Buying Guide: Best DSLRs for video: £500-£1000

Most stills cameras – whether a DSLR, compact system camera (CSC) or one of Sony's latest SLT (Single Lens Translucent mirror) models – come equipped with a video capture mode.

If you're looking to spend upwards of £500, but less than the crucial £1000 mark, then there's a wide choice available that each offer their own pros and cons. The more you spend doesn't always equate to a 'better' movie mode, however, so there's a lot to consider.

In our guide to the best DSLRs, SLTs and compact system camera (CSCs) under £1000 we'll explore every detail through from operability to final capture and audio quality.

While we've seen all these cameras individually and assessed them on their overall ability, this feature solely focuses on each of the camera's movie capture abilities. The selection of models represents the most prolific cross section available on the market within the price bracket. So which of these sub-£1000 models is best for video capture? Read on…

The Sony Alpha A55 is among the first of a new breed of camera. Dubbed an 'SLT' (Single Lens Translucent), the A55 may appear like a DSLR from the outside, but its internal construction is quite different. The mirror inside is translucent which means light can permanently pass to the sensor while reflected light is always fed the autofocus sensor.

As technological as this may sound, all you need to know is that this allows for true continuous autofocus that's perfect for tracking moving subjects during movie recording.

Auto focus

The A55's continuous autofocus works like a dream, indeed it's the best continuous AF system for movie of any stills camera, though it's not without its issues.

Clever though it may be to quickly slide focus between one subject and another, there's little choice as to what the camera will focus on as the camera always focuses on the most central point. Should someone walk through your shot, for example, the camera will quickly adjust to this new subject, even if that's not your intention.

What the A55 lacks is the ability to easily toggle the focus on or off, or manipulate the focus sensitivity. It is possible to pop many lenses into manual focus using their direct AF/MF switches, but this isn't a practical way of 'pausing' the focus.

Exposure

The A55's movie shooting mode doesn't venture outside of the automated Programme mode either, which means beyond the ability to control exposure compensation and exposure lock (AEL) during capture there's little else at your disposal.

LCD

Design-wise the A55 comes equipped with an LCD screen that's mounted on a vari-angle bracket. This means the screen can be moved away from the camera and rotated through a variety of angles – it's most useful for waist level shooting for lower-angle shots.

Performance

With Sony, as per Panasonic cameras, the choice to use AVCHD as its primary movie capture has a series of benefits and downsides.

On the one hand the H.264 compression is very good as it maintains high quality while rendering small file sizes. The 17Mbps data rate is high for a camera of this type, and a minute of footage equates to around 135MB.

On the other hand, the native MTS files captured aren't useable in most computer programs or editing suites (VideoLAN - VLC can read them though not always smoothly) and this means files need to be decoded into a different format, such as the larger MOV file type, using (free) software such as Windows Movie Maker or Apple's iMovie.

The 'Full HD' branding of the A55 comes with a slight pinch of salt: the sensor captures files at 25fps in an interlaced format, i.e. odd lines are captures on one pass of the sensor, even lines on the next pass. It can be hard for the human eye to recognise this as a problem until, that is, fast moving subjects show signs of 'tearing', which is a like seeing one frame in one position and the next frame slightly offset from the other half.

Downgrade to Sony's 'AVC' capture and you'll get progressive capture, but at a 1440x1080 resolution with a far lower data rate that's then upscaled (to Full HD). This secondary option produces MP4 files direct from camera that are more immediately useable, but the quality just isn't as top notch.

Audio

Audio is handled by the camera's built in microphone, though this will pick up surrounding sounds such as the lens's autofocus. However, flip open a panel to the left side of the camera and a 3.5mm microphone jack means you can record using an external mic with improved results.

Overall the A55 is up there with the best when it comes to point-and-shoot capture and continuous autofocus. It's not 100% reliable, however, as using the sensor's SteadyShot image stabilisation system will cause overheating (resulting in cut out) after around nine minutes depending on the ambient temperature. It's not an exclusive Sony issue, but one to be aware of.

