Do you own a DSLR?

[ItsJustJames]

I'd say its a solid and hardy camera because its been dropped a multitude of times (butter fingers).

I love this lol.

Their focusing and depth of field is not bad.

Have you looked at other lenses? You'd be able to get that really nice blurry background or 'shallow depth of field' by investing in a lens that has a lower 'f' number. Your current lens goes down to 3.5. Have a look at something that supports a number such as 1.8 or 2.8 - I think you'll be pleasantly surprised what you can achieve!

The built-in mic picks up the camera's focusing noise if continuous auto focus is in play.

This certainly affirms the general rule that DSLR sound is crap!! I wonder if someone will suggest a DSLR that has impressive sound quality.

And battery gets low after an hour of recording.

That's good to know.

Thanks for this; I'm not a Nikon man so it's good to hear about their cameras.

James.

***********************

I use a Canon T2i with Magic Lantern software.
Gives you WAY more room for adjusting ISO, WB, Shutter Speed, AP etc... There are are a ton of features with Magic Lantern.
Works on most Canon DSLR's and only Canon.
ML made my life easier, as well as a fast prime lens.

That's really coincidental that you've raised Magic Lantern! The T2i was my first camera and I installed the Firmware in order to try monitor audio straight from the camera. This never prevailed I'll add but I was informed Magic Lantern can be harmful to your camera? Do you know more on this?

James.

 

[Axxtro]

I've got one also, nice bit of kit! You need to persevere with it as it takes A LOT of experimentation to get the balance right. It's a bit of a kerfuffle to set up but all in all, amazing fun.

Yeah i've heard that it can be a bit hard at the beginning. If you have any tips that you learned by using it please let me know. Also my camera + lens only weighs 875 grams and the lowest recommended is 900 so need to figure a way to add some weight at the top.

That's really interesting. I haven't tested one myself but it seems like a higher end consumer camera? Would that be right around £1000? Is the the high ISO's it can't handle? What's the dynamic range like?

You can find one now for around £900. Can't give you an answer on the dynamic range but for the ISO I don't think you want to go over 1600. Some settings may be used to help this out a little. It does look better in photo mode compared to video mode with the same ISO, but it does not stand a chance if you put it against a 5d.

 

[ItsJustJames]

Yeah i've heard that it can be a bit hard at the beginning. If you have any tips that you learned by using it please let me know. Also my camera + lens only weighs 875 grams and the lowest recommended is 900 so need to figure a way to add some weight at the top.

Perseverance is absolutely the key. It DOES work, just takes heck of a lot of practise and setup. That's the one downside for me. When I'm on a shoot for a client, it takes my grip a bit too long to set up so I often choose to not use it - which is a great shame!

The only other thing is read the manual it comes with. We kinda neglected it thinking we knew better; it actually has some really helpful information in that will help you get the balance right. It explains a whole load of test you can do to ensure it's level.

James.

 

[Mauricio]

I have a mirrorless Samsung nx1000. It really takes great pictures but struggles in low light. It also has a cap of 30 minute video recording limit which i haven't had an issue with since i
record ever that long. I love how small it is and how easy it can fit in any bag. Heres a recent pic with it.

 

[Zerodecoole]

I own a Nikon D5200 and I have worked with Canon DSLRs ibn the past, I understand most of those settings now but I have classes in college that teach me to work with cameras and what their settings are.

 

[ItsJustJames]

I own a Nikon D5200 and I have worked with Canon DSLRs ibn the past, I understand most of those settings now but I have classes in college that teach me to work with cameras and what their settings are.

Was that some kind of photography class? Or was this something like a Film School?

What's the Nikon D5200 like? Would you recommend it?

James.[DOUBLEPOST=1457033949,1457033858][/DOUBLEPOST]

I have a mirrorless Samsung nx1000. It really takes great pictures but struggles in low light. It also has a cap of 30 minute video recording limit which i haven't had an issue with since i
record ever that long. I love how small it is and how easy it can fit in any bag. Heres a recent pic with it.

Lovely pic! Am I right in thinking the Samsung NX1000 is not a camera with interchangeable lenses? How do you find this? Are there are limitations?

Does it do video also??

James.

 

[Zerodecoole]

Was that some kind of photography class? Or was this something like a Film School?

What's the Nikon D5200 like? Would you recommend it?

James.

Both, I have photography as subject and I'm majoring in video editing.

Nikon D5200 is a great camera to work with.
You can zoom in and out with the zoom buttons when you want to focus instead of having to press zoom in twice.
You can also put the iso higher (Too much iso will add noise though)


However, changing white balance, ISO, shutterspeed etc goes easier on a Canon camera because Nikon opens an entire menu it that appears over your live view when editing settings.

