Videographer tips - The best camera for event filming
Most videographers work on event videos at one point or another in their career. Starting out as a videographer, events are good jobs to gain experience of working with crews and on a large production. Some videographers choose to take a different route, possibly avoiding events later on in their career. However most of us videographers and filmmakers have come across them at one point or another. This is especially true is you’re a videographer working in London. So what are the best cameras for filming events?
Not all cameras are built equal
Is there one camera that can do it all? Yes and no. It’s what you do with the camera and most cameras will suffice on most jobs. However each camera will be better at certain things. So here lies the question which camera is best for event filming? To work this out we’ll need to think about the kind of features you’d need in a camera, as a videographer, for filming events.
Feature every event videographer needs in a camera
The first feature I would look for is a high resolution sensor with high frame rates. A camera with an 8k sensor that downsamples to 4k (which is the standard deliverable for most videographers) will give you the ability to crop in during post production. This is really useful if the shot isn’t as close as you might like. The high frame rate aspect of this feature is incredibly good at raising the production value in your films. The ability to slow the clip by 50% when filming at 50fps is a useful feature. For b-roll on events, we mainly film at 50fps so we can add some slow motion when needed.
Another great feature I look for in a camera for event videography is low light capability. For wedding videographers this is a huge feature. When those low light situations happen you’ll need a camera that has a clean image even at higher ISO ratings. typcaial event video productions include filming shots of an audience watching a speaker on stage. During these moments, the lights are on the stage and the audience just has the spill from this light. In this situation a high ISO is the only way to get the correct exposure. Many cameras with dual native ISO settings will work well in this situation.
The third and final feature I look for in a camera for event filming is optical image stabilisation. Lenses can have image stabilisation I hear you cry. Yes they do, but this is mostly only in zoom lenses which film at F2.8 at the most. What if I like to film at F1.2 or F1.4 on a prime. This is when OIS is useful in a camera, especially in low light situations when teh extra stops on the lens makes a huge difference in ISO setting. The OIS allows you to pickup your camera handheld and get smoother shots quickly. Its also incredible useful when you’re running a gimbal as it gives additional stabilisation.
The winning camera
So which camera ranks number one for event filming for videographers? I actually have two winners. For low light events like weddings, I would give the crown to the Sony A7sIII. Its light weight, has 4k capabilities, offers slow motion and has IS. It ticks most the boxes in this sense. However, if low light isn’t a regular thing for your event videography then the Canon R5II would be the choice for me. This camera has better skin tones and colours in my opinion. So although the low light capabilities of the Sony are better, the overall image quality in the Canon wins it.