Key video specifications

Approx price: £600 with 18-55mm kit lens
Sensor: APS-C sized sensor (1.5x magnification)
Maximum resolution: 1080i (1920x1080px)
Frame rate: 25fps
Compression and file format: H.264 for AVCHD video and AAC audio compression, AVCHD format requires decoding; 1440x1080 Motion JPEG format playable straight from camera as MP4 files
Exposure mode: Programme mode with exposure compensation, AEL, ISO control and (prior to recording only) aperture adjustment
Connectivity: HDMI-C out port with Bravia Sync, 3.5mm audio jack for external microphones

Panasonic's champion mid-level compact system camera, the Lumix G3, is small in body but big on its automated movie features.

The camera's 3in, vari-angle touchscreen LCD screen extends from the side of the body and can be rotated through any angle. The G3 even includes a built-in electronic viewfinder (EVF) that, due to the camera's construction, can be used during capture for extra stability where needed (this isn't possible with any DSLR camera).

Auto focus

What really sells the G3's movie mode is the camera's continuous autofocus (AF-C) mode combined with the touchscreen technology. Pressing a finger onto the screen itself dictates the point of focus and this can be used in real time during recording – the camera glides the subject into focus and rarely over- or under-focuses due to the controlled speed of focusing.

Focus can be achieved anywhere across the screen, meaning even subjects to the edge of the frame aren't out of reach. For more accurate focusing the 1-Area AF Mode realises a square-shaped focus area that can also be resized with the drag of a finger.

Face Detection, Subject Tracking and a 23-Area auto mode are also available. Pop the camera into single autofocus mode (AF-S) and focusing is just about as quick as it gets, owed to the impressive live view AF speed, but can falter a little from time to time.

Manual focus is also available and a 'macro-landscape slider' shows on screen to assist with focus distance, but its generalised terms aren't overly helpful and no full-size zoom assist to show the recording in actual size on the screen means tweaking focus can be problematic.

Using the zoom during recording can cause a bit of a battle with the autofocus system too, as the focus here fails to keep up.

Performance

Although the G3 fails to offer full manual control (something seemingly reserved for the higher pegged Lumix GH2 model), the AVCHD 1080i capture at 50 fields per second (output at 25fps for PAL or 60i output at 30fps for NTSC standards) is of good quality, though the MTS files will need to be decoded into MOV files (using software such as iMovie or Windows Movie Maker) for use with other devices.

Exposure compensation is available, but this is only prior to commencing recording rather than during capture.

Exposure itself can occasionally 'jump' between levels as the light changes, though slow shifts in light won't cause such problems. In addition to AVCHD, a Motion-JPEG capture is also available which produces larger-sized AVI files of lesser quality but which require no processing for use straight from camera.

Audio

Sound-wise the G3 has an onboard stereo microphone in front of the hotshoe, or a 2.5mm (yup, not a standard 3.5mm fitting!) mic jack is available for external microphones. The onboard mic's location keeps it out of reach from the lens and no autofocus sounds are audible in playback.

Overall the G3's a great point-and-shoot bit of kit for video capture that can accurately track subjects and glide between focal depths with accuracy. It's just the lack of manual controls that hold it back.

Key video specs

Approx price: £619 with 14-42mm kit lens
Sensor: Micro Four Thirds Sensor (2x magnification)
Maximum resolution: 1080i capture (1920x1080px) maximum resolution
Frame rate: 50i (25fps sensor output) PAL / 60i (30fps sensor output)
Compression: H.264 for AVCHD video and AAC audio compression
File format: AVCHD format MTS files require decoding; M-JPEG
Exposure mode: Programme mode
Focus modes: Full time (AF-C), Subject Tracking, Single (AF-C) and Manual (MF) focus options
Connectivity: HDMI & A/V outs, 2.5mm mini audio jack for external microphones

The thing that really sells the D5100 is its 921k-dot, 3in, vari-angle LCD screen. As this is mounted on a side hinge it's possible to turn it away from the camera and rotate it through any angle. This provision is particularly useful for video capture where a waist-level or high-up shooting position may be desired.

