[Closed] Best camera for HD Video

Get a go-pro hero3.

Easily hold their own on Vimeo.

Do not get a HD one that uses bloody [url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVCHD ]AVCHD[/url] (saves as .mts) You can't edit or do eff all with it. I have a great panasonic that takes great video, but it is crap/nigh on impossible to work with. TBH A go pro would be good, only for the lack of zoom etc.

Bit confused.
Do you mean your Canon DSLR doesn't have video?

If you just want to replace that, then anything from the 550D upwards will produce excellent results depending on the lenses.
I've got my eye on the price of the Canon 60D as the replacement to my 40D.

550D or 600D would set you back £3xx
60D is currently £479 (import already in the UK)

If you mean something completely different to the above, (pocketable, etc) then maybe look at the Sony RX100?

Yes my current Canon is quite a few years old and doesn't have video. WOuld prefer to have something less bulky than an SLR but want image quality to still be really good. I'll look at the SOny RX100

Sony NEX range. Great little camera, fantastic video. Very high quality if you need it, but fine in MP4 and editable in just about anything.

550D (and thus 600D and 650D) just about hold up to scrutiny against a 5D2 as long as you dont' start bashing high ISO settings – so outdoors, there's not a lot in it.

This was shot on a Canon 5D, Sony FS700 and a 550D – all riding footage that is tripod mounted is 550D but it blends in with the 5D and FS700 reasonably well, and bare in mind that's been compressed more than needed as I needed a quick upload:

This is all 550D and again, more compressed than it needed to be:

Hmmmm, watch on vimeo for HD obviously :-S

In terms of being compact, I tend to just leave a 50 1.8 prime on there if I'm riding and filming, sometimes I'll lug around the 10-22 if I think the scenery is worth it.

Following on from Gary's mention of just leaving a small, light lens on, there's a new Canon 40mm pancake lens too at a reasonable price:
[img] https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRqqFQZV19lZwC2MXavmqY2RMT1mpj0P-nMPDr_GEBNYw0kd3HDGQ [/img]

<goes off to watch Gary's vids>

I almost plumped for the 40mm pancake but reports of terrible focus ring put me off in the end. Shame as I hear the image quality is amazing for the money.

Just to expand a little on what constitutes "hold its own on Vimeo".
It's a factor of a lot of things. Not just the IQ of a camera.

A few of them are camera-related:
[b]Fidelity/resolution:[/b] Obvious one, 720p certainly doesn't always 720p)
[b]Stability in motion:[/b] Some cameras suffer badly from jelly wobble when panning (Rolling Shutter).
[b]Depth of field:[/b] There's no substitute for good lenses. Very few compacts or wearable cameras can manage shallow depth of field. A DSLR with a f/1.8 lens can, but it isn't the prettiest. There's a whole host of other 'manual' lenses which are popular for this purpose too.
[b]Low light performance:[/b] If you're filming bright sunny snowboarding, a lot of cameras can perform well. If you're filming in gloomy misty woods, many cameras will add a lot of noise, making the footage look muddy.

Many other factors aren't really camera-related:

[b]Using the camera like a film camera not a camcorder:[/b] Lots of info about this online.
[b]Editing[/b]:
[b]Post processing:[/b] Especially colour grading.
[b]Compensating for camera shortcomings:[/b] For example, shooting only in bright light.
[b]Filming in the right conditions:[/b] Sunrise/Sunset, dewy grass, mist lingering in the trees, etc. All these things add magic and are commonly used in professional shoots.

There's tons more, but I just wanted to try and explain a little about why some of these films on Vimeo are so appealing.