Canon EOS 60D and Video

[iainnic]

OK - here we go

I've a 50d and its great - but I've noticed that the 60d does HD video as well. My thoughts are that this would save having to carry the old handycam around as well as the 50d , but I've not found anyone who's used a 60d for this purpose

Anyone out there used one for video and stills ? I'm assuming the 60D will be fine with stills , as per the 50d

Iain

[The Cameraman]

Hi Iain,

I ahven't used one for video myself but go to this site for a full review of the product.

Canon EOS 60D Review: Digital Photography Review

Regards

Reggie

[jpyrek]

I have a 60D and use it for videos as stills. I'd say that 98% of my usage is for photos and 2% for video. Don't let that lead you to believe that it reflects a poor camera, more just my usage and what I care about.

Most of the time when I do video it is going to be 10-30 seconds of something cool happening, although I did take two videos of about 15 minutes in length of us trying to wrestle three cars off of a barge in Sudan after we came from Egypt.

One of the limits of the video is that it can only do 15 minutes at a time. For most people this won't be a huge issue, but can be disappointing if one isn't expecting it. The only real "negative" I have on the video stuff is the fact that you can't smoothly change zoom and focus with the camera.

What we did (and we met a lot of others while traveling which did the same..) was to have our DSLRs and then a cheap-o video camera. For $150 you can get a great camcorder that does HD video. Even a guy that had a 5D had a camcorder because he said he likes to be able to do quick stills and then be able to do video as well ,quickly with a seperate unit.

THere are a plethora of great reviews out there, but I'd would just ask yourself how much video do you expect to take, what kind of video you want to take, and how that will impact photos you might want to shoot.

Also (and obviously), we found that video from the camcorder was much steadier as you have a much better grip and it weights easily only 20-25% as much as a DSLR with a good lens on it.

Hope that helps!

[DougieB]

hey,

late reply, but hey... I've been researching DSLR video making over the last weeks, as I'm contemplating making a documentary. the 60D seems a popular low-end (relative) choice for film-makers (indie, documentary, etc). The main drawbacks with it (and DSLR's in general) are that you pretty much need a tripod to do shake-free video. The tripod would then need to be fluid-head if you want smooth panning.

Obviously, you're not going to get zoom and auto-focus with the DSLR approach to filming. So, you need to plan out your filming ahead, and that may limit the type of shots you take. The lack of auto-focus with zoom means film makers (from what I've gathered) often opt for prime lenses (fixed focal length), and plan out the shoots more creatively. Prime lenses have the bonus of delivering higher quality images (over zoom's). The downside for travellers is that means extra lenses; though you could just use your zoom lense of course.

DSLR film-making is quite an interesting topic. Plenty to read on the Internet about it. The big draw of DSLR (and the 60D) is the ability to record HD with more visual control and quality than many low/mid camcorders. The cost is more planning and effort, and more equipment. I'm interested in (and talking relative to) broadcast quality film.

where are you films going to be shown; web, home, sent to the BBC ? I'd suggest, unless you're intending to make a broadcast film, then carrying your handycam is the best and cheapest option. Or, if you have money you need to spend, then the 60D is a good upgrade anyway.

[RTWbyBIKE.com]

my 50D does Video as well, not officially but you can put a new firmware (not recommended though for long videos...):

userguide [Magic Lantern wiki]

anyhow I would install tis to all my Canon cameras, its really great what this software can do. I am using it every day and can not imagine working without it anymore... timelaps, HDR, various other settings which the original software (firmware) not offers... ML is jsut great! I love it!

[NearlyHomelessNick]

The short video limits come from the licensing laws, for example concerts. A professional photographer has to pay a licence fee of $x and video-grapher has to pay more, to make it fair the industry placed a time restriction on the recording. I'm not 100% sure but I believe this has been reviewed and newer DSLR have no resriction on time.
I use the Canon 5Ds mk2 and that can record longer.

May be urban myth but its what I was informed when I bought the new body.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BymshZ4behY

There's loads on youtube, this is a tad better, but he neglects to advise on using a Neutral Density filter for a few pounds instead of buying another lens
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR63vXkrcEQ

[jpyrek]

I'm limited to 15 minutes of video per file with the 60D...but then again it is photo camera first...and video as a nice add on.

The shakiness is a major downside, but again, as a bonus the video is great. I use it really only for really short videos 5 second - 15 seconds or so...of some event happening or something like that as opposed to trying to shoot something professional on it. Camcorder type is your best bet there. high quality, cheap price.

[Gipper]

The new Canon 70D, 20.2MP with a new APS-C 'Dual Pixel CMOS AF' sensor also seems to do impressive video with extremely quick and accurate focus, has a variable angle touchscreen which enables you to focus by touching an area of the screen. Ive read lots of reviews and while its still images are not quite as crisp as the Nikon D7100 (24 MP) the video seems better and the camera, though not perfect, has a decent set of features

here's a few reviews/ comparisons

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon_EOS_70D/ -Review

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-came...-35811192.html -Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4gM9Drpcoo - Excellent review of Video features

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOM4r1gxsbs - 70D v D7100 (34 minutes long)

I am hoping to pick up a 70D next week....