Sell a Canon HV40 and XSi to buy a T2i?

[Michael Clark]

Could someone help me add to my pros and cons list for selling one of my Canon HV40s and buying a T2i? Or just give me your opinion on if you think I should do it. I'm actually going to have to sell both a HV40 and a Canon XSi to cover the cost of the T2i, but I don't use the XSi professionally. Right now my setup is three HV40s. I'm just a little nervous about making the switch over to a DSLR.

1) HV40s are 1080i, T2i is 1080p. (Will this be a problem in post?)
2) T2i is limited to 12 minutes at full res, which means I'll have to keep it close during ceremonies.
3) HV40 has a 35mm equiv. focal length of 43 - 436. I would have a 15-55 IS lens and a 55-250mm IS lens for the T2i.
4) Better low light performance for the T2i.
5) Better DoF for the T2i.

[Ian Holb]

Expect to spend a fair amount of money on fast lenses for the T2i. The kit lenses don't cut it for low light work. I bought a Canon EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM for $1150 as my main lens for general use. Be sure to include f1.8 or f1.4 primes in 30mm to 85mm for reception and dark churches. Expect to spend $$$$ for these. A cheaper alternative is to rent them for a few gigs to see which ones you use most often.

[Michael Clark]

Thanks for the tip. My low light comparison was more of an assumption on my part. I do wonder how the T2i kit lens would compare with the HV40 though, as I've not been very pleased with it at receptions (although my Comer 900 helps out quite a bit!).

[Joel Peregrine]

Hi Michael,

Originally Posted by Michael Clark

Could someone help me add to my pros and cons list for selling one of my Canon HV40s and buying a T2i? Or just give me your opinion on if you think I should do it. I'm actually going to have to sell both a HV40 and a Canon XSi to cover the cost of the T2i, but I don't use the XSi professionally. Right now my setup is three HV40s. I'm just a little nervous about making the switch over to a DSLR.

Originally Posted by Michael Clark

1) HV40s are 1080i, T2i is 1080p. (Will this be a problem in post?)

What editing platform and application do you use?

Originally Posted by Michael Clark

2) T2i is limited to 12 minutes at full res, which means I'll have to keep it close during ceremonies.

Yep, not to mention the threat of overheating.

Originally Posted by Michael Clark

3) HV40 has a 35mm equiv. focal length of 43 - 436. I would have a 15-55 IS lens and a 55-250mm IS lens for the T2i.

You will not be able to get as tight and the 55-250 is at f/5.6 at full zoom. In darker churches you'll be up at 3200 iso on the t2i and the grain at that level is noticeable.

Originally Posted by Michael Clark

4) Better low light performance for the T2i.

As Ian says it depends on your lens. The difference between having an f2.8 lens rather than an and f5.6 is the difference between the picture quality at iso 400 and iso 1600. The value of fast lenses can't be overstated. But they bring with them a very narrow depth of field, which is aesthetically useful, but not easy to control.

Originally Posted by Michael Clark

5) Better DoF for the T2i.

Can be a con if you're not dead on with focus.

That being said I took the plunge. Hope I don't regret it. I'm going to run one or both of my HV30's for ceremonies as safety angles along with three T2i's just in case.

[Dave Blackhurst]

With all due respect to the "glamour" image that the DSLR-V offers, to me the 12 minute limit (and the overheat potential) are deal killers - this means it's ALWAYS a manned camera, which is fine if you've got a couple others rolling (preferably cameras WITHOUT a "time limit"), but death waiting at your door in a "one shot shoot" if you don't take it into account. More stress in a live shoot... up to you.

OTOH, I'm waiting to see what Sony brings to the table in the Alpha series (they are coming... eventually). Sony P&S cameras shoot for longer periods (still only about 15-17 minutes, 30 best case), but every bit helps. I want to see if some of the image issues are ironed out, not knocking the Canon, but they don't seem to do too well with certain patterns/repeating textures - still it's been hard NOT to pick up a T2i for what it DOES do well!

For the places it's appropriate, the shallow DoF is hard to beat, but as has been noted, it's not necessary for the sauce to overpower the meat...

Having a DSLR-V as a tool, for what it does well, is without a doubt a great idea. I played with a friends D90 (bought because I said "well, if you need to buy a new body anyway...") for about a minute, and that was enough to "sell" me on the possibilities... when I can buy a body to go with some of the nice old Minolta glass I've already got, I'll be all over it. It won't replace a "video camera" for everything, but will have its place as a tool.

I've already started to use a Sony P&S with 1080i video for "personal use", just because it's so small, and it gets great results - I've even contemplated it as a discrete supplemental multi-angle cam... it could be put in places where even a "small" video camera might be too obtrusive... it's an interesting "tool" too!