Best DSLR camera for film making and photography?

dslr camera lens rental image

Q. I've decided to purchase my first dslr camera. I'm a amateur film maker so I need a camera that can handle that, with excellent video. But I also do a lot of photography, especially sports.
I'm not too concerned with costs. Basically, I want the best possible video and picture quality possible. With quality, I'm not really willing to sacrifice.
On a less important note, I have pretty small hands, so an especially large body might be a problem.

Answer
Film makers use 16 mm and 35 mm motion picture cameras and most of them rent them from a place like here

http://www.birnsandsawyer.com/_camera-rentals/35mm-cameras/

Some dSLR's have a video feature, but are NOT designed to be a primary video camera. For those you can rent them from Birns and Sawyer or buy something like those listed on this link

http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelList?storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&catGroupId=34401&surfModel=AG-HPX370

The above cameras are designed to produce video projects and do an excellent job

ALL video, motion picture and digital still cameras have large camera bodies, but since all but a few shots needed to produce a film/video involve the camera being mounted on a tripod, this should NOT be a problem for you.

Here is a link to the type video camera used by one of my sports shooting colleagues.

http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/cat-broadcastcameras/cat-dvcam/product-DSR400PL/

The lens he has attached to is is a Fujinon ENG Style zoom designed for 1080p

http://www.fujifilmusa.com/products/optical_devices/broadcast-hd-sd/hdtv-lenses/2-3-eng/za-select/za22x76-berd/

While simple $300 P&S cameras shoot both stills and video, neither are what you would want to use if your goal is excellent stills or excellent video.

Is there a camera that has similar qualities to the Canon 7D or the Sony NEX VG20?

Anegmr M

I was looking for a camera that is similar to these two but I only have a budget up to 1000$. I want something that is has a type of focus puller, neutral density filter, adjustable iris, and adjustable fps(frames per second). This is going to be used to shoot short films and web series.

Answer
Hi Jorgito, and welcome to Yahoo!Answers:

The basic answer is, you have to pay pro-prices for pro-features.

The two models you list are actually two totally different types of cameras. The Canon 7D is a Digital SLR still camera with video features, and the Sony VG20 is a large-sensor video camcorder with changeable lens options.

Focus pullers are usually 3rd-party add-ons, and they aren't cheap, and most require "rod mounts" which can run another several hundred dollars.

Almost no "real filmmakers" need more than standard FPS rates (24fps for film/cine-video and either 25/30fps for TV broadcast, depending on region). Anything else is "special effects", and is either a "rental camera" or a post-production effect. And ND filters can be bought as inexpensive screw-on front filters (only the pro & prosumer camcorders over your budget have internal ND filters).

If you are just doing scripted short films, a cheaper DSLR like Canon's Rebel series will handle the short takes and give you lens options. Rebel T-series kits start around $600 USD.

Otherwise, go to Canon USA's "Shop Direct" website and get a Vixia HV40 factory-refurbished for $499, and save a couple hundred dollars. You can't beat miniDV and HDV footage for quality & fast-action footage.

hope this helps,
--Dennis C.
 

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Title Post: Best DSLR camera for film making and photography?
Rating: 92% based on 9788 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: Yukie

Thanks For Coming To My Blog