Camera advise please.... £500 ($800 usd) to spend....

[ermgravy]

Hey guys ok so i need some advise. I need a new camera, my budget is in the title.

requirements are:

Must be able to shoot full HD vid at any length.
Id like to try to stick away from a full size dslr if at all possible all though i get there are benefits. (if i found a 2nd hand cannon 7d in budget id jump on it im not stupid)
Must be able to except different lens, i need to shoot in a range of conditions, inside and out.
decent flash or capable of mounting external flash.
being able to add in a stereo mic would be a nice touch too.

the one that has really caught my eye is the sony Nex5... i can pick one up with lens adapter for nex to nikon and nex to alpha and a couple lens for in budget.

ive also looked at lumix g series and strangely enough even gopro hero hd 2 but low light performance is shocking with the gopro's from what i've seen....

I know we have some very knowledgeable members when it comes to cameras so if one of you good help me out that would be ace!

 

[Dan F]

If you want to shoot video do not get a DSLR - the noise of the motor focusing the lens ruins the audio.

 

[ermgravy]

would mounting a mic away from the lens not solve that problem? not that i require a great deal of audio from the video i shoot. In fact most of it gets split and audio binned as soon as it is imported...

 

[Dan F]

would mounting a mic away from the lens not solve that problem? not that i require a great deal of audio from the video i shoot. In fact most of it gets split and audio binned as soon as it is imported...

I suppose so, but who wants to carry around an external microphone? I went from a Sony HD camcorder to a Nikon DSLR and while the photos are definitely better, the video can't compare. Besides the noise, the focusing is very noticeable in the video and the overall quality is much lower. I guess it matters where your priorities lie - I plan on getting a new camcorder when I can afford it.

 

[ermgravy]

The Nex is designed to be a mirco 4/3rds but have full dslr size sensor and full hd camcorder features. ive been doing a lot of reading over the last few days and i think this is the route i will go...

ive found a second hand nex5 with 18-55mm in great condition locally.

i can then afford to buy sony: 16mm f2.8 lens + ultra wide angle and fish eye adapters, macro 30mm f3.5, 55-210mm f4.5-6.3 tele and an adapter to run my old cannon eos lens in mf on it. ( i still have a great selection of eos lens = my dad wont notice me borrowing his next time i pop round )

for budget i could also get a view finder, lcd protector, stero mic, small steady cam rig, and large external led video light gun...