Canon T1i vs Sony HX300

dkelly61 · Jun 28, 2015

Hi all,
I am a looking for a camera that can take pictures and video. I have been searching online and watching video demo's trying to determine the best camera for my family and I. My daughter is in the school band and I would like a camera that can shoot a good video in some what low light settings of a typical school auditorium, and also has the ability to zoom in tight on her while the band is playing. For that reason, I looking hard at the super zoom cameras and being confused by opinions online that a DSLR with a bigger sensor is always better. The two cameras I am considering are the Sony HX300 and a used Rebel T1i that comes with an 18-55mm and 55-250mm lenses. They are similarly priced. Which is better for my purposes and why? Thanks.

rudimaes · Jun 29, 2015

The HX300 has a longer zoom and is smaller. It will never reach the quality of a DSLR. But for video it will be easier to work with the HX300.
Buying a camera is compromising.
Rudi

dkelly61 · Jun 29, 2015

rudimaes said:
The HX300 has a longer zoom and is smaller. It will never reach the quality of a DSLR. But for video it will be easier to work with the HX300.
Buying a camera is compromising.
Rudi

Thanks for the reply. I know the zoom is bigger on the HX300 and the sensor is bigger on the T1i which is better in low light and bridge cameras are a bit smaller and lighter. My question is, in dim light sitting at the back of an auditorium trying to get a close up of my daughter playing her flute which will give the best end result. The zoom on the HX300 will get me the closeness I want, but will there be so much noise in the video from the low light that the quality will be poor? How will it compare to shooting a video with a DSLR with the 55-200mm lense which I understand works out to somewhere around a 4 or 5x zoom. Thanks again.

rudimaes · Jun 29, 2015

The Canon 55-250mm zoom, will have a reach of about 400mm equivalent, as it has an APS-C sensor. This could be enough, depending how far you are from the stage.
Rudi

Bryston3bsst · Jun 29, 2015

rudimaes said:
The Canon 55-250mm zoom, will have a reach of about 400mm equivalent, as it has an APS-C sensor. This could be enough, depending how far you are from the stage.
Rudi

This is not quite correct. A crop sensor changes the field of view not the zoom, or reach. This is a very common misunderstanding. So your 55-250 will have the field of view of an 88-400 however it's focal length is still 55-250.

Read a little if you like: Field of View Crop Factor Focal Length Multiplier