It's worth noting that the D5100 was released before the more budget Nikon D3100. However, the latter release benefitted from live view improvements that translated into faster movie autofocusing. When the D5100 was released these improvements had not been rolled out so, as a benchmark, the D3100 is actually a more capable video-shooting machine in terms of its autofocus ability.

Auto Focus

The D5100 offers edge-to-edge focusing across the whole screen, and it's possible to move the AF-Area focus point anywhere using the d-pad. In addition there are Face-Priority AF and Subject Tracking AF modes that do a good job of selecting subjects and recognising their movements, yet can't always follow this up with the swift autofocus to maintain focus at all times.

Performance

Although the D5100 offers a 24 or 25fps frame rate choice at both 1080p and 720p, the resulting (1080p) MOV files equate to around 150MB per minute and have the same excess compression characteristics of the D3100's files.

There's just not the biting detail that you'd expect from a Full HD file because of this, plus exposure can 'jump' between brightness levels in certain circumstances.

Exposure

Control-wise, the Programme mode takes care of all the settings and, despite the screen relaying aperture and shutter values these are only displayed as a carry-over from the stills shooting side, they're not values that apply to the movie capture – the camera takes care of all that.

The only exposure control that can be tweaked live during capture, is exposure compensation adjustment.

As well as a built in mono microphone the D5100 adds a 3.5mm microphone jack for use with external microphones. When using the in-built option it's easy to pick up lens focusing sounds, so the capacity to use an external mic is a significant and essential benefit.

Key video specifications

Approx price: £690 with 18-55mm kit lens
Sensor: APS-C sized sensor (1.5x magnification)
LCD screen: 3in, 921k-dot, vari-angle
Maximum resolution: 1080p capture (1920x1080px)
Frame rate: 24 or 25fps
Compression: H.264 video compression and Linear PCM audio
File format: MOV
Exposure mode: Programme shooting mode
Focus modes: Full time (AF-F), Single (AF-S) and Manual (MF) focus options
Connectivity: HDMI-C and mini-USB AV out ports

The direct competitor for Nikon's D5100, the Canon EOS 600D has notable similarities – most prominently a 3in, vari-angle LCD screen. However in the Canon camera's instance the screen is as high a resolution as they (currently) come, at a whopping 1,040k-dots. The articulating mount means it can be put through almost any angle for unusual framing and is particularly useful for lower-angled shots when capturing video.

Auto Focus

The 600D utilises a contrast-detection autofocus system when in live view (and therefore movie mode), which is far from swift off the mark. Indeed focusing isn't any better than the budget Canon EOS 1100D model and has trouble with over- and under-focusing when attempting to acquire focus. It's therefore best not to re-focus during movie capture unless you're tweaking manual focus only.

Unlike the Nikon D5100, the 600D doesn't offer a continuous autofocus option during movie capture.

Exposure

Although the autofocus isn't great, the 600D offers plenty of manual control – through from aperture and shutter speed to ISO sensitivity and exposure compensation, everything is at your disposal should you so wish. Of course a quick flick of a button in the main menu can also set the exposure to 'Auto' for point-and-shoot simplicity too.

Movie Digital Zoom

One quirk of the 600D is the Movie Digital Zoom option that gives an additional 3x magnification without loss of resolution (it can offer up to 10x mag though this will come with some loss of detail).

As the 1920x1080 Full HD movie resolution only equates to around 2-megapixels in total, it's far smaller than the full 18-megapixel sensor on offer. By using a smaller portion of the sensor, the camera is able to multiply its zoom capabilities.

Theoretically the 600D's sensor could fit three 1080p captures side by side across its sensor, hence the 3x equating to no detail loss.

Performance

Video files are captured at 24, 25 or 30fps and rendered as MOV files using the H.264 compression codec.

Quality is very good overall, with a (variable) 45mbit/sec data rate in our test squeezing some 360MB of footage into a single minute.

Audio is dealt with using on on-board microphone, though those looking for better sound will be pleased to see the 3.5mm mic jack for external microphones. The linear PCM sound quality is good (though can get distorted due to wind when using the built-in mic).