 

[Mauricio]

Was that some kind of photography class? Or was this something like a Film School?

What's the Nikon D5200 like? Would you recommend it?

James.[DOUBLEPOST=1457033949,1457033858][/DOUBLEPOST]

Lovely pic! Am I right in thinking the Samsung NX1000 is not a camera with interchangeable lenses? How do you find this? Are there are limitations?

Does it do video also??

James.

Yes it does have interchagble lens. I have a macro,wide angle and 20-50 mm lens. The reason i got was because i want the other cameras but they were super bulky and way more pricey. I got this one for 250. The limitations is it can be slower when shooting in the raw file.

 

[GuysBeingDudes]

IThat's really coincidental that you've raised Magic Lantern! The T2i was my first camera and I installed the Firmware in order to try monitor audio straight from the camera. This never prevailed I'll add but I was informed Magic Lantern can be harmful to your camera? Do you know more on this?

James.

Sorry for late reply. Actually I think the only reason I got Magic Lantern, initially, was to turn off the T2i's dumb Automatic Audio Gain.
For those of you who don't know when you would film a scene it would pick up the actor pretty well but as soon as they stopped talking, the white noise or room noise, would jump up making all the audio sound awful.

Yes SOME of the software can be harmful and possibly brick your camera. This harmful software is known as the Nightly Builds. Basically an unstable version or alpha/beta testing for the software. The nightly builds are constantly being tested and updated. I have never had a problem with my ML. I think the first time I installed it, it didn't take, and I thought I bricked my camera. I just reinstalled and never had a problem since.
So if someone is looking for a stable build download let me know. It is kind of confusing to find on their website. At least it was for me... Magic Lantern is NOT endorsed by Canon and WILL void your warranty. So keep that in mind when deciding to use this software.

On the upside ML has been a real learning curve and has helped me so much as a film maker. I am now able to show up for a shoot, access the scene, and dial in my settings pretty quickly.
Also the focus peak has been a HUGE help. Plus there are crop mark overlays, time lapse shooting, a nifty little beep for when recording stops/starts (comes in handy), automatically starts recording if camera stops on its own, a bunch of other color histograms (which I haven't touched) THERES SO MUCH!

I feel like using ML is setting me up for a smoother transition into a nice cinema camera.

 

[ItsJustJames]

Both, I have photography as subject and I'm majoring in video editing.

Nikon D5200 is a great camera to work with.
You can zoom in and out with the zoom buttons when you want to focus instead of having to press zoom in twice.
You can also put the iso higher (Too much iso will add noise though)

However, changing white balance, ISO, shutterspeed etc goes easier on a Canon camera because Nikon opens an entire menu it that appears over your live view when editing settings.

That zoom feature sounds like absolute heaven - I really dislike the double press Canon implements!! Interesting about the menu system, thanks for that.

*********************

Yes it does have interchagble lens. I have a macro,wide angle and 20-50 mm lens. The reason i got was because i want the other cameras but they were super bulky and way more pricey. I got this one for 250. The limitations is it can be slower when shooting in the raw file.

It does interchange?! That's brilliant. For 250 that's a steal of a camera. Good find.

*********************

orry for late reply. Actually I think the only reason I got Magic Lantern, initially, was to turn off the T2i's dumb Automatic Audio Gain.
For those of you who don't know when you would film a scene it would pick up the actor pretty well but as soon as they stopped talking, the white noise or room noise, would jump up making all the audio sound awful.

Yes SOME of the software can be harmful and possibly brick your camera. This harmful software is known as the Nightly Builds. Basically an unstable version or alpha/beta testing for the software. The nightly builds are constantly being tested and updated. I have never had a problem with my ML. I think the first time I installed it, it didn't take, and I thought I bricked my camera. I just reinstalled and never had a problem since.
So if someone is looking for a stable build download let me know. It is kind of confusing to find on their website. At least it was for me... Magic Lantern is NOT endorsed by Canon and WILL void your warranty. So keep that in mind when deciding to use this software.

On the upside ML has been a real learning curve and has helped me so much as a film maker. I am now able to show up for a shoot, access the scene, and dial in my settings pretty quickly.
Also the focus peak has been a HUGE help. Plus there are crop mark overlays, time lapse shooting, a nifty little beep for when recording stops/starts (comes in handy), automatically starts recording if camera stops on its own, a bunch of other color histograms (which I haven't touched) THERES SO MUCH!

I feel like using ML is setting me up for a smoother transition into a nice cinema camera.

This is fantastic information on Magic Lantern. Really interesting about voiding the warranty. And are you telling me it contains a feature for focus peaking?!?!!?!?! You may be my new best friend if this is true. Will Magic Lantern work with a Canon 6D?

Thanks all,
James.