Team-BHP - The Digital Camera Thread: Questions, discussions, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maverick79 (Post 3093748)

Hi Ajay,
I was looking for a Eos 600D after the price drop. Went to Flipkart and alomost finalised it. At the last moment, thought of checking the most famous shop in Chennai -Dass Cameras. To my suprise, he is selling the same kit + similar freebies and is charging 700 bucks lower than Flipkart.
I was wondering how he may got it lesser from Flipkart. (Do know if he is buying from Flipkart though!)

Regards,
Maverick79

Hey Maverick,

Sorry if my post confused you a bit.:) I made that suggestion to the member just to negotiate better with the shop owner. However, these days Flipkart is no longer the cheapest option. So go ahead and get it from the Dass showroom, if you think they are good and reliable.

Cheers !

sI am considering picking up the Fuji XS1. On the other hand my friends who are avid DSLR users are urging me to take the leap and go the whole hog with either the Nikon 7100 with the 16-85 mm kit lens. or the Canon 7D Kit I (15-85).

I know the Fuji vs Nikon/Canon are two entirely different categories however as a casual user looking for 'much better than average results' the XS1 seems to be the right way to go.

Posting here to get fresh perspective on the two categories of cameras, not keen on any other camera models from at least these manufacturers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by khoj (Post 3094318)

If you want Fuji then xe1 might be better choice as it has faster autofocus. R2D2 has one. Just contact him.

Hello Team,

I am planning to buy a compact point and shoot camera
The shortlisted camera's based on the reviews that I read are:-
Panasonic Lumix GX1
Fujiflim X10
and
Sony RX100.
Now my basic needs is to take my kids outdoor & indoor photographs and some nature photography while traveling.
I am primarily looking for a compact camera, so that it can been chucked into a back pack as well as my trouser pocket with ease.
Could you help me in deciding which one should I go for.

Thanks
Harish

Hello everyone,

I had posted here some months back regarding my camera upgrade within a budget of around 20k. Had almost finalized between the SX260 and SX40HS of Canon. But due to some issues, I had to postpone the purchase. So right now on discussion with everyone home there are some additional stuff i need to consider and I don't mind a higher budget. My requirements:

1) We're a family of musicians, so need to take videos of performances, etc if possible with an external Audio input.
2) I love photography (rarely used a DSLR). I would like something that would suit my eagerness for taking good pics and learning about them.
3) Earlier, I was dreamy about humongous zoom ranges but now I understood that's rarely necessary, so a good zoom range should be fine.
4) HD Videos and videos in low light needs to be good.
5) Budget - around 35k.

These days I see a lot of short films and even mainstream movies being shot in DSLRs (5D, 7D, etc). So I need to know do entry level DSLRs for around the 35k budget give good videos too?

And I know some P&S cameras provide amazing video quality. If a DSLR or a Bridge, its going to be difficult for the rest of the people in the house to use it. Bearing all these in mind, i thought of the following options

1) Get a good entry level DSLR camera (though I can't go for costly-lenses anytime soon!!) and also buy an entry level P&S for other purposes.
2) Buy a Handycam (I would like to know if video in a Handycam is better than the ones in good P&S and entry DSLRs) and a normal P&S.
3) Buy a very good P&S with good video quality that will suffice all these needs in a moderate manner and save money too.

I kindly request your help as I'm almost fainting looking at the options in the market and the various reviews all over the forum and net!

Thank you :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by freakmuzik (Post 3108257)

1) We're a family of musicians, so need to take videos of performances, etc if possible with an external Audio input.

For a serious movie clip, I would strongly suggest not relying on camera mic(internal or external) and get a standalone sound recorder. Camera mounted mic can pick up sounds (clicks, zoom, rustles) that you don't want to hear in your performance. You can combine the audio later with your movie.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k (Post 3108306)

Good point! Thanks a lot! With all these softwares, this seems to be the best and easiest option! :) Thank you.

BTW, I just saw and ad for 600D with 18-55mm lens with some freebees for 33.5k! Is that good? Any suggestions for my earlier post?

Thanks in advance!

Handycams are definitely better in terms of smooth zoom, video encoding and stabilization, operational controls etc. You really don't need a 12 MP sensor to make a good movie clip.

DSLRs and P&S are catching up but they will always be a compromise over handycams.

But if you want something that works in both worlds, a newer (even if lower spec'ed) DSLR will be better than an older but better spec'ed DSLR. Another thing you could do is buy a video optimized lens for the DSLR. Panasonic makes such lenses. Canon's 18-135 STM lens is also reported to be super smooth.

Problem I have run with P&S is there is little control on focus, exp compensation etc in movie mode. Once recording starts, you can not change most of the settings, they are either frozen, or decided automatically by camera.

You can consider Nikon 5100 with that budget. Very good camera. It shoots full HD movie and has got provision for external voice input. Price with kit lens should be around 34K.

Quote:

Originally Posted by freakmuzik (Post 3110111)

Quote:

Originally Posted by freakmuzik (Post 3108257)

2) Buy a Handycam (I would like to know if video in a Handycam is better than the ones in good P&S and entry DSLRs) and a normal P&S.

I have SX260 P&S, which has 20x zoom & can take Full HD videos. While it does what it says, I have found these shortcomings of digital cameras (DC) for shooting videos when compared to camcorders (CC):

1) Ergonomically difficult. CC is designed to be operated with 1 hand, while DC requires 2 hands.
2) CC focus faster than DC
3) Video compression is better in CC than in DC, hence smaller file sizes for same quality.
4) Battery drains faster in video mode in DC. CC usually has bigger battery.
5) CC has bigger memory than DC. Hence you can shoot longer videos.
6) Though some models allow, you can't take full quality stills while shooting video in DC.
7) Low light video performance of CC is better than DC.

Even though P&S, DLSRs promise Full HD videos, quality is not same as Full HD camcorder. If your primary purpose is video, then camcorder suits best.

Quote:

Originally Posted by msdivy (Post 3116617)

Oh wow. Thanks a ton! So P&S is kicked out of my list. And, if you ask me, video is of HIGH priority for me. And even video in DSLR's don't come close to Camcoders? Hmm. I was almost fixing on a Canon 600D but thanks for the reply. I'l hunt down again. One thing that I was worrying about was the very small zoom in case of a DSLR (unless you buy additional lenses, which is damn costly!). In that case, would it be better to get a camcoder for videos and an entry DSLR or a good P&S for photo purposes?
The need for video is for recording live performances, concerts etc of ours and personal videos too.