HD-DSLRs: Is There One For Me?

I mentioned before that I was interested in a High-Definition camera. I still haven't acquired one. I'm known to do a lot of research before buying something expensive. After having looked at the Panasonic GH1 for a while I was then made aware of the 5D MKII. It looks like a fantastic camera albeit the price is enough for me to think twice about committing. Keep in mind I have never owned a DSLR - ever!

So I hesitated, it's what I do.

Then the 7D came out and started smashing stuff, mostly fine china plates. But seriously, It looked like the winner. It was a DSLR with strong video performance.

Good low-light capabilities are on the top of my list when it comes to cameras, and this was why I found myself still glancing upward at the 5D. You see, the 7D doesn't have a full-frame sensor. This means the low-light performance can't match that of the 5D. It just can't OK. "You think you can do these things, but you just can't, Nemo!"

So I was thinking about that for a while and then the 1D MKIV came out - what a beast! It's low-light is unrivaled in the realm of video capable DSLRs and the price way too high for a noob like me. So, I went back to looking at the 7D.

Over the past few weeks me and my friend Richard have been travelling to a camera shop to check out what a 7D can do. Turns out it can't build card-houses!... My initial reaction to the 7D was my amazement at how big it was. I thought all DSLRs were roughly the same size. Turns out that the bigger the camera the better it is. Surprisingly, it was extremely comfortable to hold. However, it didn't matter how long I held that 7D in my hand the price was not going down. So I left the shop still heavily in thought about what I should do.

A few days later and Canon releases the 550D, boasting the same video capabilities as the 7D! The main difference being the 550D has only one Digic 4 processor, whereas the 7D includes two.

The body of the 550D is around the same size as the previously released 500D and is classified as an entry level DSLR, you know for people like me!

I'm still hanging out for some in-depth reviews of this camera. If the reviews come back clean I will most definitely purchase it without to much thinking.

It's available for purchase on the 24th of February. That's only a couple of weeks away!

Image courtesy of dpreview.com