 90 or 95 and start reading from there):
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?218686-Magic-Lantern-for-550D-in-progress!
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?232452-Magic-Lantern-for-60D-In-Progress
 
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