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04-04-2012, 04:43 PM   #16
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UnknownVT,

QuoteOriginally posted by UnknownVT Quote
As it interests me - goggled: Video dSLR or camcorder?

came across this article:

Four Reasons You Should Buy a Camcorder - CamcorderInfo.com

may seem like a biased source -
but the article is pretty good.
This is a decent article. However, for me the choice was not an either/or. I already have one camcorder which is fairly high-end, at least it was top of the consumer line Canon 4 years ago. It's the Canon HG21 .
The video quality really is pretty good. That may be why I couldn't stand the video quality of the other cheaper JVC camcorder I returned.
However the T3i video quality is very good as well. I was expecting the DSLR to have better quality vs the camcorder due to the larger sensor. I have not done very close comparisons yet. But definitely it's OK for me to create video clips with footage from both the Canon HG21 camcorder and the T3i from different angles.

I care about audio very much, so much that I use a dedicated audio recorder with 9 mics at 24 bit/48k lossless recording for my piano recordings and just discard the audio from the camcorder when I produce.

Out of the box, the Canon HG21 audio is not impressive. And the audio is compressed DD 2.0. It gets a bit better with the external mic on top, which was an extra $200... I use that one for outdoor shoots.
The audio from the T3i is acceptable compared to the HG21. And actually uncompressed PCM which is nice. The t3i accepts an external mic.
I am definitely not shooting documentaries
I don't really like the internal memory . I prefer to use cards. It's easier than having to dig the right USB cable for each device.
The HG21 has a 120GB hard drive, but the interface is USB 2.0 which is not very fast.
With SDHC/SDXC cards I have a USB 3.0 reader. When flash cards become fast enough, transfers will be faster with the card reader than the hard drive.
Downside is that the card slot door on the T3i is really flimsy.

QuoteQuote:
Less bias perhaps:
dSLR Video (Steve's Digicams)
This is pretty old and outdated IMO.

QuoteQuote:
Is sensor heating still an issue for recording longer video clips on dSLRs?
I have not noticed yet, but I have not done long recordings yet. I am awaiting delivery of an AC adapter for my T3i . Then I will know.
The largest card I have is a 32GB SDHC which would be about 2 hours I think. I don't know if the Lion battery that came with the T3i would last that long. But I only have one battery and not planning to buy a second one; I have a grip on order and plan to use AAs only with it. I guess I will find out soon.

04-04-2012, 04:47 PM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by kenafein Quote
My friend produces some stunning video with his t2i. Are you able to use the magic lantern firmware on a t3i? It ads a ton of features. Check it out.
Thanks, I had not heard of it. Looks like it is compatible with the T3i as well. I will check it out.
04-04-2012, 04:57 PM   #18
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QuoteOriginally posted by madbrain Quote
"Oh, and a super-hi-tech piece of kit you should get is ... an elastic band! Use one to mark focus points for tracking, and get a slack one to get smoother focus, it really does work."
Not really following you there.
It's a way to get better/smoother focus while you're taking video.

Lets say you are on a tripod and have a shot where someone walks towards the camera. You can grab an elastic band, wrap it so it fits snuggly around the focus ring and then, for example: focus on the person in the distance where they would be for the start of the shot, and mark a little notch in the elastic with a pen. Then get the person to stand closer to you where the end of your take is going to be - focus, and mark another notch. Then, when you film the take, set your focus to the first notch, and as the person walks towards the camera you will have a better way to judge how much to pull the focus ring in-time with the person walking. So at the end of the frame you will be at the second notch, with the person ending closer to you, but still in focus.

Don't worry bout it though, I wasn't being too serious and just have fun with the video making.

