Trying to decide; t2i or 5d

DangerDigital

DangerDigital

Its tough. I would love to have the 5d because I think its a better investment, but I need to put away a whole boatload of cash just to be able to afford it. It might be months, or a year before I could get one, and thats assuming real life doesn't knock down my door and steal all of my hard earned money.

On the other hand, I could easily budget in a t2i. And from what I've seen, it can hang with its 5d brother for the most part (the 5d is better of course).

Personally, I'm not depending on a camera to make a living, so I guess it doesn't matter which one I get, I just want to get one soon so I can do some shorts that I have planned out. This makes the t2i the obvious choice, however in the next year or so I want to shoot a full length feature that a wrote a few years back. It requires a lot of low light shooting, so the 5d would be a better camera in that scenario.


I dont really know why I'm asking, I know I'm going to get a t2i, but is there any reason why I should hold out and get the 5d?

OR is there something in the t2i price range that out performs it?
 
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I would get a Panasonic GH2 if it was between that and a T2i. The GH2 has a number of advantages, including being hackable, not having the clip length limitation the Canons have, and not being prone to overheating like the Canons. A GH2 body (no lens) will set you back about $900. Some basic vintage lenses will set you back another couple hundred (there are tons of posts on here about the various vintage lenses and which ones work best).

I've got a GH1 (also recommended, if you can find one) and love it. I've got nothing but vintage lenses for it and have had some fantastic results.
 
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Hacked, it'll shoot better than the T2i (I think unhacked it probably does, too). Check out some of the videos on Vimeo (quality is better) to compare. The T2i is a better stills camera, but the GH2 is certainly a better motion camera.
 
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Do you want full-frame? If so, 5D is your only option. And there's a pretty big difference between full-frame and crop-factor, and the implications it has on your filmmaking. Personally, I wouldn't even want full-frame, but a lot of other people do.

If you were to stick within the Canon family, I personally think the T3i or 60D would be better options, for no other reason than the fold-out LCD screen. HD monitoring is also an issue to consider, and for that, you'll need the 7D.

I'm hearing from lots of fans of the GH2. I don't recall -- does it monitor in HD? If so, I think you could fairly compare it to the 7D.
 
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Cracker Funk said:
Do you want full-frame? If so, 5D is your only option. And there's a pretty big difference between full-frame and crop-factor, and the implications it has on your filmmaking. Personally, I wouldn't even want full-frame, but a lot of other people do.

If you were to stick within the Canon family, I personally think the T3i or 60D would be better options, for no other reason than the fold-out LCD screen. HD monitoring is also an issue to consider, and for that, you'll need the 7D.

I'm hearing from lots of fans of the GH2. I don't recall -- does it monitor in HD? If so, I think you could fairly compare it to the 7D.
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly, the hacked GH2 will monitor in full HD. I think unhacked it will output full HD until you hit record (so you could use it for initial focus, but not for regular monitoring).
 
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ROC said:
Does the clip length really matter...?

I mean, when was the last time you shot a steadicam 15 minutes or above shot like in Atonement or Children of Men?...
Click to expand...

For me it's about versatility. What if I suddenly decide I want to shoot nature documentaries? I don't want to have to go buy a new camera. And what if I decide I want to try to push myself to do a super-long shot? I want to have that option.
 
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I've looked into the 60d but not the t3i.

and yeah, I doubt I will have a need for full frame. I'm very much in the infancy of all of this, and by the time I'm thinking about stuff like that, I will probably need a new camera anyway.
 
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Full-frame, giant sensor. The Mark II video on the YouTube sure looks gorgeous.

And now, with this developement:

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=33766

Its still photography capabilities are also exceptional, or so I've read.

But it's about $2,500 new and that's body only. You can find a used one for a bit less, but for that much money, you'd probably want to get it from a reputable company that will hopefully stand behind it, like Adorama, or something. Twenty-five hundred dollars. (I'm looking at Amazon and Best Buy for those numbers). And with a kit zoom lens 24-105mm f/4, that's more like $3,200. Maybe with a Mark II it doesn't matter when you're shooting video, but f/4 sounds pretty slow to me. That's a heck of a lot of doe. Unless, for you, that isn't a lot of doe, in which case...

***********

But there's a lot of T2i video and shorts online that also look gorgeous. I've seen gorgeous 7D video as well. Haven't really looked for 6D or the GHs.' If you can swing the additional $100, I've read and heard more than one person say how much they appreciate the flip out and swivel LCD screen on the T3i.

I don't know what the ambitions for your upcoming shorts are, but have you also been keeping considerations for sound or lighting in your equations?

At the very least I'll bet you're going to want a decent mic, a boom pole, and a recorder.

The point is, I think it's been Alcove Audio who has pointed out before that too often new filmmakers put a lot of thought into their camera purchases, but audio is an afterthought...but it's very important. Also, chances are you'll need some kind of lighting equipment as well. My point is, you'll probably want to be figuring these things into your money decisions also.

So, that's sure not to discourage you from getting a Mark II. I would get one, if I could afford such a thing.

Best of luck. :)
 
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ROC said:
Does the clip length really matter...?

I mean, when was the last time you shot a steadicam 15 minutes or above shot like in Atonement or Children of Men?...
Click to expand...

Clip length matters if you're doing an interview. Otherwise it will stop recording after 12 mins just when the subject is in deep rumination and in the middle of telling you the meaning of life.
 
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Cracker Funk said:
Do you want full-frame? If so, 5D is your only option. And there's a pretty big difference between full-frame and crop-factor, and the implications it has on your filmmaking. Personally, I wouldn't even want full-frame, but a lot of other people do.

If you were to stick within the Canon family, I personally think the T3i or 60D would be better options, for no other reason than the fold-out LCD screen. HD monitoring is also an issue to consider, and for that, you'll need the 7D.

I'm hearing from lots of fans of the GH2. I don't recall -- does it monitor in HD? If so, I think you could fairly compare it to the 7D.
Click to expand...

I've been using the 7D lot and IT works very nice, we usually use three or four and intermix some 5D footage in with it seamlessly. The 5D is a superior image hands down, but for the price I saw a 60D for under 900 with two lenses. A lot of shot for under a grand. I have a friend that has one and a set of old glass primes. It's worth it to get the glass no matter what body you end up with.
 
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Maybe you could get one of the cheaper cameras then upgrade latter. You could possible resale them later and upgrade to a Mark II if that is what you wanted. I agree the Mark II test footage looks real good from what I have seen on youtube.
 
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yeah, I agree. I think the t2i, or 3, will probably be more than I need for now.

but its still nice to dream. lol

It would be awesome if I got to the point where I'm having the same thought process, but trying to justify a $100000 camera. Never know what the future holds.


as far as audio, if been learning a lot about microphones and how they work. I'm actually building my own mic right now. On paper, it seems like it should be amazing, but I guess I'll see when I'm finished.
 
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