Need advice on new digital cameras

[RudeCurve]

Hey guys it's upgrade time for me and I'm trying to decide on a new camera purchase but I can't decide between the Nikon D3100 or SONY NEX-5N. Both cameras are around $600 with lense. The Nikon is a DSLR APS-C format, the SONY is mirrorless APS-C format. I currently own a Fuji S2000HD which is ok but I'm looking for something with interchangeable lense system, larger sensor and 1080P video capability.

http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Products/Product/Digital-SLR-Cameras/25472/D3100.html

http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/st...52921666375215&langId=-1&XID=O:NEX5NK/B:pg:df

I really like the slim body and mirrorless design of the SONY. I also really like the 60fps 1080P video mode as well. On the other hand the Nikon is slightly cheaper and also the zoom lenses are MUCH cheaper than the SONY lenses.

Just realized Canon has the 18MP T2i/550D model that's comparable to the Nikon and SONY as well.

http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10051_10051_245003_-1

 

[Jawed]

www.dpreview.com is your friend.

 

[Pressure]

There is a really limited range of lenses available for the Sony, if that sort of thing matters to you.

I see you mention video, so I have to wonder what you expect to use the camera for?

In low-light conditions both the Nikon and Canon will do better, as the Sony mirror less design takes up some of the available light.

 

[Jawed]

as the Sony mirror less design takes up some of the available light.

Not in NEX cameras.

 

[AlphaWolf]

The comparable canon should be the T3i actually. They replaced the t2i earlier this year, they didn't change a lot, but added an articulating LCD screen which is nice if you're looking at using it for video and I think maybe a few more focus points. I have a t2i it's great for point and shoot on auto, or has nice easy to use settings/controls if you're into fine tuning.

As was said before, the Sony will leave you somewhat limited on lens choices. But if you're not going to be buying an expensive 3rd party lens that probably isn't a big deal.

Go to Jawed's link, but find out which features matter to you. The better camera for you might not always review the best, don't get roped into paying for features you won't use or don't care about.

 

[RudeCurve]

Hey thanks for the feedback guys. I will be using this camera as a dual purpose camera for high quality vacation photos and amauteur cinematic videography. I don't want to buy a separate videocamera with separate lenses etc. so this purchase has to be good at both photos/videos. This is an example of the kind of videography I plan on doing.

 

[Pressure]

Even though Canon's video implementation is getting old in the tooth (it started with the 5D Mark II back in 2008) it still produces an image that is nearer 35 mm film compared to the rest.

With the 550D / T2i you can produce wonderful images and video with the right amount of experience and lenses. It's all about compositing and lightning. Master those and you can produce great video with any of these cameras.

I have a large collection of vintage lenses (most are cheap but the "downside" for an inexperienced user is that they are all manual focus) for my Canon 5D Mark II with the use of adapters for the EOS mount and really enjoy them. Not to mention they are inexpensive compared to their current counterparts. At least they are cheaper than anything I can buy for my Leica (shudders).

Another good choice would be the Panasonic GH2, which have been hacked to give a good clean Motion-JPEG video at high mbit/s.

I would stay clear of cameras using the AVCHD codec for video, although I still haven't seen a real videographer have his hands on the AVCHD 2.0 featured on the new NEX-5N to conclude anything.

If anything, perhaps you should pop around Cinema5D and ask there. They have all the dirty and gritty data and experience with any of these cameras (except the Sony NEX-5N for obvious reasons).

 

[Sxotty]

I have a t3i btw and it is a great camera. So if you have any questions about it. I got it for video as well. The articulating screen makes it much nicer than the T2i in that simple respect. The digital zoom I find useful as well. That way you don't have to buy a run and gun kit to zoom when video taping. You keep 1080p as you zoom in and out, but you cannot go to full extent in that mode. So it has to be decided before you start filming a certain clip. Also the T3i doesn't have to use autogain (has manual gain) on the sound which is super nice. The t2i had autogain always unless you installed magic lantern firmware. Magic lantern is pretty awesome, but I decided to just get the t3i and have what I wanted to start with and if ML came out later maybe think about it then. I don't have personal experience with sony and nikon, but I would say nikon over the sony mostly for sure from what I have read in the past. Obviously I preferred Canon hence my purchase, but you might prefer nikon.

 

[Arwin]

I would stay clear of cameras using the AVCHD codec for video, although I still haven't seen a real videographer have his hands on the AVCHD 2.0 featured on the new NEX-5N to conclude anything.

Why is that? The AVCHD for instance produced by my lowly Sony DSC WX10 is simply stellar, rivalling many 6x more expensive dedicated video cameras. It is not even Full HD (1920x1080i), but at 50fps (or 60fps in the states) that's hard to see when you play it back on your computer or PS3 as it is apparently very easy to de-interlace that to a still very decent 25fps (or 30fps) 1080p. The experience is scarily close to watching a BluRay, which just blows my mind (unfortunately the loss of quality when posting it on youtube very low bitrate 1080p is also a little shocking ... ) You can also zoom at hearts content while filming, and the wide angle lense is very useful as wel (2.4f from the top of my head).

Only sound you have to be careful with - you'll easily block the (stereo) mike with your hand while holding the camera.

I also threw in a cheap 16GB card, which now gives me 90mins of recording (with the only downside that it can take 2 hours to download all of that to harddisk ).

