Cameras To Create Footage To Motion Track

Following on from Timmy Allen’s recent article discussing camera tracking, I thought I would, in my article, discuss some of the options you have for purchasing a camera to create the footage to track. Whilst cameras and DSLRs aren’t necessarily motion graphics, there is certainly a crossover in people who do motion graphics and people who purchase or use these cameras.

If you would like to create your own footage to track graphics to, there are options for most budgets. Whether you have a few hundred to spend or thousands to blow, there’ll be something to cater for your budget.

DSLRs

DSLRs have been a booming business for camera companies such as Canon and Nikon recently, with camera’s such as Canon’s 550D/T2i or 7D, and these camera’s certainly have their appeal. Not only can these Cameras shoot high quality stills, they can also shoot high quality Full HD footage with a shallow depth of field.

Canon 550d/T2i

In terms of budget, you have at the lower end the Canon 550d/T2i. This is a good lower end camera, but it comes with a crop sensor (as opposed to full frame like the canon 5d mk2), however it shoots full HD (1080p) footage at 24, 25 and 30 frames a second as well as shooting 60 and 50 frames.

Nikon D7000

This is another lower end DSLR in terms of budget but again still shoots at Full HD and as with most DSLRs, the image quality is good.

Canon 5d Mk2

This is currently considered by most people the best DSLR for video, as it contains a full frame sensor (which in simple terms means that it will capture a wider view), it also contains some better ergonomic features and a higher quality and more rugged body. This does come at a cost as though as this usually retails at approximately 2-3 times the cost of it’s brother the Canon 550d/T2i.

Professional Camcorders

If you have a bigger budget and are planning on shooting more than just some footage to track to you may even consider investing in one of the professional range of camcorders by Sony or Panasonic. These usually have features more suited to recording things like interviews, for example being able to control audio levels easier.  These usually do come at a more significant cost than a DSLR.  There have been two cameras announced recently be both Sony and Panasonic which also offer the shallow depth of field look or the ability to change lenses, Sony’s model is the PMW F3 and Panasonic’s is AF100.  There are other various models available by both these companies plus others to suit different needs and price ranges.

So which camera should i get?

This all depends on your budget and whether your planning on shooting  just footage or wanting to record sound as well. I have purposefully left out specific prices for these as there is such variation I’m not saying that you should definitely purchase one of the cameras in the article but hopefully it  has gave you an idea that there are options available in the world of DSLR’s and Camcorders, so you can create footage to motion track.

Take this article as a starter, look at the reviews of each camera, look at the pros and cons and follow people like Phillip Bloom who has a lot of experience in using these cameras.  But overall, however you create your footage. HAPPY TRACKING!