Question about Canon EOS70D vs Nikon D5300

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Denniscasey

Well-known member
I use Panasonic HMC40 happily for video but have wanted to experiment with DSLR for video (shallow DOF, etc) as well as have a very good still camera. For instance, yesterday evening a thunderstorm moved through and then setting sun came out and highlighted fall color trees with black clouds in background. I could not capture full effect of light contrast with HMC40 which is not really what it was designed for.

So I started looking and found good buys now on Canon EOS70D and Nikon D5300 (with two lens--I know these will not be best lens but maybe good enough for me to get introduction to DSLR shooting). I would appreciate comments comparing these two cameras on following:

1. Which would offer best auto-focus in video mode for capturing fast moving objects like race cars and keeping in focus?

2. Which would offer best dynamic range for capturing scene like I describe above--sorry to say I don't know which spec in camera literature would allow me to compare?

3. Do they differ in terms of what features remain useable in video mode vs still photo mode (I have read that features can differ in video vs still photo mode, for instance, maybe in still photo mode you could select color temperature for white balance, but maybe in video mode you have more limited white balance adjustment)?

4. Other features I should consider for a dual purpose video/still photo camera?

Thank you, Dennis
 
I don't know of any video camera that would keep race cars in focus. I can tell you there's no way the Nikons can, the AF on those is really only good for setting your initial focus point.

If you're doing anything other than home movies or very basic event type of work, IMHO you really need to learn to focus and preferably have some kind of follow focus. AF just doesn't "look right" even when it's capable. I've never seen anything than can really track motion as beautifully as a human hand.

I'd say - from experience - the Nikon 5300 & 7100 have the best DSLR video look these days - the 750 may match that. The new Samsung NX looks very promising feature-wise (but new and untested, should take about any glass with adapters), and the new Canon 7D mkii (or whatever?) may be a step up from Canon's so-so APS-C video. And then there's the GH crowd who love those cameras, I'm not a big fan but you may like them.

As for lenses - if you want really pro looking video, you're going to shoot manual-everything. For Nikon or Canon, I'd look at older Nikon manual lenses if you want to save some cash and have keep-it-for-life glass. I shot all of my early Canon DSLR work with the same Nikon lenses I use on Nikon bodies now.

Opinions vary wildly on this, but I'd say find something like a 28-70 2.8 (actually the Nikkor is an AF-S lens and can be found used for $700, the 35-70 2.8 for $300 or so). 28mm - 35mm is about "normal" on APS-C. I'd add some kind of wide prime or zoom in the 18mm range and maybe an 85 1.8 if you had some money. Kit lenses are OK and pretty sharp these days, but severely limiting for low light and having control of DOF, and most often their focus rings just suck. But a 28-70 could be 90% of your shots if you can find one that's decently sharp wide open.

Also, the Sigma 18-55 1.8 is somewhat pricey but an amazing value in a rest-of-your-career lens.

Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Thank you for input Michael. Panasonic HMC40 does a very good job with AF but probably due to deep DOF these small sensor cameras have. If I get a DSLR with shallow DOF sounds like manual focus on fast moving objects will be yet another skill to try to acquire.

I would appreciate comments/advice on how these cameras would do to get color/exposure depth or whatever I should call it (dynamic range?) to get best rendition of color/exposure when you have situation like I described (sunlit fall colored trees with background of black thunderstorm clouds). Dennis
 
For me, since the image is what I care about the most, it's pretty simple...

This is the 70D:
1204-ISO340-ISO340.jpg


This is the D5300:
1227-ISO340-ISO340.jpg


One is clean, one is not.

Apart from that, the D5300 has slightly better dynamic range (I'd say about a stop), the 70D has better AF (many people say it's basically useless on the Nikons), everything else I think depends on taste.


Tests from slashcam.de:
http://www.slashcam.de/artikel/Test/Canon-EOS-70D---Revolution-mit-Einschraenkungen--Testlabor.html
http://www.slashcam.de/artikel/Test/Nikon-D5300--Aus-dem-Messlabor.html
 
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I will try to answer. I own both the D5300 and the 60D (70D predecessor)

1- The 70D. The 70D has the Dual Pixel AF technology which is really the best on the market, it's the only usable AF on a large-sensor camera period. Going with anything other than the 70D means relying solely on manual focus. I rely on manual focus and find it's a skill that one needs to learn, your needs might be different however. If you want to use Auto focus in video mode, look no farther than Canon's 70D and 7D mk II. It really does work quite astonishingly, you tap the subject and it goes there (and tracks it) accurately and in a very organic way.

2-The D5300 has the most dynamic range, but it's a very slight difference, less than a stop.

3-Yes they do, for example the D5300 does not allow K adjustment of WB in video mode, you only have the presets and AWB, the 70D allows kelvin adjustment. In general the 70D is a higher-class camera and they don't cut on these features as much as they do on the entry-level models (700D/D5300). The 60/70D is a way nicer camera to use. For example the D5300 cannot change aperture whilst the screen is on, you have to turn it off, change iris, go back in. The 70D has a much stronger body, weather sealed, top LCD, more direct button, more professional stills functions (7fps, better AF, 1/8000 shutter, better viewfinder, bigger battery, dedicated dials for iris / shutter, etc) in photo mode it's much faster and more suitable for sports/action photography.

