Camera Got Stolen – Might Buy Canon 7D
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This past weekend my Canon HFS100 and Azden SGM 2x shotgun microphone was stolen.
I was setting up to do recording for a video I’m working on with AlMaghrib and it was my mistake to not notify some of the people there to keep an eye on it while I go into the seminar room to make a note of which people I’d be doing recordings of. 20 minutes later I come back and find my equipment missing.
As it was a major bummer to find my equipment stolen, I figured it’s a great opportunity to upgrade.
The following setup is what I’m considering :
The breakdown of which is:
- $1,600 – Canon 7D body
- $350 – Canon 50mm EF f 1.4 lens
- $600 – Tokina 11mm-16mm f 2.8 wide angle lens
- $318 – 1 meter Glidetrack
- $125 – Manfrotto Tripod head
- $150 – UV and Neutral Density Filters
- $100 – Hoodman Loupe
- $140 – Battery and 32 GB memory card
Total cost: $3383.00
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I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on the setup:
Rizak Says: 04.02.10 at 3:01 am
mashaAllah great setup, although I don’t see a mic…?
Seems inspired by the video you posted a while back! I think this will be an AWESOME setup inshaAllah, throw in a few hundred more for a GPS tracker & sew it into the camera bag or implant it into the equipment somehow.
Do you have some good tripod legs? If not i’d definitely throw those in to keep it stable. Also, what are the limitations of a SLR vs. Camcorder for video production?
Danish S. Says: 04.02.10 at 3:34 am
I love my Canon 50mm 1.4 – highly recommended! The Tokina looks like a good choice and you save a few bucks vs the Canon 10-22mm (also a good lens). That slider will get you some very memorable shots.
I’d DEFINITELY recommend you get a grip for the 7D and keep at least two batteries if not more. When you shoot video, that thing gulps the battery juice for lunch. Also, it might be a good idea to invest in a Sandisk Pro (or Extreme Pro) UDMA card. It’s totally worth it for the versatility when copying off video to using the actual 8fps on the photo side. Ideally at least one “smaller” capacity UDMA and a larger capacity like the 32GB Kingston should keep you in good shape.
Overall it’s a very nice camera and gives you a great feature set for the money. However, I returned mine.
Here’s why:
–Low light video, while awesome compared to a camcorder, is not what I expected, even with a fast lens (i.e., the 1.4) on a DSLR. The sensor starts struggling sooner than you’d think and video can turn out grainy in some situations.
–The APS-C sensor got old on a $1800 camera. You get stuck in a weird place because it’s a crop so L lenses don’t make much of a difference and the EF and EF-S lenses are sharp but soft in the corners not to mention a little soft wide open. It’s not the lens, it’s the camera. I was better off stopping down on my 450D (albeit no video).
–Many conversion filters are not customized for the 7D yet. Keep that in mind when working in post.
There a few more reasons but I’ll refrain for now
Yusuf Says: 04.02.10 at 10:26 am
I would say it depends what you want to use it for, and what your budget is. If you are looking to shoot promo’s, short films, maybe some mini doc’s, and your budget allows for this camera with all the trimmings. Go for it, the quality this camera outputs for the price is amazing, and unparalleled. The ability to use photography lenses and the shallow depth of field it gives you can really help you tell your story. It deals with low light situations relatively well, and you can get some pretty decent results with natural light. It’s size makes it unobtrusive to shoot on locations that would otherwise cause problems bringing in a big camera. Full HD, 24p. You can shoot 60p in 720p mode, and can slow it down in post beyond that without any problems.
I love this camera.
Some of the drawbacks I found was the audio set up, double system sound is the best way to go with this camera, which can be a drawback. It can overheat if you’re using it constantly. So it wouldn’t really be suitable for full length seminars. It can be difficult to pull focus at times, but with some practice you can achieve good results. It does compress to h.246 codec, but the compression is good. The battery life is an issue.
There is not really a one stop shop for these types of things, because they are all tools in the tool kit of the filmmaker. Allot of the drawbacks that people mention about this camera are also issues I’ve found dealing with the Red One, but you have to weigh what your getting for the price, and what you want to do with it.
That’s my three cents…
I probably should have stopped at two, but there you go!
Shirien Says: 04.02.10 at 10:45 am
keep dreaming…
Nahyan Says: 04.02.10 at 2:18 pm
InshaAllah your patience and upgrade is the good in this…
I don’t get this “Canon 50mm EF f 1.4 lens” and “Tokina 11mm…” mumbo jumbo but they sounds cool so hope that works out for the best
Jawaad Ahmad Khan Says: 04.02.10 at 4:48 pm
Can’t give as much insight on the actual camera as above ^^, but I’ve heard great things about it.
May Allah bring the best out of this situation for you.
AlBaraa Says: 04.02.10 at 6:13 pm
@Rizak -
I’ll prob purchase the same mic I had before. Its under $200 now.
@Danish & @Yusuf -
Thanks for the insight. I’m aiming to move towards docs and narratives (short and feature – at least that’s the plan)
@Shirien -
Always dreaming big – I am
@Nahyan & @Jawaad -
Thanks for the encouragement.
Basil Mohamed Gohar Says: 05.02.10 at 9:25 am
Innaa lillaahi wa innaa ilaayhi raaji?oon…it boggles my mind how someone can see someone else’s property and then think they have the right to that. May Allaah replace your misappropriated goods with something better, in this life and in the aakhirah.
That setup looks enviable, maa shaa? Allaah. I have one recommendation, though…grab SD cards rather than CompactFlash (as that’s what the picture looks like, anyway). It’ll be more useful with other devices that you may either have now or end-up getting in the future, in shaa? Allaah..and, upon further examination of the specs, I see it doesn’t support that.
I can see that the 7D is excellent for video capture, so if you have to go CF with it, then so be it. I tried to look-up an alternative for you just now, but I couldn’t find anything comparable. Baraak Allaahu feek with all of it.
Ahmed Eid Says: 08.02.10 at 9:48 am
If you are going to shoot mostly video, look into the Canon t2i
It came out this week and has ALL the video capabilities of the 7D.
The 7D is a photographers camera more than it is a videographers camera.
AlBaraa Says: 08.02.10 at 10:09 am
I’ll def look into that option. Thanks for the heads up!
When is it suppose to be released?
Ahmed Eid Says: 08.02.10 at 3:02 pm
Next March
The only difference between it and the 7D is the 7D is made of metal, while the t2i is made of plastic.
Identical sensor, 1000 dollars less
Trust me, I know my Canons.
I currently have a Nikon D5000, looking to sell and by a T2i once they go cheaper on ebay.
Probably in 2 months
Danish S. Says: 10.02.10 at 4:15 pm
Looks like I got beat to the punch. I was just coming to say look into the T2i – MUCH better value than the 7D (unless you need 8fps and various metering and AEB options).
I know my XSi is going on eBay!
Anyone interested in a good deal on a Rebel XSi with accessories feel free to contact me!
Danish S. Says: 10.02.10 at 4:25 pm
DP Review already had a “hands on” with the T2i/550D:
http://www.dpreview.com/previews/CanonEOS550D/