3 Way Holiday Camera Shootout Part 8, Video User Experience

D5200 with 18-200mm lens at 200mm

 

Brief Report    My interest is in still photos. I rarely make a video.  However each of the three cameras in this 3 Way shootout is capable of motion picture capture.  So I made some videos with the purpose of comparing the user experience provided by each. I make no comment about the technical details or output quality of the video. There are numerous websites which cover this aspect of camera function in great detail.

I was interested to discover how each kit managed inexpert hand held panning in varied light plus moving from near to far subjects to test the autofocus.

I made the video clips indoors, in reasonably bright light, with some parts of the room in sunlight, others in deep shade. I panned slowly from people to furniture in the room. I set each camera to it's fully auto mode then pressed the motion picture start button. Each camera has one of these located behind the shutter button.

Holding and Viewing  When the operator is standing,  a convenient camera height for video is about waist level. This usually allows the camera to be held level to prevent distortion.  This camera position is greatly facilitated by a fully articulated monitor, which the D5200 and G6 have but the V2 does not have.

Both the MILC's enable viewing with motion picture capture via either the EVF (useful in sunny conditions) or the monitor. The D5200 can only use the monitor.

Panning  My subjective impression is that the V2 was smoother but they each managed well enough.

Continuous Focussing  The D5200/18-200mm  exercised itself with much whirring and clicking but was slow to catch up when the camera was required to focus from near to far or vice versa.  The MILC's were smoother and quieter. They managed near-far-near-far focus transitions more quickly and smoothly.

As was the case with still photos in monitor view, I wondered if the D5200 might work better with manual focus set by scale for motion picture capture.  

Face Detect  Each has face detect. That on the G6 and V2 were more reliable. The D5200 picked up a plate (plate detect, anyone ?) near the edge of the frame then kept focus at that location for many seconds after the camera was panned to a different part of the room.

Summary The G6 has been designed for fully integrated stills and motion picture capture and it shows in the user experience.

Ranking

1. G6/14-140mm

2. V2/10-100mm

3. D5200/18-200mm

Next, and last: Summary and final ranking