Camera that does video or camcorder that does photos...

[slinky]

Evening folks,

Looking for a little advice on a purchase..

I need to sort myself out with something to improve on the iPhone 4 that I've been using of late to create stuff like this..

http://vimeo.com/40160517

Most of the photos in the video were taken by others with real cameras...

So, I'm trying to work out if I can find a device that ticks both boxes, for a reasonable sum.. (budget slightly undecided at the mo, definitely sub £600 though)..

I want/need HD video, slow mo if possible, good quality audio (the iPhone tends to find things rather hard work on the start line!)..

I used to have an EOS350D which served me well, but was moved on for various reasons..

Does such a device exist? Am I better off looking at two different bits of kit? Is there something that crosses over?

TIA..

[Elderly]

http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/5618/Panasonic-Lu...

[slinky]

Interesting, cheers.. I'll have a read about that today, does anyone have any first hand experience of the Lumix GH2?

Any other suggestions?

[Elderly]

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/PanasonicDMCGH2/21

I bought a GH1 for a trip to Indo-China as I didn't want to carry my larger heavier DSLR around
in hot and poor countries.
I thought that it was a great concept but I had some issues with the build quality
during the trip and returned it for a refund on my return.

Video was excellent (but I'm not into that) and the stills were 'as expected';
RAW images were OK but I didn't like the JPEGS much.

I understand (but I've not used one) that the GH2 is much improved in several areas.

The Electronic Viewfinder polarizes opinion like Marmite (I'm told the GH2 EVF is much improved),
a friend I travelled with had an entry level Nikon DSLR with a traditional Optical Viewfinder
and I often compared the two side by side, IMO they both had their pros and cons.

[Nimby]

I have a GH2 and it's superb. There has been a firmware update since the dpreview.com test, which adds 1080p25 PAL video, and some other IQ improvements.

[bloomen]

GH2 all the way. It's by far the best for video at that price point and competes with cameras costing several times more.

They're used a bit for broadcast and a few feature films are being shot on them as well. You can hack the firmware to improve the image quality if you want to but standard is good enough for me for now.

JPEGs are OK but you need to shoot RAW to get the best images. It's a bit plasticky but has a nicer feel than the GH1.

Best deal out there at the moment is from fotosense.co.uk for the GH2 with 14-42mm lens.

Use the code VE5 at the checkout for 5% off. You also get £50 cashback from Panasonic and a free copy of Lightroom 3. If you flog that on Ebay it should owe you less than £500.

For a much cheaper option the Sony HX9V is seriously impressive for video too. It'll do 1080 60p for slow mo and the built in image stabiliser works brilliantly. A few people have rated the video as better than mid-level Canon DSLRs.

The stills aren't too great but they're adequate. I picked mine up for £149 from Jessops clearance.

Edited by bloomen on Wednesday 18th April 16:40

[slinky]

Food the thought on the Sony, that cost would leave spare for a Go Pro, which is tempting..
One thing that I rather like is the "cinematic" depth of field that can be achieved with DSLR/lens style shooting, I'm guessing the aperture control doesn't exist on the Sony to allow that?

Any other thoughts folks? Those given so far are much appreciated...

[bloomen]

The HX9V can do depth of field with some careful treatment, though it's not as straightforward as a DSLR and it's better at the longer end of the zoom.

There's a test here.

https://vimeo.com/25396445

My only objections are the limited amount of manual control and it doesn't do very well in low light.

Edited by bloomen on Wednesday 18th April 18:32

[slinky]

I've been looking at the Lumix FZ150
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicdmcfz150

Any thoughts on that?

[bloomen]

FZ150 would be more painless than a GH2, though it's a smaller sensor so low light and depth of field wouldn't be as good. It also doesn't do 24p which would put quite a few off.

The FZ150 does have some very cool features that the GH2 doesn't. The slow mo looks awesome, it has the panoramic stitching and faster burst shooting.

You may outgrow a fixed lens. With a GH2 I've stuck everything from an 8mm fisheye to the equivalent of 7800mm to film the moon and with adapters you can place almost any lens on there.

I guess it depends on how far you want to take things. A GH2 will hold its value better and it's pretty much all the camera you'll ever need. The FZ150 can do a few things that the GH2 can't, some of which make it very tempting.

Compared to an HX9V it's going to be much easier to handle and with way more manual control. You don't really miss manual control until you can't change a vital element.

The FZ150 will be far less pocketable though which is why the Sony's a nice thing to have.