jnorman34

I used a GH4 for about 2 years and really loved the quality.  however, hauling around a DSLR system with tripod, head and slider was just too much for travel purposes.  so, when I took a trip to phoenix to shoot a short doc about Taliesin West, I picked up a gopro hero 4 and a handheld 3-axis gimbal (zhiyun Z1 Pround).  while the gopro has no zoom capability, using this setup completely changed my approach to short doc videos, from the static tripod approach to POV with a moving camera.  the gimbal still allows nice smooth pans and tilts, and also allows smooth moving footage.  shooting in 4K allows good cropping and zooming in post to bring in details.  yes, I miss having some zoom capability but overall, the portability of the gopro and handheld gimbal (easily fits in a small messenger type bag and weighs almost nothing) for travel purposes has completely replaced my DSLR/tripod system.  you can see some of my vids on youtube if you are interested in what kind of results this little system can give - here is one I did about Depoe Bay, Oregon -
 

well, I know I personally picked up several good new ideas from this.  thanks, jcs.

Michael - you funny ;-)

thanks to you all for the excellent replies.
 
quirky - my work is archival footage of architecture for the state historic society.  I spent my career shooting architecture with a 4x5 for the library of congress, and all these little cameras seem like toys to me, so I don't think it is just GAS...  I wanted to shoot this new archival footage at the highest possible resolution to achieve the best possible quality for long-term documentation purposes - I am not trying to shoot "cinema". 

Andrew has aimed a lot of negative comments directly at nikon which apply to nearly every camera maker out there. I agree that 4K is the future, and panny seems to be leading the way, but to hammer nikon seems a bit inappropriate.

I own a D5300 and chose it specifiCally for its balance of ability to shoot both high quality stills and 1080p video without moire and aliasing. I looked at many cameras from the nikon D800 and D610, canon 6D, and panny GM1 and GH3 to sony nex7 and was unable to find a better all-around solution.

Perhaps if Andrew approached his review a bit less video-centric and recognized that many pros require a camera that can do both stills and video to acceptable stock photo standards, he might realize the humble little D5300 is, right now, about the best balance available on the market.

That said, I appreciate Andrew's website, insights, and all the work he does helping the video community.

Andrew has aimed a lot of negative comments directly at nikon which apply to nearly every camera maker out there. I agree that 4K is the future, and panny seems to be leading the way, but to hammer nikon seems a bit inappropriate.

I own a D5300 and chose it specifiCally for its balance of ability to shoot both high quality stills and 1080p video without moire and aliasing. I looked at many cameras from the nikon D800 and D610, canon 6D, and panny GM1 and GH3 to sony nex7 and was unable to find a better all-around solution.

Perhaps if Andrew approached his review a bit less video-centric and recognized that many pros require a camera that can do both stills and video to acceptable stock photo standards, he might realize the humble little D5300 is, right now, about the best balance available on the market.

That said, I appreciate Andrew's website, insights, and all the work he does helping the video community.