I want to do video blogs.. but high quality .. limited budget

briansommersd60 · Apr 3, 2014

I'm debating on the T3i or the D5200

I'm going to be putting the camera on a tripod and shooting wide angle stock lens 18-55 of me painting and talking, etc.. I'll be moving around the room some..

I don't want to fuss with to much stuff ; however, I still want to do good photography of my art... Im really torn.. I've seen youtube video test of the 5200 and they look great and then I've seen the t3i.. it looks a bit saturated in color.. but I'm sure this can be tweeked with the proper settings, yes?

I'm an abstract artist and just want to start video blogging, and showing how I do my paintings.. nothing to heavy..

please adivise.

CdTSnap · Apr 3, 2014

Does the D5200 have 3D Focus tracking? check on that, could be very handy

Overread · Apr 3, 2014

Honestly I suspect both would be well suited to your needs. Much of video though isn't so much in the camera, but in the support structure around it.

Things like :
tripods

Fluid tripod heads to allow smooth panning and pitch motions

Good microphone for audio recording. You can go two ways with this, a smaller clip on or headset to do audio as you work; or you can get a stand microphone and record the audio separately

Lighting - this is key and you will want to look into LED lighting options; these will give you light and control over the direction of the light without the heat generation that many other conventional continuous lighting solutions have (important for painting as increased heat can result in faster drying times). This will also help with matters like colour saturation and contrast. Note that if you want to get into really specific colour accurate recording that will get more complex.

Another point to consider is that DSLR cameras have a cap on their recording durations, so keep an eye on how long you can record with each before you have to pause. Although it will only be a minor break in the recording its still something to consider if either camera has a major difference in its duration of recording.