New: Canon Rebel T2i Digital SLR

[Matt Davis]

Let me get this straight - because this is important for me (the difference between buying a 7D and the 550 in fact).

The LCD screen (live video) is 100% on both cameras?

I've assumed that I'll be buying a viewfinder in any case.

[Daniel von Euw]

Here is an offical Canon T2i (550D) Video:
YouTube - Canon EOS 550D sample video

Truely have the T2i the same DoF because the camera have the same sensor size (APS-C) like the 7D.


Daniel von Euw

[Mike Calla]

Originally Posted by Matt Daviss

(...)The irritation of careful framing at shoot time vs edit time spent matting out the lamp stand or zooming up to get rid of the cable may be worth the extra £300 in the long term. (...)

I think the 5/7D footage crops rather well, a little anyways.

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

I notice that the cheaper 550D/T2i has a few improved options over the 7D, such as more screen pixels, more ISO Exposure compensation to -+5.0 EV etc while keeping important aspects such as stereo mic and manual aperture/shutter speed in video mode etc.

Obviously there has to be some sacrifice, such as less pop-flash coverage, slower high-speed continuous frames etc. I'm not sure if the BG-E8 ups the frame rate slightly, but I doubt it.

Probably the biggest difference is build quality and weather sealing. A big plus for the 7D...although you could always buy a couple of the lightweight 550Ds and keep one as a spare.

On the 5D Mark II front (taking into account how much Canon is improving video options in every DSLR update)...I can bet that the eventual 5d Mark III will offer a lot more in terms of improvements at a similar price level when compared to an older 5D Mark II with 2010 firmware update.

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

I would think that a viewer would see no real visible difference in actual video quality between the 7D & 550D/T2i shot with the same lenses, so really it all boils down to if you require better build quality and faster high-speed continuous rates for still images.

[Nigel Barker]

I already own a 5DII but have been tempted to buy a 7D for the 24/25fps 720p50 plus the longer reach of the crop sensor turning my 200mm into a 300mm equivalent. Looking at the specs on this camera for video it looks like I was wise not to jump in immediately & buy a 7D as it appears to do all I want at half the price.

[Brendan Donohue]

Really excited about the full features of this camera at it's price point!! Is there still the 12 min. recording limitation with this?? will this limitation be lifted when exFAT compact flash cards are introduced??

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

Yes and no. Yes the recording time limit is the same, and no, the limit will not be lifted because it does not relate to exFAT compact flash cards or any other card.

[Bill Koehler]

Originally Posted by Matt Daviss

Let me get this straight - because this is important for me (the difference between buying a 7D and the 550 in fact).

The LCD screen (live video) is 100% on both cameras?

I've assumed that I'll be buying a viewfinder in any case.

LiveView, which is fed by the sensor, isn't going to care much about what's going on in the viewfinder optical path. I would be shocked if LiveView wasn't 100%.

If someone knows/has seen where it says different, I am more than willing to be proved wrong, even if the news is bad.

[Paul Nixon]

Looking at the sample video YouTube - Canon EOS 550D sample video can someone comment on the quality versus the Panasonic GH1? There's quite a lot of GH1 footage out there and I've seen a few instances where the codec breaks down, but I'm not sure how often that's going to be an issue in my footage. My amateur impression is the Canon footage is lacking somehow. One clip isn't much to go on, of course.

The T2i definitely has the advantage in terms of price over the GH1, but the GH1 does autofocus in video mode and, according to the manual, can record up to 4 hours of full-HD video (using a 32GB card and DC power supply). GH1 also has the advantage of smaller size (but also the "disadvantage" of smaller image sensor).

I currently use HDV - a Sony HC1 and a Canon HV30. The Canon I bought with the hopes of exploiting the 24p mode, but the camera seems to have quickly developed a problem with glitches while recording to tape that I don't use it much. The Sony has been more reliable over the years, but it's had it share of dropouts, too, and I'm tired of them. So I'm hoping recording to memory card will fix that particular issue. Also, my editors are Pinnacle Studio 11, Avid Liquid 7, and Edius Neo, if it matters.

So, $900 for the Canon, or $1200 for the GH1?

[Monday Isa]

Hey Paul till these cameras get into peoples hands there is no way to judge the quality at all. There are so many things that is going wrong with the clip posted on youtube. First off the producer of the video probably had the camera in Auto the whole time filming it. It was probably shot with a kit lens and if it was shot in Auto as I believe that means that the lens is at f8-f16 with out a ND filter. Diffraction will affect the perceived sharpness. The reason for beautiful perceived sharp 5D/7D/1D video out there is because people know how to use it. This video is just to show off the camera. On top of all that The video is compressed by youtube. All people can do is wait for the camera to hit the streets and have people who are more aware of how to use the camera start to post footage....If I were in your shoes these cameras will slowly be getting into the hands of people the end of the month in EU so if you can wait I'd wait a bit more before making a decision. Take Care

[Kyle Root]

Originally Posted by Manus Sweeney

i have a silly selfish worry that the film look that these things can give and the wow factor it can bring when others (and clients!) see the video is going to become quite everyday and i'll have to work much harder to please!

on the other hand video skills will always come from the operator and a cheap camera with huge potential wont necessarily produce greatness in the wrong hands..

in any case i plan on taking advantage of the wow factor as much as possible while it still exists!

