I did a wee bit of experimenting with the camera before the battery died ( I always run a new battery dead, even though it always happens at the worst time).

And the results are very pleasing. Like all DSLRs, the camera is a stills camera first. And it takes very pretty pictures (which will be of use for press kits, groups photos, headshots, etc), but I really want it for it's HD 1080p images.

I didn't shoot much - there's lots to learn first - but the learning curve, while steep at first, seemed to come a bit easier as the night went on. It's my first LSR/DSLR.

Full review later, but here's just a few 1st impressions:

1. It's small. Coming from the fairly large JVC 100, it's quite a shock. The battery pack alone from the JVC is probably about the same size - and heavier. Will make it much easier to move around, but much harder to impress a 100 extras to run around at 2am in the rain.

2. The viewfinder isn't a "video cam" finder, but rather a HD 3" screen (the best in the biz - better even then the Mark II). Absolutely need a Zacuto for daylight shooting. Focusing was no problem with this screen, which leads me to the next point...

3. Depth of field is genius. It's 35mm. It's film. It's what every indie film maker has strove to obtain since video cameras becomae the norm. Depending on the lens, it's much easier to achieve a "movie-ish" look with this camera. Right out of the box, it was easier to achieve selective DOF then with the 1/3" chip set JVC 100.

4. Work flow. 2 words - it works. I bought a 3rd party 16gb (Adata) SDHC class 6 card for $40 and an eight dollar "50-1" card reader (ecotrend/sakar) to connect the card to my PC. It didn't see it at first, but after I kicked my PC a few times, lo and behold - the footage I shot was there. Then, crossing my fingers, I opened Premiere Pro 3 and opened a new timeline. Without much hope, I imported the footage and dragged it onto the timeline.

And it worked - it "saw" the footage. I rendered it, and it played fine. I couldn't believe it. With the JVC, I'd have to first play back the tape while digitizing it first with Vegas, then bringing it in to Premiere after it was conformed with cincefiorm. So essentially, this camera eliminates 3 huge pain in the ass steps. I'm almost crying I'm so happy.

For the first time in years, I can shoot some footage and be editing it within minutes. Awesome. Now, I haven't tried exporting it or anything, and there might be some hidden pitfalls, but so far so good.

5. Battery took about an hour and a half to charge, which I'd say is decent - prolly get 2 more batteries, assuming they last an hour with heavy usage.

5. Kit lens is "medium" zoom lens. Not terribly fast, but fine for the $100 it cost. Worked well, and responded quickly and accuarately for manual focusing. The autofocus (a feature I rarely use) worked well and all in all, it felt like a very well thought out package.

More latter, but so far so good!

john

How about the feel and the menus, how long does it take you to go from the camera case to shooting some video?

I've had the camera for 4 days now, and I've been using it for 3 days now.

Although a new cam's always a bit intimidating, I have to say I'm very impressed. There's lot's of stuff that would prolly be more straight forward is it was a "true" video camera, but in general the menus are very simple; very well laid out.

Once you get the hang of what buttons access the menu and move the cursor (a combination of the menu button, the shutter wheel, the display button, and 4 arrow keys), it's quite easy to move through the menu.

The book is very well laid out - much better than I've come to expect from any foreign product - and it's easy to use (not a big hulking thing, but rather more like a thick pamplet).

I'd say at this point I have a pretty good hang of it - it was easier to learn than the JVC 100 that's for sure. And unless there are hidden menus, I think the book covers everything you need to know about the camera.

Some menus seem to be accessable only in "photo" mode, but most are right there when you turn the camera to the movie setting. I like this about the T2i - unlike the Mark II & the 7D, there's a dedicated switch right on the camera. The actual record button isn't the shutter buttton, but rather a button on back of the cam.

Once I got that, it became pretty easy to manipulate.

I'd say I'm at least 75% of the way to knowing the camera, if not 85% - and that's pretty good for three days use.

john

How about the feel and the menus, how long does it take you to go from the camera case to shooting some video?
The menus are like any other newer Canon, but I miss the wheel. :~(
I can go from bag to shooting in <5 sec., really amazing!

The menus are like any other newer Canon, but I miss the wheel. :~(
I can go from bag to shooting in <5 sec., really amazing!

Not bad, thanks.

Just strapped a new Canon EF 50mm 1.8 lens on - and for the $116 I paid for it, I'm pretty impressed.

Nice and sharp w/ good manual control - obviously "brighter" then the kit lens (as it should be, the kit lens is 5.6). Camera recognized it no problem and it's making me lean to investing in more primes/fast glass then a zoom - that way I can build up the kit piece by piece (whereas a bad-ass zoom will be all up front).

Bottom line is that I'm, very very impressed by this camera. It's certainly a step above my previous video camera (JVC 100), both in lens availability and 35mm (well, very close) DOF.

And I've built up a DIY gunstock which makes it look a little bit more manly (which the JVC def was) - so it's been a fun week of learning.

As a side note, I hooked up the av cable to a VCR and the viewfinder does indeed shut off when you're using an external monitor/TV. Which was fine. It shows exactly what the viewfinder would have shown. Pretty sweet actually - might not be great for focusing, but it's great for checking framing, performance, and color.

Don't have a mini-HMDI to HMDI cord yet, so I can't comment it yet on that.

john