Really need some help Canon 70D or Panasonic G7

[ray1583]

I am currently looking to purchase my 1st camera. I don't know much about cameras other than what I'v learned over these past few weeks. I'm trying to figure out which camera is the best for me to get. After watching a ton of videos and reviews. the 2 best options seem to be the Canon 70D, or the Panasonic G7. I will primarily use it for video and some photography but more video than anything. I will tell you I am disabled so money is very very tight it has taken me a good while to save up for this (so it's kind of a one and done at least for the foreseeable future). I love the focus feature on the 70D so that is what i was initially going to go with along with the 50mm f/1.8 stm lens , but after talking to some folks they said if your doing video the G7 is the way to go hands down (plus the 4k video will help to future proof the camera for a bit anyways). So I checked it out and it's awesome as well but the issue for me is with the lens. I love that blurry background look and was told to get the canon 50mm f/1.8. (the canons 50mm lens cost about $100 while panasonic's lens is way way more). So my questions are
1) Is their a lens out their for the G7 than can do the blurry background like the canon 50mm f/1.8 stm lens for around the same price.
2) If not is their anyway to get that blurry background with the kit lens (14-42mm lens kit), and if not is it better to still get the G7 and save up and maybe get the lens some where way down the road, or should i get get the 70D.

Thank You so much for any help really do apreciate it...Thank You again

 

[basroil]

1) Is their a lens out their for the G7 than can do the blurry background like the canon 50mm f/1.8 stm lens for around the same price.
2) If not is their anyway to get that blurry background with the kit lens (14-42mm lens kit)

Considering you don't understand how depth of field works, I would suggest that you first take some lessons in videography and cinematography. You aren't really ready to need either, and you should try out shooting with your cellphone or available camera at first.

If you really want to waste money on a DSLR, you need to state exactly what you intend to shoot, editing style, environmental conditions, etc. Without that info it's impossible to tell you what will work best for you.

 

[bjornl]

If video is key, you should consider the slightly older Panasonic GH3 instead. Which can record longer than the Canon (limited to 29 minutes), and with a much higher bit rate (better video quality). Also the Canon is quite slow to focus in video. The strength of a Canon (or Nikon) is their lens selection is so very good. A DSLR like the Canon is just the wrong way to go if video is your main concern. DSLRs are good at VERY high end video
The g7 is also limited to 29 minutes. It is faster to focus in video than the Canon. Also there is a reason the old Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens is dirt cheap, it is a very old lens design and far from the best available Canon lens (it is optically a poor lens).

4k video, is in my opinion, a waste of time. The amount of storage space it consumes is mind boggling. Also the processing time is much slower (4x or more depending on the PCs ability to handle gargantuan files). Finally there is no such thing as future proofing. If you need 4k video, get a 4k solution. If like 99% of the populous you don't need it. buy it when you do as your old stuff will likely be obsolete by then.

Unfortunately you can't buy a video and stills camera based solely on price. What you should do is sit down and consider how much you are willing to invest in both time and money. A DSLR in stills is the clear leader. And, in video the same could be said except that to get a DSLR to produce the top of the line videos they are capable of takes a lot of work, expensive lenses, good tripod, manual focus, good technique and a bit of skill.
For casual video something with decent autofocus speed capable of "good enough" quality is probably the way to go.

Some thoughts.
The kit lens for the g7 is incapable of the shallow DOF look because the sensor is fairly small and the lens has a large "minimum available f-number". DOF has to do with aperture size (the smaller the f-number the larger the aperture is relative to the length of the lens), focal length of the lens (the longer the shallower, sensor size and distance to subject. The distance to the background also plays a role in how it looks but now how shallow the DOF is.
Keeping stuff in focus with a shallow DOF is tricky. The focus plane is very thin and things will wander in and out of focus very quickly.
Shallow DOF and VIDEO is doubly tricky because unlike a still you can't wait for focus. You either keep the subject in focus for every frame or you don't. I'd suggest that shallow DOF in video is for those that really know their stuff and should not be your initial goal. If you disagree, then what you want to be looking for is the largest sensor camera with the smallest f-number lens available. Something like a usd Nikon d600 with a relatively cheap Nikon 50mm f/1.4g or the slightly more costly 85mm f/1.8g (the 85mm will give you close to the same field on the d600 as the 50mm does on a Canon 70d but with much better optics and a much better sensor)

Some suggestions.
If video is your main goal, and money is tight then you might consider getting a Sony rx10 or Panasonic FZ1000 instead of an interchangable lens camera.
They both are good all around cameras. They have several times the sensor of a typical pocket camera or a phone. The sesor has just over 1/2 the surface area of a m4/3 camera like the g7 and just less than 1/3 the area of a camera like the Canon 70d. Both have pretty good lenses, pretty good video, pretty good at everything. The Panasonic has twice the maximum telephoto (ZOOM) and is faster to focus. The Sony has a slightly better lens (wider, twice as good in low light once you zoom in a little, better optically, has weather sealing, and higher quality 1080p video (much higher bit rate).

I used to use Canon but several years ago I went to a Nikon for still images (better sensor than the Canon equivalent). For high end video I use a Panasonic GH3, for casual video I use a Sony rx10.

 

[BlueFireZ]

I own a 70D and the video is decent - good, but its low light video performance is horrible. In my opinion I think Sony cameras do a better job of video compared to its Nikon and Canons competitors.