How good is the video on DSLR

[jw3571]

Can this replace a 3 year old camcorder? Will the quality be better?

 

[panblue]

Can this replace a 3 year old camcorder? Will the quality be better?

Depends on many things. Which cameras, which lenses ? What is really meant by 'good'; what are you filming and in what situation ?

 

[panblue]

..post-production skills, codec choices..blah blah

 

[brunerww]

Can this replace a 3 year old camcorder? Will the quality be better?

As panblue says, it depends - on a lot of things. How much is your budget? What do you mean by "better" quality? Do you need to shoot anything that lasts longer than half an hour? Do you want to monitor your sound with a headphone jack?

I use a DSLR-type camera for creative video, with "cinematic" shallow depth of field, and have a fixed-lens camcorder for times when I just want to record something, but don't want to bother with interchangeable lenses or critical focus.

That said, a $600 DSLR like the Nikon D3200, is capable of making videos like this: https://vimeo.com/47599146 (caution - some NSFW scenes)
You are not going to get depth of field control like this from a $600 camcorder.

By way of comparison, a top-of-the-line prosumer camcorder like the $668 Panasonic HC-X900 can produce videos like this: https://vimeo.com/41644852

With the camcorder, you get a headphone jack, a viewfinder that works in video mode, and unlimited video clip length. You would have to spend a lot more money in DSL world to get that. The only "DSLR-type" camera with all of these features (and an optional power zoom) is my $1299 (body-only) Panasonic GH3.

It can produce videos like these:

https://vimeo.com/49420579

https://vimeo.com/54076272

Hope this is helpful and best of the holidays!

Bill

 

[Tony S]

The video from DSLRs is good enough that episodes of certain shows on TV have been made using them.

Canon 5D Mark II used to shoot entire House season finale, director says it's 'the future'

 

[just x joey]

Only if you're an ace with manual focus.

 

[rexbobcat]

Only if you're an ace with manual focus.

For the cinema MF is generally preferred.

For home movies and documentaries, not so much.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Don't expect to tape a soccer game on a 5D if that's what you're thinking...

 

[KmH]

The video from DSLRs is good enough that episodes of certain shows on TV have been made using them.

Canon 5D Mark II used to shoot entire House season finale, director says it's 'the future'

Be sure to mention they used $3.4M worth of lighting/sound/mixing/editing gear and $12,000 worth of accessories for the 5D MK II.

 

[panblue]

Duclos
Duclos Lenses — Cine-Mod by Duclos Lenses

Only if you're an ace with manual focus.

For the cinema MF is generally preferred.

For home movies and documentaries, not so much.

 

[molested_cow]

For stills? Yes. For motion shots? Probably not yet.
Picture quality wise, definitely!

 

[jw3571]

I'm getting Canon T4i. I'll be mostly filming my sons at bats at baseball games, portion of b-ball games, kids events, etc. It won't be really long performances. It sounds like it will do the job just fine. Thanks.

 

[John27]

I'm getting Canon T4i. I'll be mostly filming my sons at bats at baseball games, portion of b-ball games, kids events, etc. It won't be really long performances. It sounds like it will do the job just fine. Thanks.

I use my T1i for that all the time. Better than a cheap camcorder! The biggest issue though, is focus. Though I think the T4i does constant AF now while filming, it's still not ideal.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

LOL good luck manually focusing on your kid running with that one...

 

[molested_cow]

Will still recommend you to get a video cam for that.