Comparison: Canon Camera Roundup for Pro-DSLR Video
Since lot of people ask me, which (photo) cameras to buy which also work for filming, here is a short roundup of cameras that I find worth mentioning. All of the cameras mentioned will work with Magic Lantern:
Price/Value/Feature Comparison
|
Canon Rebel T1i Canon EOS 500D |
Canon Rebel T2i Canon EOS 550D |
Canon Rebel T3i Canon EOS 600D |
Canon EOS 60D |
Canon EOS 5D MKII |
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| USA: $579.90 Europe: 449.00€ (used) |
USA: $629.00 Europe: 549.99€ |
USA: $699.95 Europe: 646.99€ |
USA: 1,029.00$ Europe: 879.00€ |
USA: 2,499.00$ Europe: 1,890.00€ |
| The Revel T1i was a great camera, although we cannot recommend it, since its successor is the 550D and the 600D. If you can get a cheap second hand alternative at ebay, you might get a deal, though. (Seen on ebay for $199 used) |
The 550D is a great camera, although the 600D beats it in price/value. If you can get your hands on a cheap second-hand 550D, you might be able to even save some more bucks. (Seen on ebay for $399 used |
The 600D is our definite winner in price/value: feature-rich, reasonably priced, enjoyable to use and, most importantly, takes great pictures. It's relatively small, but is fully supported by Magic Lantern and you should be really happy with that camera if you use good lenses and fast Compact Flash Cards. | The 60D is a great camera, although almost in the same range as the 7D (which has no Magic Lantern support yet). If you are only shooting photos, go for the 7D - if you are doing video, save some bucks and go for the 600D. Invest the spare money in good lenses. | The best of all the cameras compared, if we leave out the price. While this is also the most pricy camera, it certainly gets beaten by the 600D when it comes to price/value. The Canon EOS 5D MKII is the best camera for digital video out there, although with the 600D and with fast enough SDXC cards, you will almost match the quality of the 5D MKII. |
Conclusio: get the 600D if you need to save money, get the 5D MKII if you have some spare 3000$. Invest in good lenses, such as the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM, even if you are using it on the 600D (it will get converted to a 38-168mm, though). The Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS
is a cheap but quite good alternative. Make sure you get a really fast SDXC card
, since you will want to increase the Video Bitrate with Magic Lantern to make your videos quality increase as well. Recommendation: the Lexar Media 64 GB SDXC Flash Memory Card LSD64GCRBNA133
stores 64GB (!) and is blazingly fast.
Canon 5D MKIII (MK3) Announcement Imminent?
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Taking the rumors from canonrumors.com and some forum posts seriously for at least a bit, it seems that an announcement for a possible Canon EOS 5D MKIII is imminent.
Random Info via canonrumors:
- Canon Australia has sent CPS management to Singapore for product training. [CR2]
- Any Canon announcement will come after Nikon’s announcement on August 24, 2011. [CR2]
- 5D Mark III’s are in the wild and an announcement is imminent [CR1]
- 1D Mark IV’s are out of stock or hard to come by in certain countries. A retailer in New Zealand actually said they won’t be getting any more. [CR1]
- 1Ds Mark IV resolution correction, I’m told it will actually be 36mp.
Since I was planning on getting a 5D Mark II these days, I hope to see increasing price drops on the camera kits very soon - since there are already visible price drops around the globe. On Amazon.com the price for the Body still is $2499,00
. Canon Australia already lowered the price for the premium KIT from $4899 AU$ to 4499AU$, so we can hope for price drops on the international market as well. On the German Amazon Marketplace
, the currently cheapest price for the 5D MKII Body (new) is 1924,90 EUR
, while the Premium KIT (EF 24-105mm L IS USM) is at 2619,99
(a light price drop is already visible).
Commenting on the current question, if it is still a good idea to buy a Canon 5D MKII: YES. Why? The Canon 5D MKII is a great camera and also there won't be any new Lenses coming up so fast (at least when we talk about EF 24-105mm L IS USM), so if you need one now, go and get one. Also, if you are in DSLR-Video, "Magic Lantern" is a great and stable system, which will not immediately run on the MKIII. Some people even suggests that there might be a 1000$ price difference (at least) for an upcoming 5D MKIII.
Conclusion:
Still the 5D Mark II is a good buy, when compared to the Canon EOS 7D
, since an announcement for a Canon EOS 7D MKII won't be around the corner until end of 2011, if we believe the rumors. A 5d MKIII won't be available instantly after release, so one way or the other, before 2012 you won't be able to get your hands on a 5D MKIII - and if so, then for sure not for a reasonable price. The current price difference for the 5DMKII to the 7D is 700$ - if you are into DSLR Video, that's a clear GO for the 5DMKII.
[Update] Canon Rumors has a new Blog post "5D Mark III & The Rest [CR2]" which indicates, that there could be a 5D Mark III announced in October 2011
Book Presentation: Coded Cultures
CODED CULTURES. Creative Practice out of Diversity
MO 4. April 2011, 19.00 Uhr
KUNSTHALLE WIEN - project space karlsplatz http://esel.io/termin/50759
Zur Präsentation sprechen: Christian Reder (Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien), Georg Russegger (Coded Cultures), Matthias Tarasiewicz und Michal Wlodkowski (5uper.net)
Eine Veranstaltung im Rahmen der Kooperation zwischen der Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien und der Kunsthalle Wien angewandte@project space mittwochs (www.dieangewandte.at)
http://j.mp/codedbook
http://codedcultures.org
Coded Cultures: Creative Practices out of Diversity (Springer Wien/ New York Edition Angewandte)
A fresh book, discussing creative practices of the fields of media arts ("art with media" and "art through media") in europe and asia (mostly japan). To quote the official press statement: "International Authors from Europe and Asia explain the impact of codes and cultures on society". The book is available on Amazon EUROPE and the US Amazon site.
Coded Cultures Music Night: Fennesz, Tom Ellis, Keichiro Shibuya @Unit Tokyo, Japan – 16.10.2009
CODED CULTURES and MINIMAL TOKYO are proud to present a special night of electronic dance music at UNIT/SALOON. The night will feature top international and Japanese artists working in a wide range of music styles from deep electronica to minimal house and techno.