Key video specifications

Approx price: £700 with 18-55mm kit lens
Sensor: APS-C sized (1.6x magnification)
LCD screen: 3in, 1040k-dot, vari-angle
Maximum resolution: 1080p capture (1920x1080px)
Frame rate: 24, 25 or 30fps
Compression: H.264 video compression and Linear PCM audio
File format: MOV file format
Exposure modes: Programme and Manual shooting options
Focus mode: Single (AF-S) and Manual (MF) focus options
Connectiveity: HDMI-C and mini-USB AV out ports, 3.5mm jack for external microphones

Like a suped-up version of the E-PL2 (as found in the under £500 section of this article), the latest Olympus PEN E-P3 has a lot of video control on offer.

This is the first PEN model to introduce AVCHD capture, though this doesn't directly replace the Motion JPEG capture of previous models – both options are available.

AVCHD capture uses better compression for smaller files that then need to be rendered outside of camera, whereas M-JPEG is a series of JPEG images replayed as a movie (AVI format) that can be used straight from camera.

Exposure

The E-P3's movie capabilities have some great quirks: Full manual control means aperture, shutter and ISO options can be adjusted for absolute control. However none of these settings can be changed during capture, a significant oversight that could have stepped up the camera's capabilities considerably.

Pressing the one-touch movie button will start recording rolling, but accurate composition is flawed here as the E-P3 uses a different portion of the sensor for movie capture. This causes cropping, i.e. the original frame you thought was going to be captured will suddenly be more 'zoomed in' and lose the surrounding edge (this even occurs if set to 16:9 ratio in stills mode). Small details like this hold the E-P3 back from having a more pro-fulfilling movie mode.

Auto focus

During recording there's the option of continuous autofocus, single autofocus (both of which can have the addition of manual override) or manual focus.

The E-P3's continuous autofocus mode is the one that particularly impresses, as it eases subjects into focus with little problems. It's a frustration that the focus point can't be moved around during capture, which becomes yet more of a misgiving when considering the E-P3's touch-sensitive screen (that's rendered useless in movie mode). It should have taken a leaf out of the Panasonic G3's book and allowed for full touchscreen focus control during capture.

Performance

The E-P3's 20Mbps data rate should produce high quality, though compression seems a bit over the top at times – looking in detail areas reveals processed, 'fuzzy' edges. A lower 'Normal' compression option is also available as a further space-saving option.

Sound is captured via the on-board stereo microphone, though wind noise can be an issue. While it's possible to employ an external microphone the Olympus-only Accessory Port means there's only one current microphone (SEMA-1) available. A standard 3.5mm fitting for third party microphones would have made more sense and opened the camera up to an even wider audience.

Overall the E-P3 improves capture options from previous models but fails to iron out small details that would have taken this good camera to levels of greatness.

Key video specifications

Approx price: £799 with 18-55mm kit lens
Sensor: Micro Four Thirds (2x magnification)
Screen: 3in, 610k-dot, OLED touschsreen
Maximum resolution: 1080i capture (1920x1080px) maximum resolution
Frame rate: 60i (output as 30fps)
File format: AVCHD or Motion JPEG recording
Exposure modes: Full Manual and Auto shooting options
Focus modes: Continuous (AF-C), Single (AF-S) with Manual Focus override available
Connectivity: HDMI-C and mini-USB AV out ports, accessory port for Olympus SEMA-1 microphone

Pentax's K-5 is the company's most able video-shooting DSLR, capable of capturing Full HD 1080p clips at 25fps in the Motion JEPG (AVI) format.

Although the K-5's body is rugged and weather-sealed, which makes it hard wearing and ideal for use in sandy or rainy conditions, there aren't too many movie-based perks for the videographer.

Auto focus

The main thing lacking from the K-5 is that there's no autofocus available during video capture – instead it's only possible to predetermine the focal point and then commence recording after.

When attaining focus prior to capture, the K-5's focus system, as per its live view operation, is very quick and will zoom in to the image (to actual size to ensure accurate focus is made).

