Canon are the best choice: they have good colour rendition, and it’s easy to adapt them to take older manual focus lenses. I wouldn’t buy a new DSLR now, but used ones are an affordable way to get the advantages of a larger sensor. I’d look for one with image stabilisation, microphone and headphone sockets, and an eye-level viewfinder. They’re good for shallow focus and low light, while being smaller and lighter than a DSLR. Which should I get?įor most people who want to shoot good quality video, a mirrorless camera is the best option. But with camcorders, you can just pick them up and start shooting. SLRs – and to a lesser extent mirrorless cameras – are bigger than equivalent camcorders, and you usually need accessories to get good results. This can cause ‘rolling shutter’ distortion when you move the camera sideways or use it handheld. Most SLR video isn’t recorded from the whole sensor at once: instead, it scans down the sensor. So some cameras just record video from some rows of pixels (line-skipping). This can cause distracting interference patterns called moiré or aliasing. Most current ones have at least 18 megapixels, but you only need 2MP for HD video (or 8MP for 4K). Mirrorless camera and SLR sensors are designed to shoot high-resolution stills as well as videos. You may need a tripod, a monopod, or a special rig. These cameras can be awkward to hold steadily and to move smoothly for video shots. If you’re using an SLR, or a mirrorless camera without an eye-level viewfinder, you may need to magnify the image with a separate viewfinder or ‘loupe’. Judging focus on a live view screen can be slow. If you’re trying to hold focus on moving subjects, shallow depth of field can be a nuisance rather than an advantage. So you might need to use a separate audio recorder. Some SLRs and mirrorless cameras don’t have headphone sockets, and some can’t record good audio even with a separate microphone. You can get a basic HD camcorder like the Panasonic V180 for around $250 (£200) you’ll need to spend more than twice as much for a mirrorless camera or video-capable DSLR. Mirrorless cameras and DSLRs aren’t cheap. If DSLR and mirrorless video looks so great, why doesn’t everybody do it? Cost You can even ‘pull focus’, changing the focus from one part of the image to another as you film. You can make the most of it by fitting wide aperture prime (non-zooming) lenses. That looks more ‘cinematic’ (like cinema films rather than video). These small sensors aren’t great in low light, which can give mirrorless cameras and DSLRs – which have much bigger sensors – a big advantage.īig sensors also have much shallower depth of field: so at the same aperture, less of the shot is in focus. Most camcorders have quite small sensors and fixed zoom lenses. Why would you shoot video on a camera designed for stills? They’re usually smaller and lighter than DSLRs, with better video features, and can also shoot high quality stills. You view the image on the main live view screen, or an electronic eye-level viewfinder if it has one. They are largely being replaced with mirrorless cameras (below).Ī mirrorless camera is like an SLR – you can swap lenses – but it doesn’t have a mirror. So when you shoot video with it, you have to use ‘Live View’ on the main screen instead. A mirror reflects the image up to the viewfinder, and flips up – blacking out the eyepiece – when you take a photo. It’s a ‘system camera’: it takes interchangeable lenses. They aren’t great for still photography.Ī DSLR (digital SLR) is mainly designed for still photography. More expensive pro camcorders have good built-in microphones and professional XLR audio inputs. Most of them have built-in zoom lenses and tilt-and-swivel screens. Should you get a camcorder, a DSLR, a mirrorless camera – or something else – for low budget filmmaking? What’s the difference?Ī camcorder is designed specifically for shooting video. Cinema cameras combine the best features of both.Camcorders are easier to use, and better for news and events.Mirrorless cameras and SLRs are great for the ‘film look’.
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