Camera & Set Up Choices- HELP!

[Llasd87]

So Ive used professional camcorders and other HD cameras before and I received a Canon Rebel T3 last year, so this year I finally scraped together enough money for a new camera. I'm torn between a Rebel T4i, or a Lumix GH3. I've made a good amount of money filming sporting events at my high school, which I would like to take further, meaning, going from just a simple back and forth shot of players, to a professional looking shoot, with a scoreboard on the bottom screen like the ones on ESPN. I am also planning on purchasing a Mac, due to experience with editing on one, and my bitter hate for Windows after my less than pleasurable experience with Windows 8. So does anyone have advice on which programs are better than others, which camera to buy, as well as good lenses for the camera for weddings,outdoor/indoor, and sport photography and video?

 

[brunerww]

Hi Llsad - welcome to the forum and congratulations on the success of your sports video business to date! I've shot video with both the $724 T4i and the $990 GH3 and, for video, the clear choice is the GH3. It has these video essentials the T4i lacks:

- A video viewfinder (the T4i's viewfinder is blanked out by the mirror when in live view/video mode)
- Fast, silent autofocus (the T4i's autofocus is slow and "hunts" for the focus point - and non STM Canon lenses have loud focus motors)
- A headphone jack for monitoring your in-camera audio
- 1080/60p frame rate for smooth in-camera slow motion - especially important for sports (the T4i maxes out at 1080/30p)
- Available power zoom lenses (there are no power zoom lenses for Canon DSLRs)
- Minimal moire and aliasing (shimmering, colored lines on patterned subjects such as shingled roofs, brickwork and patterned fabrics - this can ruin shots that look normal through the LCD)

All Canon cameras below the $3000+ 5D Mark III have this problem, here is an example (this comparison between Canon 60D and Panasonic GH2):

[video=vimeo;21962491]http://vimeo.com/21962491[/video]​

As for lenses - much of that will depend on you budget and whether you prefer to shoot manual or auto focus. Your choice of editing software depends on budget too. Pro editing software can cost close to $1000 - or you can buy more limited starter versions for less than $100. I can offer better advice if I know how much you plan to spend.

Hoe that's helpful!

Bill

 

[Llasd87]

I was actually planning on buying a 75-300mm lens for my T3. Would I be able to buy an adapter for the GH3 so I could use Canon lenses?

 

[brunerww]

I was actually planning on buying a 75-300mm lens for my T3. Would I be able to buy an adapter for the GH3 so I could use Canon lenses?

Yes, you can. You'll need one with a built-in manual aperture control (such as this $32 DSLRKIT Canon EF to micro 4/3 adapter) because there's no way to control the aperture on Canon lenses when they're on non-Canon cameras.

That said, if you want a long lens, you may want to wait until you get your GH3 and buy a $236 Panasonic 45-150 or $269 45-200 instead. These lenses will give you autofocus, auto-aperture and image stabilization (which is very important at the telephoto end of the zoom).

Again, hope this is helpful!

Bill