Manual focus is also available, but this isn't always practical as assessing focal distance isn't easy to judge using a DSLR. It's made more tricky by the K-5's lack of a manual focus assist (to show the image zoomed in to actual size on screen for more accurate focusing).

Exposure

The K-5 makes up for its AF shortfall elsewhere by the provision of Aperture Priority exposure control (though the aperture can only be set prior to recording) and the inclusion of a 3.5mm mic jack to connect an external microphone.

Exposure compensation and exposure lock are available during capture for more critical exposure decisions, as in Aperture Priority mode the camera auto-adjusts the exposure level.

Other fun options include 'Cross Processing' and Digital Filter modes that can also be applied to videos to add an 'arty' edge (but once they're applied there's no way of removing the final effect).

Performance

The K-5's final movie quality is very good, though there are some signs of grain in shadow areas. The rendered AVI files are also huge, with a minute of footage eating up some 430MB of space (though this is why the quality is high). A three-tiered compression option accessible via the main menu means file size can be reduced by compromising further on quality should you need the extra space. Sound-wise it's mono recording only, which is of adequate quality, though not a match for straightforward stereo sound.

Key video specs

Approx price: £930 with 18-55mm kit lens
Sensor: APS-C sized (1.5x magnification)
LCD screen: 3in, 921k-dot
Maximum resolution: 1080p capture (1920x1080px)
Frame rate: 25fps
Compression: Motion JPEG and mono sound
File format: AVI file format
Exposure modes: Programme and Aperture Priority shooting options
Focus modes: Fixed pre-focus only and Manual (MF) focus options
Connectivity: HDMI-C and mini-USB AV out ports, 3.5mm jack for external microphones

As the price bracket increases so does the expectation for more features and greater control over video making, though this won't be realised in every purchase.

Despite the Pentax K-5 being the most expensive of the cameras on test in this price bracket, it's the only camera that doesn't offer any autofocus ability for its movie mode. While, arguably, some of the other cameras' autofocus modes aren't of pratical use, and therefore obsolete, this is certainly an area Pentax needs to see some progression in. The AVI files are good quality, but the file sizes are huge and this just isn't going to cut it for more pro-grade applications either.

The other two remaining DSLRs – the Nikon D5100 and Canon 600D – are very similar on paper and have some great features, but are quite different beasts.

The vari-angle screens of both cameras are very practical for movie shooting and the 3.5mm mic jack of each model means external microphones can be connected for sound recording. The D5100's continuous autofocus is a step in the right direction, but it's not fast enough to deal with all subjects and the video files are a little 'choppy' rather than 'cinematic' in playback.

Although the Canon 600D's files may look the better of the pair, its single autofocus system is no better than that found in the Canon EOS 1100D, which mis-focuses by such a margin that it's next to useless (this could explain why Pentax avoids implementing such a system in the K-5).

Then things step up a notch.

The E-PL3's movie capture abilities are great, there's full manual control and the continuous autofocus is fantastic too. The letdown is in the final quality however, which lacks the sharpness and clarity of its peers due to over-processing. But still a very strong effort that's a breeze to use.

The Sony Alpha A55 also puts in a sterling effort. Its continuous autofocus is very, very fast and equally as accurate, which allows for swift focusing between a variety of subjects. However the A55's main autofocus strength is also its main 'weakness' in other regards: as the camera can only autofocus to the centre-point of the screen there's a lack of control; no single autofocus features; nor are there manual controls. But it is the cheapest one of the bunch here, and for that it's a grand performer that's far faster than anything else out there.

At the top of the tree is Panasonic's G3. For the snap-happy consumer crowd this camera has (almost) everything you could need. Final quality is great, the touchscreen is fantastic for changing focus points during capture (something the Olympus E-P3 failed to address), the continuous autofocus is very smooth as is the ability to track moving subjects. I

t may not be quite as swift as the Sony A55, its 2.5mm mic jack is annoying and there's no full manual control. But what you do get, however, is a device that's small, affordable, endlessly useable and will appeal to the wider masses that want good video capture and controls right at their fingertips.