Lens for T2i?

[thompsonkte]

Hello!
I'm looking into buying the T2i mainly for video use. I film a range of events on my college campus, from football games to plays to crew meets. Also I'd like to do some portrait photography. I'm thinking about getting two-three lens, one of them being a portrait lens. My main concern is versatility. I want to be able to shoot up close and far away, in low light and outside when it is sunny. And of course being in college I'd like to keep it as inexpensive as possible. ahahhah I want everything . Any suggestions and compromises?

[WolfHeart704]

I always hear a lot of people saying, "I want to get such and such camera mainly for video use." Why not get a video camera? You can still take those occasional pictures with the video camera if you want to, but since you say you want it mainly for video, I would look for a video camera.

[thompsonkte]

I should have mentioned that my school is funding this camera so it will be property of our school newspaper. So while I will be using it mainly for video, other students will need to use it to take photos of many of the events I take video footage of or similar types of events.

[ceremus]

Originally Posted by WolfHeart704

I always hear a lot of people saying, "I want to get such and such camera mainly for video use." Why not get a video camera? You can still take those occasional pictures with the video camera if you want to, but since you say you want it mainly for video, I would look for a video camera.

Maybe you're unaware of the effect that DSLRs shooting video has had on the industry? When videographers found a camera with a full 35mm frame sensor and swappable lenses that could shoot video and only cost a couple thousand dollars, it was huge. It has exploded. You would not believe how many semi-pro and professional video shoots have been done with the 5D mkii.

[ForeontheFloor]

Just a note that the T2i will only shoot 4gb of video at one time (one take) the camera will shut off and you have to start the shoot over again. The tests I have done (I just got my T2i 3 weeks ago) give me about 12 minutes before the camera shuts off. If you are going to try anything longer you will have to interrupt the filming.