What camera should I get?

Personally...I would keep the XA10 for the things it does well. It has the sound recording, it can do deep focus shots better than most dslrs can. It can follow fast movement better than DSLRs. Then add a t3i .....for the shallow dof "beauty" shots. Go to B and H or adorama and price out a couple of fast primes- there are a lot of options believe it or not, for fairly inexpensive fast lenses.
 
Well...you certainly don't want everything shallow. Say you want an establishing shot of a city skyline or something like that- Often times the DSLR shots aren't as good as what you can get with the XA10 in that type of scene. Also...if you are doing a tracking shot following a subject through a room or a crowd - the XA10 would be much more efficient in picking up that as well. For scenes with your characters in conversation , close ups with shallow dof, shallow beauty shots- the DSLRs shine there. But the whole time you could have the XA10 set up as a wide master and recording the dialogue as well. So personally I would keep the XA10, add a t3i....or sell the Xa10 and get a GH2 or GH3 and a sound recorder. The GH series are much more controlled (aliasing moire wise) and sharper in deep focus shots than Canon DSLRs....plus they have working view finders in video mode, the Canons don't.
Example of an amazing ambitious film done using the GH2
http://vimeo.com/gamiorbegoso/httpwwwfacebookcompagesmusgo229913677100591
 
I recommend renting a 5dII/III with the kit lens - 24-105mm - and playing around with it for a few hours...there are lots of limitations, but I think the results you can achieve from a FF camera are well worth it..for me there's no other way..you can also control your DOF, but using a traditional camera will give you more narrow DOF for those certain shots as mentioned above..most people also spend a few more k on setting up their rigs, but it's a good investment for many.
 
mstevantoni said:
So last year I invested in the XA10. This is what I believed to be the best camera at the time. Now that I've shot a few shorts with it I have become very disappointed with the fact the you can't switch lenses. I don't really even understand why this camera exists as the more I learn the more this seems to be a must. I'm about to embark on the biggest film I have done and I want to make sure that I do this one right. I have been thinking of switching to a DSLR and selling my XA10. Does this sound like a good idea? My next question is what camera do I buy? It would be nice to keep the body under $2000 so that I can spent most of my money on the film itself. I'm a little worried about XLR inputs as well I don't suppose any DSLRs have them do they? They don't even have headphone jacks right? Last question is what type of lens should I get? I have fallen in love with the rich depth of field DSLR can give. I really can only afford to buy one lens for now and want to make sure I get the best one for my film.

Thanks
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While it is true you can not change lenses with your current camera, you still have the ability to use the built-in zoom lens to achieve almost any focal length you would get with a removable lens camera.

In all honesty, what do you think you will be able to achieve here by purchasing yet another camera with the budget for just a single lens?

In my opinion, and it's just my opinion, what you need at this point is not another camera and lens, but rather extended learning so you can truly take advantage of the tools you do have.

All the Best!

Dave
 
mstevantoni said:
Thanks for the response. You are right the sound recording is a godsend. I'm not the biggest fan of the deep focus though. I feel it can give my shots a less professional look at times. This is a very hard call.
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I got a Jucedlink 2 channel without phantom for $320 and it a great unit for dslrs. Very light and tiny and can mount under the camera or stick in a pocket. I'd go for a 60D because they have better controls than the rebels. I had a 550d and you had to hold a button and use the wheels for both speed and aperture. Easy to change the wrong setting in a rush. for an extra few bucks it's worth it.
 
I like Davids advice here, If you master the camera your shooting, you can easily incorporate some shots with a shallow dof, you just have to plan it out. Look for a location where you have the space to move back, and zoom in while keeping your iris wide open. I'm guessing it would be around 2.8-4.0 if zoomed all the way in. Make sure to keep your talent at a good distance from the backround, and viola, shallow dof. Now just find a motivator to use it and it's all good. But if your dead set on a dslr, then I would go for a gh2, I have both canon and pani, and as most here will tell you, they prefer the pani much much more than the canon.
 
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