Cameras for filming skiing?

N

nollietails

Member
K+ for some relevant advice

I'm wondering what camera to get to film with. I already have a gopro HD Hero, which is good for what it does, but looking for something a tad easier to actually frame stuff with and get more aesthetically pleasing shots.

I have a budget of around $900 (£600) at a maximum, but I'd also like to get some kind of basic glidecam / steadycam with that budget.

I've been looking at the Canon 550D - but it seems a bit pricey, and two of my friends who have them both have the same issue where this weird little bar (sort of like a battery bar - but not the battery bar itself) pops up mid-screen and it just stops recording - apparently this is something to do with the write speed (but we tried to fix it by getting faster SD cards - but to no avail).

I think I'd prefer an SLR with HD video capacity just because there seems to be so much more you can do with the lens, focus and field depth of shots, and they just seem to produce really nice looking footage. However I'm not against getting a pure HD video camera that I can then attach various filters to to attempt to get the same effects. I don't really know that much so +K for help even if it's just saying what you film with and the pros and cons.

 
DSLR's

-Canon T2i

-Nikon 5100

-Nikon 5000 - not a fantastic camera but can get the job done

Other

-Panasonic TM-700 (shoots in 1080p 60p)

Glidecams

- A glidecam 2000-xr is well over $350 dollars and that is what you probably would need

- You can make your own glidecam that is very useful for under 70 bucks

https://www.newschoolers.com/ns/forums/readthread/thread_id/688174/

-link for building your own glidecam

The pros of having a DSLR are obviously the different options you have with manual video, and ISO, Apeture, and shutter speed. Obviously you can also do photography

With a camcorder, you can take much longer video duration but not as great photos or stills. Also you usally don't have to spend money on seperate lenses. Hope this helps

 
This. Also, I highly suggest getting a CamCaddie Scorpion and attaching a high-quality outboard mic on it. It's super ideal for filming ski/skate and you can get super dope low angle shots with it. They're also really inexpensive so you can get an extra lens or an LED monitor to fill the $900

www.Camcaddie.com
 
The issue your friends are having with their 550D is the write speed of the memory card being used. The bar that shows up on the display is the write buffer left between camera and card. If the camera can't write to the card fast enough it stops recording because it has no place to put the data. The number on a memory card denotes the minimum MB/sec that can be written to a card. Typically in stores you see Class 4 cards (so 4 MB/sec minimum write speed) but with the 550D or any other DSLR shooting video you should try to get a Class 10 SD card. They can be hard to find in stores and are typically way more expensive, so I would order one online.

If you are going to buy a DSLR my suggestion would be to buy the camera body without the kit lens (18 - 55mm on the 550D/T2i) and then spend what you have left on a decent lens. Figure out what/how you are going to be shooting, do some research, and pick a lens that fits your needs. The 550D body is not a bad place to start, build from there.
 
Meh, if you're just a bunch of friends having fun at the hill and just filming to make som fun-edits, GoPro's work just fine. You can use them at the pool as well. And they are pretty durable in general. But if you're making webisodes or want high quality stuff, as of being a more serious ski "crew", go for something more... Serious. like Nikon etc.
 
Cheers for the advice - yeah we thought that was the issue, but as I referred to above we got a couple of high end SD cards from amazon (think they were the ScanDisk Extreme Class 10) and we still had the same issue... that is why im slightly hesitant to buy canon. On the + side I already have a 450D so the lenses I have for that will be interchangable with the 550D / T2i
 
then if i were u i would pick up the 550D/T2i...and if u already have lenses then it would save you some $$
 
Do not get a 550d. Seriously, just dont. Anyone in M&A will tell you the same thing. Its a handful when it comes to how much you have to spend to get a decent image. It all adds up. Tripod, lenses, camera body, filters, batteries, and other stuff is gonna be expensive. You also NEED some sort of stabilization for a dslr. A panasonic tm700/900 is a great camcorder. Everyone that owns one seems to like it. Id go with that or a lower end canon camcorder.
 
Were you having these problems in both high and low light? If only in low light check the metering system and try and get more light into low light shots plus check if the noise reduction is on as my friend was having similar problems and solved it by changing these things
 
You could get a t3i for £350 and you could either make a glidecam or probably buy mine(

I'm trying out designs currently and I'd sell it for cost ) or get a tripod, and get a decent lens.
 
if you read the rest of my fucking post, then you would know why. A t2i for someone with a 1k proce range is a terrible idea
 
ditto to this, people are fucking idiots about spending people's money on cameras that are over budget/over someone's head. most t2i reccomendations make me wanna scream, get realistic/actually educated on the subject matter or stop giving bad advice on how to blow a thousand dollars. /rant
 
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