Keep this in mind: the D5300 has a better image quality in video mode, quite a big difference, both are similar in photo mode. In video mode, the D5300 doesn't have aliasing and moire, and it's more detailed, has higher DR and better high ISO performance. In fact, the D5300 video quality is close to the much more expensive Canon 5D mk III and 7D mk II rather than the 70D. The 70D still produces great videos but they do have aliasing and moire on fine patterns, and the image is generally soft, and noise is about a stop worse above 800 ISO. I've always thought the APS-C canons look absolutely beauitful in close-up of people/things with shallow depth of field, but look really bad in wide detailed shots with deep depth of field because that's mainly where you'll find aliasing/moire and where softness will show up. The D5300 can handle wide detailed shots as well as beautiful close ups.

So it's a compromise, do you "need" AF in video mode? Do you "need" the ability to adjust K wb? Do you "need" the stronger body + stills features? If the answer is no to these, then sacrifice them for the better image of the D5300.

There's the new 7D mk II that has both the good AF in video and good video quality. More expensive though. A note on lenses, these cameras* always come with an 18-55mm, and a long zoom like a 55-200mm if it's a twin-lens kit. Both are excellent and yes more than enough to introduce yourself to the DSLR world and even beyond that. Just pick up a 90$ 50mm F/1.8 for lowlight shooting and you're covered for most situations.
 
Thank you for these most recent posts--very informative and helpful. It was looking like a clear choice for 70D until I came to the parts about "quite a big difference" in favor of D5300. Of course there always trade-offs among cameras. I bought the 70D with two lens kit yesterday at Costco (their sales price expired yesterday) but thanks to Costco 90 return policy I can give the 70D a good trial looking particularly at "soft" video. I will probably continue to use my Panasonic HMC40 video camera for car races I attend (usually drive to car races so I can carry my tripod, external monitor, external mic and larger-but still quite small--HMC40) and experiment more with 70D (i.e. use DOF of 70D to keep race car in focus with foreground/background out of focus). On balance for my needs the 70 D does seem to tick the right boxes. Thanks again
 
You have two very capable cameras that you can create oscar-winning films with, don't spend to much time thinking about gear while you should be thinking about your actual work and how to improve it. My advice is just to use your HMC40 when you need a deep depth of field shot with lots of detail, actually even if you had bought the D5300 I would still make the same suggestion, the HMC40 excells at high resolution deep shots way better than any DSLR except maybe the 4K ones (which are -when scaled down- similar to the hmc40). And remember that a 4K image that's slightly out of focus is actually softer than a low resolution camera with corret focus, something the 70D has covered that all other cameras don't. The image is lovely for anything close-up/shallow, way nicer than the HMC40. Enjoy your purchase.
 
If you still can revise your decision, you may want to take that option. But yes: once you're set on a camera, focus on making the best possible use of it, not on what camera could be next (easier said than done, btw).
 
i recently bought the 70D just for its superb face detection tracking AF while shooting video. like an above poster stated its the best out there at the moment...well i suppose the 7DmkII would be the same since it has the new Canon dual pixel tech.

i own a C100, 5DMkIII & an EX1 as my main cameras amongst others. the 70D is not high on my list as far as IQ goes (in video) but because it could AF (face detection) & had a touch tilting LCD it then did something that the rest of my cameras could not do.

i initially went to the local camera shop to check out the new D750 to see if it could AF in video with face detection. the answer was NO. it was as slow as a snail and sloppy as can be. i had no intent of looking at the 70D even though i knew of its great AF capabilities. i really wanted the D750 because of its DR, and very sharp artifact "free" video IQ. wasn't going to happen though because it couldn't AF in video.

i decided to look at the 70D anyway. all i can say is...WOW! face detection is amazing. i brought my DJI Ronin to the store and put the package to the test. i was able to shoot with a 50mm fairly wide open and have a person walk as i was in front tracking and the results were very impressive. so i bought it.

the negative...
it has horrible moire & artifacts specifically...STAIR STEPPING. on mid to upper body shots this wouldn't be much of a factor since most of the scene would be OOF but on wider deep DOF shots it was more than i could stand.

so the solution was to buy the mosaic engineering VAF-70D filter. $295.00.

problem basically solved. the other very good thing is you can actually sharpen the 70D image either in camera or in post which is what i do without exaggerating the stair stepping.

whether the AF would keep up with race cars? if they were far away and converging on you probably would but as they get close and speed is changing rapidly then no.

the general tracking is good but the face detection is really the strong point since you don't have to direct the camera to the face. it just finds it and your good.

would have loved to have the IQ of the D750 but am happy with the 70D.

unless you can live with the artifacts i highly recommend you check out the VAF-70D which makes the 70D a very fine tool.

david
 
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