Erica Edwards

Thanks for all the great advice! After much deliberation, I have decided to go with the 7D and get a few lenses as well. I've had a look at some footage shot on a 7D and proven to those giving me the money that I can and will get better use out of this than an HDV camcorder. I had a look at both the 550D and 7D in a store today and the 7D felt like it would be a better choice. Would I be best to buy the body alone and pick my own lenses or is the kit lens worth it for video? I can get the body alone for £1,000 but then the price jumps to £1,330 with the 18-135mm kit lens or £1,420 with the 18-85mm lens. I'm unsure if I would be better off choosing my own lenses instead. I'm pretty sure I want the 50mm 1.4 lens which I can pick up for about £300 but are there any must-have lenses anyone can recommend? Thanks again, I apologise for all the questions but you have all helped me a lot so far :)

OK, after much research I'm really started to be convinced by a DSLR and hoping I can convince my investor of this too. The idea of shooting video on DSLR was alien to me until this week and was never suggested at university, but now I've opened my mind to the idea I can see the huge benefits. My question now is whether to go for the 550D, 5D Mark II or 7D? In terms of video and audio recording capabilities (obviously I know I will need external mics etc) I want to be sure I go for the best option, but if there's not a whole world of difference then I guess I would go with the least expensive and spend the money on glass instead. I will do some more research but personal experiences and recommendations are always helpful. Thanks for all the advice so far!

Yes, the £3-£3.5k is for a camera and a camera alone, if I don't buy the camera then I don't have the money to spend on anything else. Thank you very much for your advice. I use an EX1 at my work experience placement and while I really like working with it, I think it's just out of my budget. The Canon XH-A1s seemed good but then I read that there's an updated model out in June which records onto memory cards so it seems pointless buying one now. I need to do more research I think, so in the meantime if anyone has any further recommendations I'd be most grateful! I just want to make sure I spend this money wisely.

Thank you for your post, Brian! I do have further budget for support gear, the £3,000 is just for a camera. I am concerned now that HDV might not be such a good idea, but I'm not sure I could get a good non-HDV camera for that sort of money? I don't have paid work coming for sure, I have a sound engineer friend who records with bands and he is going to hook me up with some of them to make videos so I can get a music video showreel going (my current showreel is just shorts). I'm not sure if they will pay, which is why I thought having my own camera would be a good idea as I can't keep affording to rent (the money for the camera is not mine to do with as I choose, it is an investment from someone else) if I'm not getting paid, but at the same time I want to make these videos for the experience. The writer/director I frequently collaborate with is quite spontaneous and I feel it would be beneficial to us and our work if we're just able to go and shoot things on a whim. After all of these comments, I'm going to reconsider things as it is a lot of money to lay down for something and I want to be certain I'm making the right choice. However, if I do decide to go ahead and buy a camera, can anybody give me any suggestions of what models to look at? For around £3-3.5k. I am looking at a few Sony and Panasonic ones that can record onto memory cards as well, but I'm having a hard time knowing what the best I could get for my money is. I'm certainly thinking things through and deciding what is the best option for me, but having an idea of what sort of camera I can get for this money would be most helpful.

Thanks for the replies - Brian, yes, I have further budget set aside to cover accessories such as a good tripod, monitor, wide angle adapter etc. As for lighting, I would rent initially with a view to buying my own small kit in the future. I agree with letting projects determine what equipment I use, this camera is merely to start me off I suppose. My showreel is quite varied, I shot a short on Super 16 last year and raised the money to do so in order to have that experience on my showreel, but I definitely appreciate and agree with your points and, of course, am always looking to expand on my showreel and learn new things. Goodness knows I still have a LOT to learn. Thanks Thomas, I am going to Calumet later in the week to have a play with the HDV cameras there so I will certainly make sure I check out the DSLRs as well and have a look at their video functions. I was planning to buy one as photography is a hobby of mine, but I'd never really considered using them for video work so it's definitely something to think about. Thank you!

Thank you, that is definitely food for thought. I will rule out the XLH1 I think, but I can get the XH-A1S for a good price so I will think about that. As I say, I do plan on investing in a DSLR at some point anyway (the 550D was the one I actually had my eye on) but yeah, this money that I have now is intended for a video camera. Thank you for your advice, I appreciate it! I am using the Sony EX1 at my current work experience placement and it's a fantastic camera, just too much for me to afford at the moment.

Thanks for your advice! I am planning to buy a DSLR at some point during the year anyway but I am really very keen to have my own camera so that I have something to work with when I make videos for bands who will have little to no budget. In addition, the money I have is not really available to me to be used as a budget for a project, it's been invested in me to buy a camera with so that's what I need to do. I'm very grateful to you for taking the time to reply :) The trailer for Tiny Furniture looks great, I had no idea such images could be achieved using the video function on a DSLR! I have been thinking about the Canon XH-A1S which seems like a nice piece of kit for the price. Although it's slightly over my budget, I'm also looking at the Canon XL H1A, and while I could probably push my budget to get it, I would like to know if it's worth me spending the extra on it. The interchangeable lens option is tempting, even though I won't be able to buy spare lenses for a while it would be nice to have the option of doing so in the future. I've also looked at the Letus35 device for the XH-A1S as I already have a few nice Canon lenses for my 35mm SLR that it would be nice to make use of. If anyone has any thoughts/opinions on either of these cameras or can recommend anything else that would be fantastic. Thanks!

I graduated last year from my degree in film-making and the main focus of my work at university was cinematography. I'm looking to buy my first own camera but there are so many to choose from, I don't know where to start. All I know is that I'm looking for a HDV camera and, with the wide variety out there, review sites are becoming confusing so I'm hoping to get some personal recommendations. My budget is about £3,000 but I can go a bit higher if need be. I'm going to start off using it to shoot music videos for bands who need them (as it is the music video industry I'm hoping to eventually work in) and hopefully the low-budget feature written by my partner-in-crime if we manage to get some money for it. I'm really just looking for a good, all-round camera to get me started off. If anybody has any recommendations I would be most grateful! I've probably forgotten to add something so if you need to know more about my requirements please let me know :)