Bit of a quandary

[Dave]

Hi,

I feel that my videography interest/development is growing and as such I am in a Quandary of what equipment to choose for my future film making.

 

For background my main subject is "wildlife" and a such I use a Panasonic V720 Camcorder as it has a 50x izoom which is great for filming wildlife in the field. I have recently bought a Canon 70D which "blows my socks off" the Panasonic V720 in terms of video quality. 

 

I feel that the Panasonic does not deliver the picure quality the Canon does, even when I attach a 400 f5.5 lens here is a recent video with the Canon and 400mm lens

 

and here is a video shot with the Panasonic V720

 

I suppose I am looking for a semi pro camcorder that has zoom and can give quality video, I note this Panasonic is about to be released in the UK

http://www.panasonic.com/uk/consumer/cameras-camcorders/camcorders/hd-camcorders/hc-x1000e.html

 

Which has a optical 20x zoom (which the makers claim is 600mm) , however my trusty Panasonic has a 50x izoom.

 

So I am confused on where to go next, do I concentrate on the Canon 70D and invest in a quicker lens, perhaps a 400mm f2.4 lens, or do I go down the dedicated Camcorder route….

 

As a foot note I have just finished a 32 min wildlife documetry that was commisioned by 4 wildlife trusts, and goes on sale on the 28th of October. following a preview of the documentry I have been asked by the comissioners about 2 further projects….

 

Hope you can help.

Dave

 

 

 

[Erik]

The new panasonic is 2500 GBP.  Pretty nifty camera for 4k.

I pesonally like hededicated camcoder route.  I would think that if you are doing wildlife, you would need to change settings quickly.  Messing around with an ND filter, the aperature, gain, and other settngs seem to be much quicker for me on a dedicated camcorder.

I have a Sony NX5 and I love the way I an quickly Manualy change stuff NOT by going through a menu.

The 4k rcording, with enough light, will give you much more leeway to zoom an crop for a better composition too. If money is'nt too tight, I vote for the camcorder.

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