 

[RudeCurve]

Thanks for the additonal info guys, I think I'm gonna go with the T3i/600D. Upon further research it seems the Canon has better manual controls for video which is important to me. The Nikon D5100 does have slightly better image quality for photos though. I'll be adding a fast manual shallow focus f1.8 lense which only cost $120!

 

[Blazkowicz]

I also threw in a cheap 16GB card, which now gives me 90mins of recording (with the only downside that it can take 2 hours to download all of that to harddisk ).

times are weird when we can read that.
I was really thinking for a few moments, 90 minutes? no way unless it's heavily compressed, a memory card should hold little more than a couple minutes video.

then oh well, those are 16 gigabytes?

 

[Arwin]

times are weird when we can read that.
I was really thinking for a few moments, 90 minutes? no way unless it's heavily compressed, a memory card should hold little more than a couple minutes video.

then oh well, those are 16 gigabytes?

Yeah, my digital camera now has more space available than my 360's HDD had when I got it new ...

 

[Sxotty]

Thanks for the additonal info guys, I think I'm gonna go with the T3i/600D. Upon further research it seems the Canon has better manual controls for video which is important to me. The Nikon D5100 does have slightly better image quality for photos though. I'll be adding a fast manual shallow focus f1.8 lense which only cost $120!

Which lens is it? I have been using a sigma 10-20 lens and have liked it for ease of use, but it isn't the kind of thing for videos like you show. I like it b/c the depth of field is so large everything is always in focus so video is easier. I can use other regular lenses if I want to have a shallow depth of field. I had wanted a wide angle at the time and I liked the concept of HSM/USM, but afterward I realized it was a mistake. B/c the depth of field is so much the autofocus is useless so I always have it on manual (otherwise it searches and searches).

 

[RudeCurve]

Nothing fancy for now..Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II. According to reviews the optics are outstanding but the build quality could be a little better which is fine considering it's only $120. In the future when I get better I may try a Sigma 30mm f1.4 lense. Here's some test footage (not mine) using the Canon lense.

Quick review/summary.

BTW what kind of photography and video do you do?

 

[Pressure]

That's what you call the nifty 50

Just have in mind that it will be more like a 80 mm lens on your cropped body.

 

[Sxotty]

RudeCurve,

Since that is a EF lens instead of EF-S then do you lose some of the image and light? So is the 1.8 really equivalent to 2 or so? I am just curious how that works out. I kinda want a 1.4 lens some time.

As to what type I do, pretty much normal in the photography area. I don't have one type of thing I do, nor am I a professional. I think we should start a thread in general with photos site members have taken though.

I have no real experience with videos but have found the camera to take nice video relatively easily. My first video is below, but there isn't much to it. I just wanted to be silly and hence was. A person can see I was changing aperture as I shot though. I uploaded a 1080p version, but who knows what youtube will end up doing to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1JnHAcCLHM

 

[hoho]

if you get a Canon camera make sure to use Magic Lantern "addon". It improves the video recording by a LOT and also adds quite a few awesome features for photography

 

[Sxotty]

if you get a Canon camera make sure to use Magic Lantern "addon". It improves the video recording by a LOT and also adds quite a few awesome features for photography

Awesome I was hoping it would come out for the t3i. When I got it magic lantern did not exist for it yet. I will have to install it.

 

[RudeCurve]

That's what you call the nifty 50

Just have in mind that it will be more like a 80 mm lens on your cropped body.

Haha I didn't even know it had a nickname but yeah the 80mm equivalent means I'll have to stand slightly further back from the subjects. I did some more reading and it seems it's also known as the "thrifty fifty".:smile:

RudeCurve,

Since that is a EF lens instead of EF-S then do you lose some of the image and light? So is the 1.8 really equivalent to 2 or so? I am just curious how that works out. I kinda want a 1.4 lens some time.

I'm still new to this stuff but yeah I think it would be equivalent to a 80mm f2.9 lense on a full frame 35mm DLSR so it loses some light gathering ability when used with a cropped body.

Edit: Did some researching on this topic and it seems the f-stop doesn't actually change since the amount of light coming through is the same givien that the aperture doesn't change. The only difference I could see is since the sensor is smaller on the cropped body some of the light is not used but per pixel or per unit of area it should be the same? This of course assumes the full frame sensor has the same number of pixels as the cropped sensor....I'm not really sure. Think I'll have to contact Canon and see if I could find an answer.

As to what type I do, pretty much normal in the photography area. I don't have one type of thing I do, nor am I a professional. I think we should start a thread in general with photos site members have taken though.

I have no real experience with videos but have found the camera to take nice video relatively easily. My first video is below, but there isn't much to it. I just wanted to be silly and hence was. A person can see I was changing aperture as I shot though. I uploaded a 1080p version, but who knows what youtube will end up doing to it.

Cool...I'm totally opposite...I haven't done any type of artistic photos but I did do some amatuer photoshoots with female models. Nowadays I normally just take candid shots and whatnot but I'm looking to learning some cinematography techniques.

Also thanks hoho for the Magic Lantern info, I need to get that and play around with it.

 

[Pressure]

It's the same amount of light that reaches the sensor, whether it is EF or EF-S mount.

EF-S lenses are just made specifically so they can sit closer to the mirror and make wide-angle lenses for cropped sensors cheaper.