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Well, I do VFX/CG Animation for a living. I have no idea why he wouldn't be able to get a good key off a GH2 versus a 7D. That doesn't make any sense. Maybe someone with a GH2 can do some tests? Anyway baring that, I'll say that yes, for your budget the GH2 is probably the right camera. Not that I've ever had to key GH2 footage. I've mostly dealt with RED and Canon 5D/7D footage. The biggest issue for me when keying DSLR footage (and the biggest difference between that and the RED) is the compression in the details and across color gradations. Since the hacked GH2 can give you much finer details due to less compression, it's going to be the better camera for green screen work in your budget. That said, I've never had a shot that couldn't be dealt with in some way. You can always use multiple keys for different areas of the shot, garbage masks and if worse comes to worse, you always just hand roto. While working on commercials, a lot of times they don't have a technical director on set and they shoot stuff without knowing exactly what to do. Or sometimes, you just don't know because you've never done anything like that. In those cases, hind sight is always 20/20 but you end up learning a lot in the process. If you wanted to avoid all the pit falls and be as safe and practical as you possibly could, you'd just shoot on a RED or similar high end camera and be done with it. But, being as it is that you are on a budget, I think you'll be just fine with a hacked GH2. As far as Canon cameras go, I personally wouldn't choose a 7D. Not even for anything else to be quite frank. I know a ton of people who have 7D's and they always look soft and smeared. Keying hair is a real problem on the 7D because of this. If you are stuck on Canon cameras, I think you are better off saving your money and getting something like a t3i or similar and just selling it later or. You can spend the money you saved on the 7D and get a nice lens. ;-) In my eyes the step up in quality from a t3i to 7D is a lot less noticeable then going up to a 5DII since the t2/3/4i all have essentially the same APS-C sensor as a 7D. But again, as long as you are not expecting ILM quality green screen keying, you should be just fine. Later when you have the money to make a larger budget film, you can just rent a RED or something similar.

We recently shot a music video for song that was really slow, atmospheric and meandering. We used my FS700 and it was mainly shot in 60fps (with a few shots at 120 and 240) and it looked GREAT because the song was so slow and mellow that the slow motion just complimented it so well. The FS700 is so flexible in so many ways BESIDES the frame rates. I would NOT even consider the C100 just because it does not have slow motion (sorry, but 60i does not qualify). That is such as joke to not have at least 60p in 2012. For the BMC, I can understand no slow motion because it's only $3000 and it has RAW, but for Canon, no excuses. I think if all you shoot is narrative and events, than 24fps only is fine and so is the C100. But for subjects like music videos, sports, B-Roll for documentaries or just the occasional tricked out shot; slow motion just adds so much drama to those typs of shots that 24fps just cannot do. Furthermore, after being on Canon for almost 4 years, I am happy to get away from the baked in Canon look. I LOVE the FS700 Cinegammas, especially Cinegamma 1 as it's really nostalgic and filmic looking and so great for grading. Unlike many, I like the form factor of the FS700. I shoot tons of handheld (since it's a look I love) and I do it just bare bones, no rig, no extra EVF, just using what is on the camera and I get great shots handheld. I think if the C100 was around 5K, it would be a hit, but the FS700 (especially is really hard to beat at that price). Rumor has it that Sony is about to announce a Codec upgrade for the FS700 very soon. Possibly in-camera 4:2:2 50mbps. I certain hope that is the case, and if it is, the C100 will be lost even before it launches. I think the C100 is really just a camera for the Canon fan boys. For people who want value, they are going to look elsewhere at BMC or Sony. Maybe in 2013, Canon might finally break the Gaaasssspppppp...... the 60p barrier. For them, it's a long, long time coming.

I did mention this in another thread, but I think that it probably deserves its own topic. For those of you trying to mount diopters on LA7200 anamorphic lenses, this is what I have been doing (see pictures). The binding product is called Dual Lock. It is similar to velcro but is adhesive-sided and creates a stronger bond. I never have to worry about my diopters slipping off. It works well with inexpensive Cokin-P diopters as pictured. With a GH2, I can shoot with the Voigtlander Nokton and the LA7200 with only slight vignetting. So 30mm and up should be vignette free. It's a very simple concept but I haven't seen anyone else using it and it took me a while to figure it out. I hope that others find it useful.

Wow, that's a lot of options! FS100 is a complete a solution if you can spend the money. Low light and shallow dof means perhaps 5Dii with filter and Magic Lantern is a good choice for cheap. Then get a fast 50mm manual old prime for cheap unique look. I don't have experience with all in this list, but the closest I've used are 5D2, 550D and FS700 (similar to FS100). GH2 costs very little and people have done a lot with it with regard to lenses, which are really important. 5Diii is probably a bit expensive for what it does.

The 5D2 and VAF is a good budget choice unless you need to shoot wider than 28mm, then your corners go soft. The FS100 is a low light king and better value for money than the $3500 5D3. You are looking at $4000 for one used. You won't need the Shuttle unless you're doing a lot of fast camera work - action sequences and jerky handheld stuff. Internal codec is very good. D800 with the Mosaic filter will be nicer than a 5D3 image wise, but again you risk the blurry corners at wide angle. If you can wait for the GH3 it is sounding very nice on paper. Launch is mid-September at Photokina. But on shelves? I am not sure. Could be as late as November. GH2 for the price is unbelievably good. But you should think as carefully about your choice of lenses for a cinematic look as about the camera. Anamorphic lenses make more of a difference. All the cameras above have strikingly different lenses available for them which give a cinematic look. Research into it. I've done a lot of lens research for the GH2 as that has been my primary camera for the last 2 years, all that is in my book. The full frame cameras and FS100 - well that depends more on your budget since the camera eats into what you could be spending on very nice lenses for the GH2. If you have to build your lens collection from scratch go for the GH2 no question about it. The money you save, put towards good glass, makes more difference than those camera bodies towards overall cinema feel.