Canon 5d mkii OR Canon XH A1 camcorder

I have currenly have 5D and need a camcorder to produce some movie w/ my friends.

I was going to purchase HG20 or HV20 camcorders which were around $600. However, I was thinking my 5d value(hoefully $1300) + $600 = $1900.

But if i add $1200 on top of my 5d($1300) I can possibly can get 5d mkii or XH-A1 camcorder.

I can't really decide... which way I should go. my options are...

1. keep 5D and just buy hg 20 or something
2. get rid of 5d and, just buy XH-A1. It will be my least consideration..
3. get rid of 5d, just get 5D mkii and both functions, but still pricy..

if you mean youtube movie, cheap camcorder is great. If you mean full length indie films, xh or maybe 5dmkii. If none of your friends or yourself is a great editor when it comes to films, scale down your project, shoot with the cheapest stuff you can find, get the experience, THEN worry about the equipment.

Although Canon might disagree, I think purchasing the 5D2 as a video machine might not be the best move. I don't think its where its need to be yet.

The only real advantage to shooting DSLR video right now is one thing: lenses.

To get 85mm f/1.8 would cost you a fortune in video equipment, and every EF lens mounts, so you have a huge selection for not much money (in video production terms). DSLR video is poised to do great things.

What will you be shooting? The three options you outlined:

1. keep 5D and just buy hg 20 or something
2. get rid of 5d and, just buy XH-A1. It will be my least consideration..
3. get rid of 5d, just get 5D mkii and both functions, but still pricy..

are all very different...

I bought a 5D2, largely for film making. I love it, but it's pretty limiting as a general purpose video camera, though it does some things spectacularly well.

I only recommend it as a "video camera" to people who 1). have some experience and know and want its specific features, or 2). want it specifically to learn (learn, not produce) DSLR video.

Have you checked out cinema5d.com or dvinfo.net?

I, personally, don't understand people buying a 5DMk2 for the video - particularly crippled as Canon implemented this "feature" on a still camera.

Do yourself a favor and get a good HD cam/palmcorder and leave the 5DMk2 out of the picture. They're small/light enough to be carried around side-by-side a normal SLR.

We are not at that tech threshold yet which allows products to resemble one-product-does-everything Star Trek technology.

Keep an eye on the B&H used camcorder section. Every now and then a XH-A1 will come up for as little as $1500.

Why is this even a question?

XH-A1.

Doesn't it also depend on how bad he wants a Still Camera and Video Camera?
One option gets rid of his 5D...

This was sort of my delima, but I wanted video for short clips to put together in editing software with music and some dialog etc...of all kinds of stuff, my new born, my family, my friends, local bands, etc...so I'm going with the 5D Mark II.

I'm neither a pro still or pro video shooter but this camera will give me great IQ once I figure out how to use it...

kolok wrote in post #7875029
I, personally, don't understand people buying a 5DMk2 for the video - particularly crippled as Canon implemented this "feature" on a still camera.

Do yourself a favor and get a good HD cam/palmcorder and leave the 5DMk2 out of the picture. They're small/light enough to be carried around side-by-side a normal SLR.

We are not at that tech threshold yet which allows products to resemble one-product-does-everything Star Trek technology.

Interesting.

I believe, kolok, you recently made a well-reasoned argument against "simplistic arguments" on another thread . There are a lot of good reasons to buy a 5D2 for the video. Just not for everyone.

Without knowing a bit more about the OP's requirements and background I, personally, would hesitate to counsel for or against any one of the cameras he's mentioned (I haven't actually used the XH-A1).

(not ragging on ya kolok- I'm just not convinced this last post is up to your usual standards!)

enuff4life, you really have to look at what you want out of a videocamera- what are you shooting, how serious are you about video, and what else do you want the camera to do. "Needing a camcorder to produce some movies with your friends" covers a lot of ground, and a little more detail might help produce more useful answers.

Look, the OP has a very, very capable camera in the 5D. All other things being rather equal, upgrading to the 5DMk2 just to add video capability is nonsensical. Let's be honest here. What would one opt for at the same total cost: a) a great camera + a great, versatile video camcorder or b) a great camera with mediocre video capability (no zoom, no aperture control, etc).

Looking at his option purely from the financial perspective, he's much better off keeping his 5D, which produces images with a very high IQ (some would argue rivaling that of the Mk2) and adding a camcorder that will far exceed the video capabilities of the 5DMk2. Let's be honest, Canon added the video capability to the 5DMk2 seemingly as an afterthought to keep up with competition and doing so without full capability implementation. It's not to say it's utterly useless, but if, as the OP mentioned, the purpose is to make dedicated movies he would be much better off with a dedicated video camcorder that offers much more flexibility and functionality than the 5Dmk2 can provide.

I don't find that argument simplistic - rather, realistic.

I have a 5DM2 and an XH-A1. I recently shot a low light music performance with both cameras. The image quality of the 5DM2 was way, way better. Partly because I was able to use better lenses, but also because of the sensor quality. The XH had a lot of noise; the 5D had no noticeable grain or noise and the picture is stunning.

So I'd say for image quality the 5D blows the XH away. Obviously the 5D is not made as a video camera so there are major limitations, including sound (for really good sound, you need to use a separate audio recorder), lack of manual controls (you probably know that you can't manually control shutter speed/f stop/ISO without jumping through hoops, like using a Nikon lens or taping the contacts on your Canon lenses), other features that are basic on most video cameras including the XH.

I'm considering selling my 5D (first version), which I use as a backup body, and my XH-A1, and getting a second 5DM2 so I'll have a backup body and can do two camera video shoots that will match.