I love getting new stuff….who doesn’t. My latest acquisition is the new Canon 70D. So why did I get this camera when I already own its more than triple the value big brother, the Canon C100 which beats it almost hands down in every department for shooting video?
Well two reasons, number 1 and the main reason is that it has a flip out viewfinder so that I can frame and focus on myself when shooting my YouTube videos. The Canon C100’s viewfinder doesn’t flip around 180 degrees so you have to pre-frame and focus when shooting yourself (unless you have a kind helper) and then check the footage. Quite often the framing wasn’t quite right and the focus mightn’t have been too sharp either so was a little frustrating.
Number 2 reason, I’m keen to see just how well the new dual pixel autofocus works. I’ve spent most of my professional camera operator life using manual focus and poo pooing autofocus saying it’s for camera operators with no skills. In fact on most professional cameras I use there is no autofocus. However I am open to new technologies and if it’s the right tool for the job (i.e.. making it easier for shooting my YouTube videos) then I’m all for it.
Actually 3 reasons, as I’m often working by myself as cameraman, producer, host and editor, I need a camera that I could flick to ‘auto’ and give to anyone to get some usable video. The more advanced the camera, generally the more skill you need to operate it. For instance if I passed my Canon C100 to my wife to shot me doing something, the chances of getting usable video back is minimal! (No dis-respect to my good wife).
So stay tuned and I’ll let you know what I think of my new Canon 70D.