Whats the best digital camera that shoots good video?

[dealrocker]

My friend is planning to buy a new digital camera that shoots great video with good sound. He is interested in Panasonic, but not sure about the length of recording time and quality. Wondering which camera can fulfill his requirements. Money is not an issue, he just want something that's best in quality.

Any recommendation...

[Mr Guy]

No current dSLR shoots "great" video. There's some great advantages to using a dSLR, but some pretty hefty restrictions as well. With tons of practice you can get some amazing results with dSLR video similar to professional rig, but currently it's no where near as easy to use as a pro rig. The main places where you'll take the hit are in autofocus speed and quality, ease in zooming.

I believe the Panasonic GH1 and the Canon 5D offer some degree of autofocus during video (the Canon, if I remember correctly, requires a firmware update). The Pentax K-7 has impressive video, but autofocus was disabled when it went to production, presumably because people complained about the slowness of it while the camera was being beta tested. I'm not sure on Nikon's offerings or the latest Canon 500D (Rebel T1i).

The dSLR mainly shines in aperture control, ie allowing those shallow depth of field effects that just can't be done with hand held camcorders. You can certainly get an HD camcorder that will outperform in MOST aspects any current dSLR AND a quality entry level dSLR for less than the K-7, 5D, or D90 plus the high quality fast zoom lens would cost you.

Where the video option gives you benefits is when you already have the glass, and want the convenience of the video option. The audio portion is going to be weak on ANY camera without adding an external mic. The K-7 has support for a hotshoe mounted mic, and I'd presume the other models do as well.

Here's some additional reading: Video DSLRs vs Camcorders

Camera comparison chart of the cameras I know of with video:
Digital Cameras Side-by-Side, 6 cameras: Digital Photography Review

[OsmosisStudios]

All the Nikon dSLRS with video will autofocus during video, but its slower than molasses in january. Youd never use it for anything that moves.

[WVCoalMiner]

I've seen a video of a guy snowboarding down a mountain with a Canon 5D Mk2 and it was freaking absolutely AMAZING!!!!!!!!
Looked like it was down for a hollywood movie!!!

I was quite impressed and will see if I can fine the UTube link for it.

Here it is it is a MUST WATCH video shot with a Canon 5D MkII
YouTube - Provo P.O.V

[OsmosisStudios]

VWCoalMiner: That's a great video, but I still disagree about fast-moving subjects. The video was shot entirely with a fisheye: there's almost no focusing to be done anywhere longer than 3 feet. So it doesnt matter if the camera can AF or not. With anything where one subject is stationary and the others are moving, with anything other than a fisheye or UWA, youre going to run into trubles.

The other thing is that the 5DmkII shoots at 1080P: Youtube is about 1/8th of that, so the perceived quality shoots straight up because of downsampling

[Mr Guy]

Yeah, that's the skill of the photographer in using the correct lens and depth of field to overcome the weakness inherent in the system. It's perfectly fine and easy to do, but it's not a beginners technique!