Hey guys, today we're going to be talking about the best cameras for filmmaking, right
now in 2016.
Damn, this is important - skip the intro.
All the products we mention in this episode, we will be linking down in the description
below so you guys don't have to go searching for them yourselves.
We're going to be focusing on two different kinds of cameras and the one that you want
will depend on whether you're interested in cinematography or run and gun guerilla filmmaking.
We're going to focus on some relatively affordable options.
Now these aren't really cheap - they're like a games console for games or a high spec phone
or tablet, but they are really versatile and therefore they're a great place to start.
In both these cases the cameras that we're going to be recommending are very different
to each other and as a result will do things that the other would find completely impossible
to do.
For the cinematographers out there we're going to recommend the Canon T5i or the T6i.
So what are the pros and cons?
Well, one of the pros is interchangeable lenses.
Now this is fantastic because Canon lenses are the most plentiful out there.
There's loads of different options and some of them are really really affordable.
For instance, the EF 50mm 1.8.
This is a great lens - it'll allow you to do low light photography, it'll allow you
to get really great depth of field and it's only $125.
Another pro of this camera is that it has a tilty swivel LCD screen.
This is super useful especially if you're in cases where you have the camera up really
high and you want to be tilting the screen towards you so you can actually see what you're
recording, or if you're in a really awkward space and the camera is right up against the
wall and you can't actually see the screen.
We currently have a camera that doesn't have a tilty screen and it is an absolute pain
to see what you're actually recording.
The T5 or the T6i are going to cost you over $600 and that's for the camera alone.
That might just be too much.
But you could get a second hand or reconditioned model - just make sure you buy from someone
you trust.
One of the cons of this camera is that it doesn't have 4K.
Now if you do want 4K in a DSLR you're going to need to spend a lot more money.
It's also worth bearing in mind that HD off a DSLR is going to be far more cinematic than
4K off of an action cam.
So another con of this camera is that it is recording in a compressed format and you have
no control over that.
But as long as you stick to the idea of getting the image right in camera, rather than grading
it extensively in post, this will be absolutely fine.
Potentially one of the biggest cons of this camera is that while it has a mic, it's actually
not very good at all.
For this reason and for many others, we would recommend getting the Video Creator Kit which
is about $699.
It comes with a kit lens, a RODE mic and an SD card so you're ready to go right out of
the box.
Maybe you make a different kind of film.
Maybe you like action, chasing your friends down alleyways and jumping over fences.
In these cases, you don't want a DSLR, you want a DJI OSMO.
Because they are awesome.
This camera is very nearly as good as a Go Pro and it comes with an amazing gimble all
in one.
All of that for only just more than the price of a GoPro.
While the DSLR gives you visual options with interchangeable lenses, the OSMO actually
gives you the flexibility of movement so you can make your shots more dynamic that way
instead.
One of the pros of the OSMO is that it can take shots that look pretty much impossible
to the viewer.
So I've seen places where they've attached it to the front of the car and then they're
using the app on the iPhone to control the rotation of the camera - all the way from
the landscape through to the driver.
It looks fantastic and would be really expensive to do in any other way.
Two cameras that we've talked about are really good places to learn your craft, but if you
want to be spending more money on a better camera, you really need to know which features
are most important to you.
Ryan Connolly actually has stuck with Canon.
He loves the way that the image looks and he likes the settings on the camera.
So even now, at the level he's at, he's using a Canon C300 which is very much a professional
video version of the Canon that we're recommending.
If you look at Corridor Digital, they do an awful lot of different filmmaking so they
use Canon DSLR's for all their behind the scenes and all of their second channel content.
Whereas on their main channel, they used to use a Sony FS700 and now for quite a while
they've been using RED cameras.
But it's important to remember that you do not need to buy the camera - those guys are
filming every single day so buying the camera makes sense - but you can, when you're at
that level, just rent a camera and pick the perfect camera for whatever you're shooting.
If you haven't seen it already, go to the Corridor Digital channel right now and watch
the RUSH trailer.
I don't know why I'm going to bother saying any more but I am.
It's based on Battlefield, it's got helicopters, tanks, explosions - everything that they're
great at.
They've worked so hard on it and it's amazing.
So go watch it now.