I agree with your post and in particular wonder about your first statement.

We've seen what has happened to the photography market in, say the past 5 years. DSLRs have become fairly reasonable and every body and their brother it seems is starting a photography company. I live in town of about 60,000 people and I search around online every so often (google and craigslist) and find entirely new people offering photo services every few weeks.

I have yet to see the sudden explosion of video companies out there, but I'm guessing that as these DSLRs become cheaper and feature laden, there will probably be a similar effect in the video world.

Either way, from a consumer standpoint having a camera that does both high quality photos and videos at a very economical price is a very attractive thing. I mean, I love being able to carry around my almost 1-year old Nikon D90 and take video of my 18-mo old son when the occassion arises. It's nice not having to lug around a video camera too.

This new Rebel has a very impressive feature set. It'll be interesting to see what other updates Canon makes to their DSLR line-up.

[Paul Nixon]

Hi Monday and thanks for the quick reply.

Your point about the youtube compression is well taken - I wondered the same thing when watching.

About the overall lack of wow in the Canon footage - what concerns me is that I'm under the impression this footage comes from Canon (Europe) and I would expect that because it's supposed to showcase the new camera it would be shot under the most ideal conditions. It doesn't appear to have been shot by someone like me playing around, though I'll be more than happy to accept your suggestion (and why not, my expectations are often far removed from reality, LOL).

I had hoped there would be more footage available - like the GH1 was launched in Japan and we had quite a bit of footage prior to the US launch, but in checking Youtube it doesn't look like the Canon was done the same way.

The good news is that I've got a bit of time before I actually buy.

Thanks again.

[Ken Diewert]

Originally Posted by Kyle Root

I have yet to see the sudden explosion of video companies out there, but I'm guessing that as these DSLRs become cheaper and feature laden, there will probably be a similar effect in the video world.

Kyle,

Affordable HV series cams have been around for awhile and if used properly can produce some great images. These are far easier for a prosumer to use than a dSLR. To shoot even reasonably 'pro' looking video with these you need at least a decent tripod, or stability rig, decent lenses, and a pro-level mic.

I think the impact of these cams (T2i) may influence the amateur 'film-maker' more than the guy who says 'this is what I was waiting for' to start a video production company.

Remember that dSLR replaced film - that was a startling and dynamic revolution that changed photography forever. Amateur (read: new photogs) who shoot weddings for cheap will shoot 1,000 to 2,500 stills at a wedding! And with Photoshop and plug-ins becoming do-able with cheap computer processing available, it's no wonder that every 4th person you meet is a wedding photographer.

Even a blind dog finds a bone once in awhile.

[Michiel van Baasbank]

Originally Posted by Kyle Root

I have yet to see the sudden explosion of video companies out there, but I'm guessing that as these DSLRs become cheaper and feature laden, there will probably be a similar effect in the video world.

I'm not so sure, Kyle. Seems to me it takes a whole lot more to make good vids than good pics. Audio for example, most people here use an external sound recorder like the zoom. Think about the rig, the focus monitor... all that plus the whole postproduction, editing it into a nice clip, choosing the right music, exporting it DVD or internet and all... it's not only pressing the shutter button and presto! (I don't underestimate however the professional photographers who spend hours on lights, composition, and polishing the shot, but I think a good video takes a LOT more work all in all).

I can imagine it can be difficult to tell sometimes if a photograph is taken by a professional photographer or just a (serious) amateur with a DSLR.

I know many people (clients) percieve a video which stands out from the ordinary (like the 7D footage's WOW-factor) as professional looking, simply because there always was a big difference between home video an professional's footage, just in footage quality. But even if the amateur's source footage becomes 7D-quality, that still doesn't make a professional video. Using lots of cheesy transitions, unstable shots, simple pre-designed music... nah, if you're willing to spend lots of money on good lenses, audio equipment, focus monitors, rigs&rails, then you must be serious about the editing process too...

(However, sometimes I see what paid videographers in my country produce and how much they charge for it and I think to myself... unbelievable that people pay that much for pure rubbish imho)

So bottomline: I agree that the number of videographers getting great 'footage' will increase, and that many will also try to get professional jobs, but still I think the difference between the (semi-)professional and the amateur in the end will be big enough for serious clients.