Which HD Video dslr for under 1100 USD?

Hi Guys,

My brother is planning to buy an dSLR with HD video recording either from Canon or Nikon. Since we are new to SLRs, even if we go through other threads we would not understand anything. His budget is 1000 to 1100 USD.

Here are the Photo requirements:
1)Good Photo quality
2)Good auto mode

Here are the video requirements:
1)Good Video quality with min 720 P video with continuous recording(at least 10 to 15 mins.)
2)Zooming should be possible when shooting video.

Lens suggestions: As of now 1 lens is enough
1)Kind of lens that should be able to take general indoor and out door photography.

Any help and Where to buy would be very kind of you?

Thanks,
Vinay.

I saw the models d90 d5000 and T1i, so which one fits the above requirement properly?

My friend was suggesting d90. Is it better than the canon 500D video recording wise(When recorded at 720P)? Also which one of the above has better auto mode since he is a beginner?

I know still photo wise d90 is far superior. Is there a lot of difference between the D90 720 P video and the 500D 1080 video?

The camera would be an 1 time investment for at least 4 to 5 years.

Any suggestions would really be helpfull.

The D5000 is my recommendation. I love the tilt-swivel LCD display and although the D90 still image quality is better, the D5000 image quality is still wonderful. I also believe the D5000 has better video quality than the D90. It's newer than the D90 and I think Nikon made some critical improvements to the D5000's video capture.

There is no digital SLR that meets your requirement for 10-15 minutes of continuous recording. I think they all have something like a 5 or 6 minute limit. And if you don't have a large enough memory card, that will effect your limit as well.

The reason I would choose Nikon over Canon is that Canon has a solid edge over Canon as far as still image quality goes right now. Not that the Canon is bad. I'm a Canon owner and I'm not going to switch or anything. But I get to use both and the Nikon DSLRs have much better low light / high ISO noise image quality right now. That means you''' get better quality photos and video in low light without needing a flash or other lighting. I also really, really love having a tilt-swivel LCD and Canon doesn't offer that. The D5000 is Nikon's only DSLR that has it and that's a good reason right there to choose the D5000 over the D90.

For the average user, I don't think 720p resolution is a real limitation. I've shot both 720p and 1080p and in the end I always downsize to 720p for my final video. Sure, 1080p is larger and has more detail. But I just don't think it matters that much for the average user. Plus, 1080p means larger files. Larger files means slower transfer raters, mmuch slower editing and you'll need a lot more storage and memory cards if you're going to be shooting a lot of 1080p video. In my opinion, 720p is a practical decision with little to no obvious compromise.

I haven't actually used the Canon T1i / 500D. But I have used the EOS 7D and the EOS 5D Mk II and I own a Canon EOS XSi / 450D. So I've got plenty of experience with the Canon DSLRs - both for stills and video. I really do believe the D5000 is your best choice. In case you missed it, here's my Nikon D5000 pro review: http://reviews.photographyreview.com...-d5000-review/

Hope that clears up some of your questions. Let us know if you have more. We're here to help :)