All Photos courtesy of Gary Nevitt Jr.
Run as fast as you can and sell all the video gear you own. Sell your XHA1,your EX1,whatever camera you use. Sell your 5D MK II. Sell your car and house if you need to. You absolutely only need a 7D. The 7D is perfect. It has no flaws. It actually shoots the video for you. You need no talent at all. Anyone can pick it up and whatever they film looks like Spielberg was there. Of course, I am joking but it seems the 7D is causing quite a stir. 5D MK II owners are in an uproar,people with traditional video cameras are outraged. Look people,yes I am guilty of being excited about the 7D it's the first DSLR I bought for myself that shoots HD video. Cristina owns the 5D MK II and a Canon XHA1 and we are a team. Are we going to dump the 5D now? NO. We aren't even THINKING about dumping the XHA1. Hell,we still have a Canon XL2 and we haven't dumped that. Each of these cameras is a tool. Would you go to war with a gun that only had one bullet and could only be fired after precisely aiming and tweaking it to the correct settings?If you answered yes, you wouldn't survive. The same thing applies to shooting a live event. If i tried to shoot someone's wedding with just the 7D I wouldn't survive as a business. I would miss shots while I was focusing,etc. Each tool serves it's purpose. I love the XHA1 I can shoot beautiful HD Video and it allows me the luxury of panning,tilting and reacting to the nature of a live event. Things happen quickly. Moments are fleeting. If I had only the 7D or 5D MK II, I would miss some of those moments. That being said, If I shoot with the XHA1 in a poorly lit situation,for example, every reception I've ever been too,I now have to use on-camera lighting which produces an image that,quite frankly, I hate. Faces are washed out and guests get annoyed at having a bright light in there face. Turn your camera light on and go into a poorly lit room. Now turn that camera on yourself and see how it feels. Now, with the 5D I can set up with a 70-200 mm lens in a pitch dark reception venue; stay far away from guests while unobtrusively capturing candid moments. The 7D is a more affordable version of the 5D MK II minus the full frame sensor, in my opinion, with more choices for frame rates and an all around better more intuitive design for shooting video. Also with the 1.6 crop factor lenses become more magnified therefore I can use a smaller lens and still get in closer. So as far as the war goes between conventional video cameras and DSLRS and then the war being waged between the 5D MK II and the 7D, I call a cease-fire. What everyone needs to understand is this. The equipment is great but look, quite frankly, if you can't shoot,you can't shoot.A good eye and a basic knowledge of shot composition is not something you can pre-order from Amazon.com or Best Buy. Learn how to use the tools you have available to you. Master them. Then, when you feel you need better equipment to add some flavor and different aspects to your work,thoroughly research the options. Then make the decision for yourself because no one else can.
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