5DII vs 7D vs HD 'prosumer' video camera?

Im looking to get some direction from those with experience/knowledge of high end video cameras.
We need the highest quality video we can get with a $3-4k or less budget.
We will be using this equipment to shoot anything from promo videos to sit down interviews. The type of video will be of roadways and associated construction applications both daytime & at night. We will also be shooting indoor manufacturing as well as 1 on 1 interviews.

Right now Im looking at the Sony HVR-Z5U or Canon XH-A1s but since researching I am now seriously considering the 5DII. My only concern would be it's quality of say a roadside shot with traffic flow, would that high speed action (probably the only type of high speed action I would shoot) be a problem for the 5D? This would be my only concern and would prefer the full frame over the 7D (I already have a 40D for longer stills).

I appreciate any input you guys can offer?

I have shot video with both 5d2 and 7d. 7d would do 60fps for you, 5d2 does not till the firmware is updated (later this year). they are both very good.

it's more about scene length. If you shoot scenes longer than 13min, you need a camcorder. Then again, unless you are shooting Hitchcock's "Rope", or a hour long interview you don't need to.

basroil wrote in post #9353412
it's more about scene length. If you shoot scenes longer than 13min, you need a camcorder. Then again, unless you are shooting Hitchcock's "Rope", or a hour long interview you don't need to.

Oh I totally agree! My idea of an interview would be a free flow conversation that you can pull excerpts out to tell your story. 60 mins style if you will.

Sumoto wrote in post #9353623
Oh I totally agree! My idea of an interview would be a free flow conversation that you can pull excerpts out to tell your story. 60 mins style if you will.

In that case you still don't need to worry about the 13 min limit, but you'll want someone halfway intelligent behind the camera

I don't know if you have considered it or not, but the Canon HF S100 is a really good camera for an inexpensive price.
I may not fully understand what you really need, but I thought I'd mention it, in case...

Look at some of the videos they have on Vimeo, that's how I made up my mind when I got mine.
(I use mine for fun though, so your uses may vary a lot)
http://www.vimeo.com/v​ideos/search:hf%20s100

You might do a search on other places, or read reviews about it, it really is something, and it's only around $899., I got mine off of Amazon a few months ago...

Also, just to mention, the only difference between the HF S100, and the HF S 10 is one has a hard-drive, the other runs off of a SD card, the HF S100 has that, no motor noises, no problems whatsoever.

If I misunderstood, and you 'have to have' a pro camera, this would work, I think, but it's not considered one.
This looks as HD as HD can get on my LCD bigscreen T.V., perfect!

Randy

Some things to consider...
All in all (without having tested these cameras myself) I suspect that the video image quality from 5d will be better than the video cameras. You can shoot through some really amazing glass with very little noise as compared to the smaller ccd cameras, not to mention shooting full 1920x1080 rather than 1440x1080 that has to be stretched horizontally to fill an HD screen.

Cars driving by shouldn't be a problem. There may be some minor distortion due to the 5D's rolling shutter, but if the compression scheme is your concern, keep in mind that both the 5D and the miniHDV cameras use MPEG based intra-frame compression.

That said, the 5D will typically involve a bit more setup each time you take it out of the case than the HD cam-corders on your list (unless you leave the 5D in a case with mic, lens and CF Card all locked & loaded, ready to go). The camcorders have more long-life battery options than the 5D.

You may want to double check if the 5D has a zebra bars or live histogram in video mode (I haven't checked, but I tend to use them extensively to keep an eye on my video levels when shooting interviews).

Long form interviews can be a challenge with the 5D. You'll need to keep an eye on the CF card capacity. On the flip side, you should be able to "capture" video MUCH faster from a CF card through a high-speed Firewire800 reader than you could from tape. If most of what you're doing can be done with shorter takes, the 5D should be fine in this regard.

If you are doing sit down interviews, the audio on the 5d/7d is not good. You would need another way of recording the audio and sync the 2 in post.

Another thing to consider is workflow. I have both the XHA1 and the 7D, I can capture XH footage and start editing it in it's HDV format on my macbook pro which is nice. With the 7D I have to convert the H.264 codec to prores after dumping it which takes more time. A couple other things, If you wanna "run and gun" your gonna have to buy some kind of rig for the DSLR and maybe some kind of follow focus (not sure how professional you want your footage). Consider audio as well, I would not record audio on a DSLR for a high quality production as the AGC (auto gain control) can't be turned off, nor does it natively have a XLR cable or a way to control audio levels. Not trying to discourage you but if your thinking about trying to save a few bucks while getting a higher quality look you have to consider the fringe expenses. Aside from all that you can get some freaking sweet shots with a DSLR as I'm sure you already know.

Now a days these dSLR's can shoot better than some prosumer cameras. At my production company we work with an HVX200, and it is a great camera. However, the quality I am seeing from these dSLR's and how they put out at 1080p/24p is incredible.

I don't see why you couldn't shoot on a 7D or a 5DII, although the 5DII is limited to 30frames. However, you would need an external audio capture device. When I shoot on my old bolex 16mm film cam we would use a marantz to capture and later sync sound in post.

It will probably be more effort in post to have to sync your marantz sound data with your 7D data, but the image quality is going to be amazing. Also, you are probably going to need a shoulder rig if you decide to go with the dSLR for vid capture. www.redrockmicro.com has created a pretty amazing rig for filmmakers who use a dSLR, http://shopping.netsui​te.com …472981&sc=2&cat​egory=1789

you dont need an external
Beachtek has an external unit that plugs intot he 3.5mm, and has an optoin for AGC control. it emits a tone that turns it off. THEN lest you use XLRs

Juiced Link has a gizmo to defeat the AGC also. It looks like a rather simple/elegant solution to it.