Is the video capability on the Canon 60D good?
I'm thinking of buying a Canon 60D for filming. I currently use a Nikon D3100 and wanting to upgrade. I don't mind jumping ship to Canon because my main point is the quality of the video. My biggest question is about the full time Af in video mode. Does it have full time Af? And is the Af fast and accurate and not like Nikon DSLRs where they are slow and constantly trying to grab on something.
If you are jumping because you want better video features, you should jump further and get the 70D.
To my mind serious "filming" should be done on a camcorder, not with a still camera that has video facitlty. For technical resasons I had to do some video work on a stills camera recently, and, oh, it was not nearly as nice as operating with a proper video camera.
Sony's SLTs are better for video than Canon OR Nikon, but they're still a poor substitute for a camcorder.
An intelligent person would know this, but then again, an intelligent person would know there were more than two manufacturers in the first place.
First, you can't do "filming" with a digital camera - these cameras don't do film… They record video.
Second, you don't want auto focus in video - frankly it doesn't work because the lens will be swinging all the time searching for focus when anything in your frame moves. Manual focus is the only way to do video. Trust me, I did a career in broadcast videography - never auto focus.
You mention Nikon dslr cameras and problems with auto focus. What you describe is typical of all auto focus video cameras be they dslr or camcorder - the problems are always the same.
To do a decent job with video you must learn manual focus.
The 60D is probably fine. I shoot all my video with my t3i - another excellent camera and about half the price of the 60.
Jumping from one camera system to another because of a perception that it will provide better stills and video is only going to cost you a whole lot of money. Brilliant stills and videos are produced by skills and experience, NOT the camera.
Take a look at this video. It was shot using an older Nikon D7000.
If you pay close attention you will notice some things.
* the video was shot using a script
* the director used strong lighting to emulate the in situ lighting in each set, thus he was able to use lower ISO settings and prevent noise.
What I'm suggesting includes three things.
1) do NOT jump from one camera system to another.
2) learn how to shoot video from a script
3) use the skills that all videographes use, no matter what camera they use to shoot the video
You are not doing an upgrade that way and video quality will remain exactly the same.
Video is best shot without autofocus but if you really can't survive without it, get a cheaper Sony Handycam instead. It autofocuses better than any dSLR and can record longer too.
Although the camera does affect video quality somewhat, the most important factor is user skill. A camera can only be as good as its user. After all, the camera is only a tool.