Canon 7D used as a video camera

[hammerhead man]

He primarily takes standard video. He does not have any lenses for the camera. I know it is a Sony but i don't know what model. I do know that it is a consumer camcorder. His housing is from a smaller company but it is quite large. I do not have any samples of his videos to share. However, he does want to branch out and at least get a wide angle lens.

Regarding where he has taken video. He as taken video in Mexico, Grand Cayman, Turkes and Caicos, twice in the Galapagos, and once in Fiji. We are both experienced divers. He has about 250 dives and I have about 210 dives.

Sorry, I can't be of more assistance.

Regards,

Bill

 

[KiiY]

Hi, Bill.

Aside from the FX7, he might also consider the FX1 which preceeded it.

There are some fairly significant differences between the two models. Here are a few that may be important:

- FX1 has CCD sensors vs. CMOS for the FX7. Because of this:
... - the FX1 is supposed to have slightly better low light performance (never compared the 2 side by side myself). Somewhat important for dives.
... - The FX1 doesn't suffer from "rolling shutter". This is significant when there are flashes from still photographers going off while you're taping as sometimes happens underwater, and often happens top side at events. The Rolling shutter will result in just a portion of the frame being lit by the flash, i.e. just the bottom half or top half will flash white for a split second. This is perceptible to the human eye and may bother some people as being unnatural.

- The FX1 doesn't have an HDMI port. It does have component out, though.

- The FX7 has a larger zoom range.

- The FX7 is newer, smaller, and lighter.

Oh, and if money permits and if it's important, he might also look at the pro models of these cameras: Z1 and V1. The build quality is noticably better and they are supposed to have more robust internal parts, plus you have XLR inputs if he also likes to shoot video on land and cares about good audio.

 

[ronscuba]

FX1 and FX7 shoot comparable video. FX1 has an advantage with it's LCD screen being viewable with the L&M and Amphibico housings, meaning you don't need an external monitor. With the FX7, LCD is not viewable, so you need the monitor.

Wide angle is relative. Without seeing his videos, he might be shooting with a flat port and a camcorder with a narrow lens. He might be happy with just a dome port and a new camcorder. Super wide angle lens is very expensive. Hard to justify it's cost.

Also, without seeing his videos, we have no idea about his editing. A new PC and editing software might be needed.

It might be a good time for him to post here directly or find out about the details on his equipment.