Last edited by Tom Woj; 04-04-2012 at 05:06 PM.
04-04-2012, 05:30 PM   #19
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QuoteOriginally posted by madbrain Quote
I have not noticed yet, but I have not done long recordings yet. I am awaiting delivery of an AC adapter for my T3i . Then I will know.
The largest card I have is a 32GB SDHC which would be about 2 hours I think. I don't know if the Lion battery that came with the T3i would last that long. But I only have one battery and not planning to buy a second one; I have a grip on order and plan to use AAs only with it. I guess I will find out soon.
Depending on how you feel about them -
aftermarket batteries seem pretty cheap as low as about $5-6 each or $7-8 for two
- that seem popular and well regarded on Amazon

04-04-2012, 06:14 PM   #20
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QuoteOriginally posted by UnknownVT Quote
Depending on how you feel about them -
aftermarket batteries seem pretty cheap as low as about $5-6 each or $7-8 for two
- that seem popular and well regarded on Amazon
I really, really dislike the Lithium ion battery technology. It's not just the price but the failure rate. It doesn't matter if they are Canon brand or aftermarket, I have to buy a new battery every year for my HG21 camcorder, even if I don't use them at all. I have had some just die sitting on the shelf. Recently I had one that lasted only 6 months and was used only twice !

6 eneloops for the battery grip may cost more, but in 4 years I have not had a single eneloop die yet, and I have over 40 in the house in various devices. I think it's fairly important that I always have a reliable power source, especially if I'm going to take the camera on vacation. The proprietary form factor of the lithium ion batteries makes them very hard to find while on vacation.

On my cell phone the Li-on batteries die every 18 months, but I do use the phone daily.
I have a really hard time understanding how this Lion battery technology manages to survive in the market. For cell phone there may be no choice due to the device size. But for cameras I will take standard AA form factor eneloops any day.
04-04-2012, 06:57 PM   #21
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QuoteOriginally posted by madbrain Quote
I have to buy a new battery every year for my HG21 camcorder, even if I don't use them at all. I have had some just die sitting on the shelf.
Li-ion batteries "like" to be used. From what I've read, it's best to continually top them off, even if they're still at 75-90% capacity. In fact, letting them fully discharge is said to be outright bad for them. I'd assume that past a certain point, sitting on a shelf has a similar effect. I know it's really not good for laptop batteries, if it's months of disuse.

As for why your phone batteries suck, I can't say. A daily use and recharge plan should keep them in good shape, unless they're discharging too much between charging. Same as I said above applies, try not to let them run out, or even too low.
04-04-2012, 08:52 PM   #22
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QuoteOriginally posted by Philoslothical Quote
Li-ion batteries "like" to be used. From what I've read, it's best to continually top them off, even if they're still at 75-90% capacity. In fact, letting them fully discharge is said to be outright bad for them. I'd assume that past a certain point, sitting on a shelf has a similar effect. I know it's really not good for laptop batteries, if it's months of disuse.

As for why your phone batteries suck, I can't say. A daily use and recharge plan should keep them in good shape, unless they're discharging too much between charging. Same as I said above applies, try not to let them run out, or even too low.
Maybe that's it. I am a very heavy smartphone user. I bought some extra large capacity battery from China 18 months ago.
It made the phone bulkier, but at least I didn't run out before 24 hours.
That battery recently failed - it physically grew and no longer fit inside the phone ! The special larger phone cover broke as a result.

Now I am back to the standard battery that came with the phone, which fortunately still works. But it does run out on the days I use the internet on the phone heavily after ~10 hours from being taken out from the charger, which I do every night. That was the reason for me getting a large capacity battery .

I am a much more occasional camera/camcorder user. I really hate going on a vacation to find out the camcorder batteries are dead, and there is no time/place to get another one.

The ability to use eneloops on the K200d without a grip is a blessing. That was one of the reasons I never upgraded to the K-7 or K-5.
I hope one day Pentax will have a follow up to the K200D, there has never been any upgrade path for it. Pentax has made other bodies that take AAs, but none were upgrades compared to the K200D. The K2000 and K-x are not really upgrades to the K200D - no weather sealing, no top LCD, etc. Ability to use AAs was one of my key reasons for choosing Pentax in the first place 4 years ago.

