Canon 550D

J

-JK-

Hi guys, I'm looking into a first time video camera and I was considering the Canon 550D. I'm currently a uni student (not a film student though) so for the next year I'd mostly be doing shorts and music videos for a few bands I know, although I will then be looking into features and may well try and film using this camera. I've heard great things about DSLR in general and especially the video on this camera.

Having browsed here, I know that manual controls are very important, and unless I'm mistaken (and as a newbie I might be) these are all covered here. As well as that there's an external mic socket- useful as apparently the standard sound is iffy- and 1080p video.

The main thing I'm looking for is any feedback on people who've either used this camera or possibly know of a better alternative for a newbie. Its around £600 on amazon and I might shop around, as that is definitely the top end of my budget :rolleyes: For the summer I mostly just want to get my head around everything to do with the camera and experiment both with the camera itself and maybe some software, so any feedback from more experienced heads would be appreciated. I realise 'newbie camera?' threads come up a lot, but any specific feedback on these points would be awesome :) thanks!
 
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550 is a great intro camera, has all the controls and options to make a stellar picture if you learn how to use it.

Even with the mic input, the audio is pretty useless. You'll need a separate recorder for audio.

550 can last you a lot of shorts and music videos, and though it's been done, it's a little light for a feature. By the time you get to the point where you're shooting a featur there will be a heap of new tech you'd want to use anyway.

£600 sounds a little pricey, shop around for sure. And try to get the body and a separate lens or two rather than the kit lens.
 
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Hey, thanks for the quick reply :) yeah, the £600 option includes a Canon 18-55mm lens kit, but you think I'd be better off buying the camera cheaper then shopping around for a few lenses? Without the lens kit I'm pretty sure I can find it for around £500.

As far as a separate recorder goes, maybe I'm wrong but aren't they quite expensive as well? I've head around the £300 mark, although my sources may be wrong!
 
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PaulGriffith said:
550 is a great intro camera, has all the controls and options to make a stellar picture if you learn how to use it.

Even with the mic input, the audio is pretty useless. You'll need a separate recorder for audio.

550 can last you a lot of shorts and music videos, and though it's been done, it's a little light for a feature. By the time you get to the point where you're shooting a featur there will be a heap of new tech you'd want to use anyway.

£600 sounds a little pricey, shop around for sure. And try to get the body and a separate lens or two rather than the kit lens.
Click to expand...


The 550D or T2i is a very good camera. This camera has the same video sensor as the Canon 7D. So the quality is the same. In regards to the audio part. Download and try magic lantern. This will fix all your audio issues with this camera.


Eric - Filmmaker T2i
http://www.skmediagroup.com
 
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Thanks for the reply skmedia. I have seen about Magic Lantern, and it looks intriguing, although I am always a bit wary about installing stuff like that on something I'm unfamiliar with.

I have heard good things but similarly I've heard that it doesn't totally get rid of audio issues but simply reduces the existing problems. However, there is still some unwanted hiss due to the 550ds weak amp. I think I'm probably going to try and pick up either a Zoom H4n or a Tascam DR-100 and a Rode mic to be certain. I've got very little experience with audio so that will definitely be a learning curve, but I feel like if I'm starting now I might as well try and learn as much as possible.

Oh, and in reply to Paul's earlier post again, I have been looking into alternatives to the kit lens, and I'm looking into some vintage lenses, so hopefully I can get a couple of really nice lenses, although I haven't ruled out getting the kit lens.
 
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There's a lot of information here about what kind of sound setup to use with ur DSLR. A lot of details about different packages and quality depending on ur budget.

Browse older threads. And the search function is ur friend :)
 
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550D Film

The 550d is a great camera that holds it own even to this day. While it does require more light than later models to achieve a noise-free picture, with the right lighting conditions it produces stellar images and with the addition of the Magic Lantern firmware to control the AGC/histogram/Zebrastripes & Increased Iso control makes this a very good dslr for video at a fraction of the cost of the 5D MkIII with the ability to produce comparable footage under the right conditions.

Check out our short film shot entirely on the 550D to see what it is capable of producing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O3QkwkS5EQ
 
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