Now the 5DM3 is out the price of the M2 will start to drop significantly over the year, so which is best for HD video? Old question I guess, but so far I have been using a 600D and I am impressed with the output.

Any suggestions of which is worth to upgrade to? 7D's are going new for a body in this part of the world for $1300 and 5D2 for around $2K.

Unless you get caught in the rain a lot (which might be a real possibility considering your location), a 7D isn't an upgrade, I would even consider it a downgrade since you have no audio control, and the LCD doesn't swivel. I have the 7D and the 600D as well.

I would suggest loading Magic Lantern on the 600D, that alone is a huge upgrade and makes the 600D many times better for video. Focus peaking and more iso adjustments were the big ones for me.

To be fair, the LCD on the 5D Mk. II doesn't swivel either, so I don't think the
7D should be faulted for that if we're only comparing these two cameras.

Here's my take on this decision:

Video recording is pretty much *the same* across all of these Canon D-SLR's.
So it really comes down to the differences in features and price.

Do you need a swiveling LCD display? If so, choose the EOS 60D.

If you've already narrowed the choice down to the 5D Mk. II or the 7D, then the
biggest difference between these two is the sensor size (Full Frame on the 5D2
vs. APS-C crop on the 7D).

The advantage of the 7D is that the crop sensor size is equal to having a 1.6x
extender built right into the camera -- it's always there. This is helpful if you do
a lot of telephoto work at long focal lengths.

The advantage of the 5D2 is the exact opposite: it's easier to get high-quality
wide-angle focal lengths, through the excellent L-series lenses. It's true you
can use these same lenses on the 7D, but you lose the wide-angle field of
view due to the smaller sensor size. There is a wide-angle zoom lens made
for the 7D and 60D, but its quality is inferior to an L-series lens.

Do you need high-quality wide angle? If so, choose the 5D Mk. II.
Do you need extended telephoto? If so, choose the 7D.
Do you need a flip-out LCD? If so, choose the 60D.

Hope this helps,

Back when I was choosing between the two, the 7D won out due to the hdmi out staying HD during recording and that I do a fair amount of action still work so the high fps in still mode was a necessity.
They do have a different look to the image but quality is about the same. I shot and edited a season's worth of tv episodes with a friend who has a 5D and they cut nicely. I'd say save your money, get the 7D and get good glass.

...The advantage of the 5D2 is the exact opposite: it's easier to get high-quality wide-angle focal lengths.

That is one of the biggest reasons of all for me to use the 5D over the 7D.

A second reason is that buying a range of quality full frame 'L' lenses for the 5D will last for years to come, even with upgrades to new bodies, but if you buy special wide-angle lenses for the 7D you'll need to sell them and buy new lenses if you upgrade to full frame in the future.

There are certain things one can't replicate with the 7D. For example, the 5DII with the 24L is something that doesn't exist with the 7D. Then again, 200mm on the 7D is MUCH further out than a 200 on the 5DII... I shot action sports and motorsports, so naturally it was the 7D for me. A 300/2.8 on a 5DII is mucho pricey compared to things such as the 200/2.8 on a 7D which was my setup for a while.

if you already have the 600D, the 5D is the easy choice.
plus i hear it is ok for photography, if you like that kind of thing.

IMO, none of the current crop of canon dslr's are worth upgrading for. Buying as a second body, sure, but not worth the money to sell your old body and get a new one. My advice is to hang on to your 600D a little while and see what comes next.

I have both cameras and they both have excellent video quality. I found 7D easier to work in video mode but what really makes 5dII shine is its ability to take far better videos in low light conditions. I think this is because of its larger sensor. I also find the manual sound adjustment of 5DII very useful and actually it improves the sound quality a lot when used with an external microphone compared to 7D.

One other important difference... 7D runs on double processors and it heats up easily and may disrupt your footage during long usage. 5DII doesn't have any heating issues.

To be fair, the LCD on the 5D Mk. II doesn't swivel either, so I don't think the
7D should be faulted for that if we're only comparing these two cameras.


I was only comparing the 7D and 600D which the OP already has.

If one already has the 600D, then except for weather sealing and better battery life, I don't see any real advantages of the 7D over the 600D for video, especially if you load Magic Lantern on the 600D.

The advantage of the 7D over the 600D is that HDMI stays at 1080 during recording. That could be important if you use a monitor or EVF.

Any suggestions of which is worth to upgrade to? 7D's are going new for a body in this part of the world for $1300 and 5D2 for around $2K.
if you can budget extra cost of 5D, it's easy to choose, just emagine 5D and 7D cost the same, whch one you want?

