SubscribeBig news from Canon earlier this week: They announced a new DSLR that is a bold step forward where it matters to me most: price. I’d been holding off on taking the plunge into DSLR filmmaking, because the field is moving so rapidly and I didn’t want to plunk down a couple thousand bucks on something that would be outdated in a few months. But at a retail price of just $800, Canon just removed that concern with the Canon 550d/T2i.
This new camera, which is rumored to begin shipping any day, features virtually the same video capabilities as the 7d, complete with selectable cinema framerates and a fat APS-C sensor. The result, when paired with good lenses, is dreamy shallow depth of field in a handheld camera.
Another big factor for me: This camera uses SD cards! This might not seem like a big deal, but I absolutely HATE having to plunk down the big bucks for different types of media. I already have invested in 3 SD cards that I use in my JVC HM-100, and absolutely LOVE them: they’re tiny, and hold nearly an hour of 1080p HD video per 16gb card. Sweet.
This camera allows me to join what I expect will be legions of videographers who want to take the visual quality of their work to a whole ‘nother level – without breaking the bank. This camera will allow me to put my money where it belongs – on buying great lenses.
This camera doesn’t address the issues that have kept me out of the dslr filmmaker fold previously – it still is a 35mm stills camera with video bolted on. No articulating screen, no good audio features, etc. But at this price, it doesn’t matter. A camera will come along before too long that will fix that, and let me use the glass that I’ll begin buying. I already have two very fast 35mm Nikon lenses that, with a $10 adapter I bought on Ebay, will work fantastically on this new Canon. Thanks Canon for making a game-changing product that allows me to join the DSLR filmmaking revolution.
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I have the T1i and think the video feature is amazing even but I have the hardest time with focusing because it seems you pretty much have to manually focus.
You’re absolutely correct, Brad: autofocus simply doesn’t work on movie cameras. Most video cameras have a featured called “focus assist” which sort of works, but it’s very slow and often gets it wrong. So professional videographers rarely use it.
I was a professional photojournalist when autofocus began coming out on 35mm cameras, and it was horrible for many years before the technology reached a point where it was ready for prime time. I hope autofocus can one day work as well on film cameras as is does today on still cameras, because my eyes aren’t getting any younger.
Hello, the Canon T2I is a fantastic camera for documentary film work. Focus is an issue but for run and gun you can shoot with a wide lens stopped down to obtain a longer depth of field. Sound is another issue of course. The camera’s audio sucks. I use a zoom h4n and a sennheiser me66 shotgun to capture audio. Check out my latest documentary short shot entirely on a T2I. http://vimeo.com/18181300