Research info wanted - DSLR Video vs Camcorder

MN_Nice

Active member
Hey guys, I am doing a research paper on DSLR vs. Camcorder's in the use of video. Whats better with a DSLR? What are the downsides? Will DSLR's become a big factor in major video production? Examples of it's use (ex. Episodes of House being recorded with a 5DMkII)? Anything.

Any pages such as in a forum you know concerning this will be greatly appreciated and also feel free to give me your opinion.

+K for this. And don't just post a site you found on the first page of google, I've seen them already. Thanks!
 
DSLR- Pros - Better in low light, better Depth of field, tons of lens options Cons - Hard to stabilize, on camera mic's are way worse., no auto focus yet
Camcorder- Pros - better image stabilization, auto focus, better mics Cons - not as good in low light, bad depth of field
Thats all I can think of right now... hope that helps
 
maybe, I really haven't read anything about it yet... I just know the AF on the d7000 was super shitty so it depends on if its a different system
 
All AF on DSLR's is shitty - and no, the 5100 doesn't have AF (I'm pretty sure), they DO have awesome 'night vision' though (aka ISO 120.000 or something like that)

The best AF on DSLR's for video would be by Sony, but it still sucks.
 
it claims to, but i bet it's the same shitty (maybe slightly improved) autofocus system that was on previous nikons. don't quote me on that though.
you can even get 'autofocus' on the T2i if you magic lantern it, but it's still a useless function.
the only way to get autofocus on a DSLR is to have some sort of weird sensor that Sony uses; I don't think Nikon uses the same kind.

 
OP, here are a few more.
DSLR pros: cheap, bigger sensor (which has already been hinted at in the first reply)cons: basically no ability to zoom while filming
 
yea he touched on most of them. One of the biggest problems with DSLR's is that the depth of field is so small that achieving perfect focus, especially for moving objects is extremely hard. It can be a difference in one millimeter on your focus ring and with the small LCD screens that come with the DSLR's its hard to even see if you are in focus or not. DSLR's are good for shoots that are planned out or static like shooting narrative films or interviews, but shooting fast paced things like action sports can often be very difficult to achieve perfect focus.
Also, depending on what you're doing, not having professional quality sound is a huge downside. DSLR's do not have XLR inputs so you cannot use 99% of the microphones made out there unless you buy a separate mixer that runs off its own power. Then you've got the issue with synching your sound in post production. I'm not saying you can't get good quality audio from them, but any mic that is brought in through 1/8th inch audio is not going to be as good as something brought in through XLR.
Also DSLR's have what is called a rolling shutter that can produce nasty artifacts when you pan the camera too fast. this rolling shutter and also just the physical shape of the DSLR's makes it extremely hard to keep the camera stable when shooting handheld so I try to never shoot a DSLR without some sort of tripod or shoulder mount.
Also there is something called latitude. This equates to the number of f/stops that a camera can produce detail in. Basically how many different levels of light the camera can hold before it either is completely rendered black or blown out white. Film is said to handle 8 stops of light, digital camcorders are said to hold around 6, and DSLR's are said to hold around 5. Now this was told to me by a film professor who is obsessed with film and hates digital so I would research that before you go claiming it in a paper. But basically, camcorders will have more detail in the shaded and brighter areas.
One thing that I have learned through my experience in shooting different kinds of cameras is that the most important object for producing and high quality of shot is not the size of the sensor but the optics. The glass is what does most of the work, and most camcorders have fixed lenses that you cannot change. This is why I prefer DSLR's because they have interchangeable lenses, each different lens specific for a certain situation. These photography lens's have a look similar to that of film, and like the guy said before me, have much more depth of field which I love.
hope that helps
 
not entirely true about the audio. if you buy a mixer (such as a beachtek or juicedlink), they have XLR inputs and then route that audio into the camera via a 1/8 jack. so your sound is synched with the video and records in the same file as the video, giving you one video file with sound
you were probably thinking of a recorder like the h4n?

also, you are partially right about the importance of optics, but i disagree a tiny bit. the bigger the sensor, the better the low light performance is, the higher the level of detail is, the more color information there is, and the shallower the depth of field is
 
Ok lets cleear up the focus issue. Its not the sensor in sony that makes it have good af. Its a semi transluscent miror. Its the only one which doesnt use contrast focus ( which is why other dslr video focus sucks ass) the focus on dslr is taken off of the miror but with the mirror lifted, the focus cant be done so it reads contrast i formation frkm the sensor to find shapes and place the focus.
 
Awesome guys! Thanks a ton. Any way I can get more info on the camcorder side to compare it to the DSLR's?
 
You ask, you receive. In shooting with regular cameras you have tools that come with it to help you, these are not available in dslrs.

zebra: this tells you the region where your highlights go above a certain amount and helps you expose properly. disclaimer: magic lantern adds this to your t2i

2: good video cameras have vectorscopes and at least histograms. the vectorscope tells you what color your total image is leaning towards and the histogram is for exposure.

3: they usualy have balanced xlr inputs for better quality audio.

4: Timecode can be used to sync two cameras together with little effort. dslr doesnt have a timecode

5: recording time on a dslr is shorter: around 12 minutes since the sensor heats up fast. video camera can record almost infinately.

 
I wish I could give you guys more karma. Hahaha. Seriously, thanks.

One last thing, do you think that DSLR's will play a larger role in future productions of movies and such?
 
nope, not at all, they were a wake up call for camera manufacturers to create micro four thirds interchangeable lens cameras like the panasonic af 100 which have the best of both worlds. these cameras are the future.

this would be a good ending note for your paper
 
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