No one has mentioned the Bokei yet, which is different on the 5 from the 7. More 'squishy' if that's the right way to say it. Some folks say "jello" but I don't' find see it that way. I've had clients say they don't like the 'look' of the out of focus parts of the 5 image, and prefer the 7D.

As to overheating, I sold a T2i which had overheating problems for the 7D, and I've never overheated using it, but maybe it's because I'm in a cooler climate? I do sometimes shoot performances that require me to shoot continuous 12 minute clips, so I think I would have seen it. ?

All the other debate points are valid, as to lenses etc. I work in the rain and fog a lot up here so the 7D with it's sealed body (with the right lenses) was the choice. As to the 24 mm on the 5d, I bought a wonderful higher end Tokina that gets me to 16, which seems pretty close. (I like wide angle over telephoto in general)

Whatever you do, I've found the addition of an Anton Bauer eclipz to be really the way to get around the ridiculously short lived batteries. If you are shooting for hours a day, the AB's are a great addition. They run forever it seems. I mount them on rails or under the camera if I have to use it in the field without the rails. I assume you can use them on either the 5 or 7.

You didn't say whether you were shooting theatrical or documentary. That might affect the choice.

Bokeh and jello are different.

Bokeh refers to the quality of things that are out of focus in the image. The quality is generally related to lenses.

The 5D2 has a larger sensor, so it offers a shallower depth of field with the same view at the same f/stop. In other words, all things being equal, the out of focus areas of the 5D is more out of focus than with the 7D. But the beauty, or bokeh, of the out of focus areas depends mainly on the lens.

Jello has to do with rolling shutter. The top of the frame is captures before the bottom of the frame. When you pan quickly, vertical lines turn to diagonal lines and look like jello. :)

Hi Al,

You mentioned the addition of an Anton Bauer eclipz. Can you provide a link to this product if this is ok with the site managers?

Does this system do away with the Canon batteries? If so, this may be what I'm looking for as I use a lot of Canon batteries on a full day of shooting.

Cheers

The 7D is a poor choice for video unless you need rugged weatherproofing. It uses the same batteries so if you already owned a 5D it might be an option. The video is the same quality whichever APS-C Canon DSLR you choose so a 7D will be no better than your current 600D. The 5D has much better low light performance & a better choice of wide angle lenses plus the whole full frame shallow DoF look that is so attractive.

Bokeh is often a figment of a clients imagination...or more likely the real affect of slightly more DOF in the 7D using lenses with similar FOV. :)

I've understood what Bokei is, thanks. The jello issue I always attributed to people describing some aspects of bokei, but likely I just misunderstood. I have thought that the DOF was great with the 5, I liked it's bokei, but hearing some clients complain, I realize it's pushing the envelope about what some people expect.

the 5D also has slightly more dynamic range than the 7D, which is never a bad thing...

Depends what you shoot.
If its anything longer than 12 mins you need Magic lantern to auto restart.
Without it the camera becomes useless.
7d has no ML

You might be right Tony, but it sure seemed that when things were out of focus (backgrounds) on the 5D they were way more like "jello" than on my similarly equipped 7D at about the same FOV. He could have had a 1.8 as compared to my 2.8 I suppose. That could affect the look and feel. Whatever, the client did not like it and said so.

Simon, I have been less than accurate this week in my posts...(G). It's ELIPZ that I have.
Anton/Bauer - 7.2V Camera Batteries and Accessories (http://www.antonbauer.com/Products/Lines/ElipZ)
(I have no commercial interest in this product)

Yes, it replaces the battery, by using the Canon AC adapter (I don't remember the part number), you have to undo the battery door, and the cord slides through a little slot next to the door. Then you plug the cable into the ELIPZ adapter instead of into the AC adapter. The battery is big enough that you will have to mount it on a rail system, figure out a mounting bracket for the thing, or it can mount under the camera. AB has thoughtfully designed it to have a screw mount underneath and a removeable camera tripod mount on top. It's a little awkward but does the job. Would likely work as well with the 5. If you need a lot of power throughout the day, and you are not doing run and gun, I think it works well.

Yes, the 5 is better video quality overall, from what I've seen on friends 5's. And yes, I've had some low light experience on dimly lit stages with the 7D and I do agree that it would have been nice to have the 5's larger sensor.

This short video sampler for an indoor bluegrass festival was shot with my 7D entirely. As you can see, some of it is not great,(especially stuff under fluorescent) and some really nice, with stage lighting. Handheld or using a monopod. I shot this and edited it on site the same day, so I didn't spend a lot of time color grading it. (which is why I post it, as it reflects a pretty much normal output of a 7D under typical inside low light before a lot of post). It was a quick turnaround to boost attendance.
Wintergrass Friday - A Taste of Wintergrass 2011 - YouTube