04-04-2012, 10:10 PM   #23
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QuoteOriginally posted by madbrain Quote
it physically grew and no longer fit inside the phone ! The special larger phone cover broke as a result.
Pitch it if you haven't already. Sounds like it was ready to blow - NOT something you want to experience. People have got nasty burns from that kind of thing, and the device it was in would have been trashed.
04-05-2012, 12:16 AM   #24
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My K-5 has some intermittent and very annoying click/crackly sounds in the recorded audio, so it sounds like you made the right choice with the Canon

Pick the right tool for the job, regardless of the brand.
04-05-2012, 01:17 AM   #25
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For any single movie clip there appears to be a limitation of 4Gb file size
which for any HD video means about 11 minutes limit.

There is also a safety 29min 59sec limit (for VGA recording?) to prevent over-heating.


page 151 of Canon T3i Manual
and:

page 163
04-05-2012, 09:30 AM   #26
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QuoteOriginally posted by madbrain Quote
That battery recently failed - it physically grew and no longer fit inside the phone !
I hope you do realize you were this close [ _ ] to the battery possibly taking out a chunk of your head?
04-05-2012, 06:36 PM   #27
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QuoteOriginally posted by sebberry Quote
My K-5 has some intermittent and very annoying click/crackly sounds in the recorded audio, so it sounds like you made the right choice with the Canon

Pick the right tool for the job, regardless of the brand.
Which is also why most HDSLR folks (yes, even Canon 5D owners) use an external audio recorder.
I'm assuming madbrain is doing cinematic video...look into an add-on external screen w/ focus peaking that's at least 5"...3" is too small to see much anyways.
04-05-2012, 06:43 PM   #28
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QuoteOriginally posted by kenyee Quote
Which is also why most HDSLR folks (yes, even Canon 5D owners) use an external audio recorder.
The K-5's video capability is geared more for those who want to take family videos at Christmas than those who want to shoot cinematic productions.

No consumer wants to walk around with an external audio recorder and deal with syncing up audio/video tracks in post-production so they can post their videos to facetube.
04-06-2012, 08:23 AM   #29
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Good call on switching to Canon for video. I use the t3i for music videos all the time. The articulating screen is a HUGE help. I had been borrowing Canon t2i and 7D from friends, but got the t3i as soon as it came out. You might want to pick up the Canon 50mm f1.8. It's pretty cheap at $100 and if you're going to get ONE canon lens, that's probably the best value for shooting video. Nice to have at least one Canon lens with autofocus in case you want to snap some pics after your video shoot and don't have time to manually focus every photo.
Get one or two of those Pentax->Canon adapters. Then get some vintage pentax lenses on eBay. You can get a good 28mm f2.8 for $30. Between that and the 50mm you'll mostly be covered.
I'm also a huge fan of the t3i's ability to manually set the audio recording levels. I use a RODE shotgun mic. Sounds decent.
That being said, the t3i does feel like a TOY compared to my K20D which I still use for photos.
04-06-2012, 08:41 AM   #30
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QuoteOriginally posted by madbrain Quote
rawr,



Actually, no, I'm not overrating its importance, it would be a pain to shoot what I am shooting now without an articulating LCD.
Right now I'm using the camera very high up on a tripod, higher than me, and shooting downwards. It's overlooking the keys on my piano. Without the articulating LCD, I would have to add an extra chair just so I could look onto the screen to compose. With it, I am able to simply look at the articulating LCD and adjust the tripod head while standing up. Then I can just start the recording, sit at the piano, and play.
I am sure there will be other situations where the articulating LCD will come in handy.

Edit: just looked at the Panasonic GH2 - I see that it's a touch screen unit - eek. I hate small touch screens with a passion.
The GH2 beats the new 5D MKII in video mode so were do you think the entry level T3i fits in ? You could turn off the touch screen function on the GH2 and it also has a great 1.5mp EVF so what is the problem ? Look into the OVF of the T3i in video mode and tell me what you see.
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/non-pentax-cameras-canon-nikon-etc/181125...ideo-mode.html

BTW if you think the K-01 is bad for video without an articulated LCD then how did the 5D MKII get to be such a great DSLR for video use ?


Last edited by jogiba; 04-06-2012 at 08:48 AM.
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