What's a cheap used SLR camera with video capability?

February 2, 2008 10:40 PM

"Help me/others choose a cheap used digital SLR" (meaning *looks* like an SLR) Requirements are: <$250 on ebay good looking 30fps video capability <-- the kicker pretty fast user interface/performance
posted by oneous to technology (8 comments total)

Your answer is a Panasonic FZ8.

Best user interface I've seen and takes excellent photos and video. Leica lense and 12x zoom. All the manual controls you could shake a stick at. Also does RAW photos. It's really a joy to use.
posted by sanka at 10:57 PM on February 2

Just so you know...digital slrs don't take video. The mirror prevents it. But there are small digicams that look like slrs thatdo.
posted by sully75 at 4:21 AM on February 3

I have to pimp the Canon S3IS, or the S5IS (I haven't gotten my hands on one of these yet).
I own the S3, and it takes really nice video, and top notch pictures.
posted by Jonsnews at 5:32 AM on February 3

Seconding sully75: this is not currently possible. The fastest SLR can shoot maybe 10 frames a second. Then there's the small problem of only being able to capture 50 frames or so before the memory buffer is full.

You'd need three of the most expensive SLRs currently available, then you'd have to rig them so they each fired .03 seconds apart, and then you'd have to get around the memory buffer issue, all for under $250.

In other words, I think you need to reword your question.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:02 AM on February 3

The Canon S5 IS, while not an SLR, does indeed take 30 fps video (this is not 30 still images per second; it's video mode). It feels good in the hand, and I'm thrilled with mine so far - Canon sent it to me as a replacement for my broken S1 IS. Yay Canon.

If you get one of these, you'll need a memory card, too -- the default one doesn't hold much. We got a 1GB card for only about $30. Geez.
posted by amtho at 8:05 AM on February 3

The Fuji S5 series is pretty decent. SLR styling (which means, it's a SLR-shaped point and shoot with no lens-barrel manual focus and no mirror), option for video, and a nice optical zoom. I've got the S5100, and probably will upgrade to the S5700 one of these days.. it'll hold me over until I can get that Hasselblad. Has manual modes, which work well - except for the manual focus, which is a crapshoot on a tiny LCD screen. Though if you do it enough your optometrist will love you.

They're not shirt-pocket cameras, they're decently sized but lighter than they'd look, and they're under $250. I'm pleased with mine - you can check the Flickr link in my profile to see what I do with it.
posted by cmyk at 9:23 AM on February 3

In other words, I think you need to reword your question.

It's odd wording, but the question does actually say meaning *looks* like an SLR.
posted by !Jim at 11:48 AM on February 3

Seconding sanka on the Panasonic. I have the FZ7 (previous model) and with the added RAW support on the FZ8 you can't go wrong. Great featureset, all the manual control you desire, excellent lens, and slightly-better-than-average lag time. The amount of video you can shoot only depends on the size of your SD card, and you can shoot in 16:9 widescreen for the "HD look."

It also looks impressive and expensive, but you can a great deal on a new one.
posted by kyleg at 1:29 PM on February 3