Canon EOS 70D Digital SLR Camera with 18-135mm STM Lens

The bottom line is this is a fantastic vlogging camera, which is the specific reason I bought it. If you're not interested in 4k, if you're a 1 man band, or just someone that wants to shoot a lot of great material and get it out to the world fast, this might be the camera for you.Already being the owner of a Canon 5D mark iii and mark iv, I am very familiar with the Canon brand. I do both still photography and videography, equally.I endeavored to help my wife start up a lifestyle vlog, and did a lot of research on cameras before picking this one. It made a lot of sense to me because I already own a lot of high-end Canon glass. However, owning full frame cameras, I don't have too many super wide angle lenses, that are better for this APC-S sized sensor. Please see below for a detailed analysis.VIDEOGRAPHY:Pros:-I love the articulating touch screen. To me, this is the main reason this camera beats the pants off of my 5D's for shooting video. You can place this camera high or low, left or right, face it at you or behind you, and turn the screen to see it. You can tap on the screen to focus or adjust properties easily.-Facial auto focus works really great! I know there is an upgraded camera (80D) that makes this better. But honestly, if you are looking to save some money, just get this camera. You're gonna be happy with the autofocus. It's fine.-Compared to my bigger cameras, this guy is really light weight-The menus are easy to navigate-the footage looks amazing-Shoots 24p-Sound is straightforward. You need an off camera mic, and you preferably want a powered mic so you can use the mic gain and not the camera's gain to get less hiss.-Can use any EF or EF-S lens.So you you are a canon shooter, you've got a head start-Takes pretty nice photos too! Since I didn't buy this for photos, admittedly I haven't delved in. I would, truthfully, use my 5D Mark IV for a photo shoot. But for me, when I am out there shooting video, if I want to snap a few stills, this guy works great.Cons:-Not 4k (this is not a con for me, but if you want 4k, look elsewhere)-Not a high quality/high bit-depth format. (Again, this is not a huge deal for me. I'm about story and speed over noodling with quality. I also own a BMPCC, and yes, shooting raw 10 or 12 bit is amazing... but you have to CC everything, do online/offline workflows, etc. so this is really more of a preference than a con. You have to know what you want to do. I think this camera wins for vlogging-Not as great with low light as other cameras. This camera caps off at ISO 6400. But realistically you wanna be at 800, 1600 max if you are good with seeing some noise. On my Mark IV I can shoot at 6400 and see no visible noise. But I mean, the Mark IV is like thousands of dollars more, so it's not a great comparison.-Its not full frame. Not a huge problem, neither was the Alexa I've shot TV shows on for years. But, if you want full frame, this ain't it. So you need wider aperture lenses or to shoot really long lens if you want to get shallow depth of field.LENSES:On lenses, I did pick it up with the 18-55mm kit lens, then also bought the little 2.8 24mm pancake lens. They're both great lenses, actually... for the cost. The 18-55 has stabilization, so is better for hand held stuff, but needs more light. The 24mm makes the camera super light to carry, and also looks nice at 2.8. Both of these lenses autofocus great with the camera.So I disagree with some reviews out there that say don't get the kit lens. These days canon makes them pretty good and they are cheap in comparison to other lenses. So unless you have all the glass you need - get the kit lens. I usually get the short zoom kit lens because they are sharper and faster.Having used this camera for a few weeks, I really want to get something wider like the canon 10-22 or the sigma equivalent. I think there are times when being at a 10 to 14mm, especially out doors, would be helpful. I have not used either of these two lenses, my widest lens that is not a fisheye is the canon 15mm zoom.CONCLUSION:This camera may be on the older side right now, but I have to tell you I like it better for videography than my Mark IV. it's just so much faster and easier to use, and doesn't make you're wrist feel like it is going to break off. And because it is older, you can get it cheaper.Don't let all the posts and videos about technical quality hold you back from just going out there and creating. At the end of the day, it's about your talent and your stories. Tell them. I've seen big TV shows with Alexa's suck. I've seem people do amazing things with iPhones. It's not the cameras, its you and how you use them.So if you're gonna go tell stories, and you have about $1200 bucks to do so, get this camera, the kit lens, and an on camera mic. That's all you need. I promise you.

I have had this camera for a little over a month now and am only working with the kit lens and body right out of the box. I am not using any hot shoe flashes, extra lenses, filters etc., which is the best thing about this camera - it is superb right out of the box as a stock set up. And, I do mean superb. I have owned Canons for about the past 20 years and have to say this is the best I have owned yet for the price point.The stock lens: Excellent lens for a kit lens and truly responsive in terms of focus vs. stabilization and lighting. This, of course, also works in conjunction with the sensor and chip. But, this is a nice, solid lens at a good cost.Video: The primary selling point on this is the focus when using video. I have to try pretty hard to trick the camera in order to see any focus problems when recording video. It's easier to trick the camera in low light, but I think this is the best video I have ever shot with a camera. The audio seems to be on par or above with most cameras in this price range. But, a nice shotgun mike would probably make a nice addition for the serious videographer. I've never considered myself a serious videographer, but this camera could change that.Battery Life: Battery life seems very good and I am still working off the same charge from when I pulled the camera out of the box about a month ago. However, to me this has never been an issue since I ALWAYS carry a spare battery. I may consider a battery grip for this camera and have owned a couple of Canon battery grips with previous Canons. As a result, battery life has never been much of a concern for me.Speed: The speed of the camera is excellent and I have worked in situations where I fired a number of bursts with great success.Form Factor: I think this is a nicely sized camera and the controls are very well placed for my hands. Everyone has different hands and mine tend to be a little smaller. But, I do like the size and feel of this Canon. It is significantly larger than the Rebels and I think that is what I like about it since I always felt the Rebel was a bit small.On-camera Flash: The last thing I'll mention is the on-camera flash. It's the best I have used yet. Hands down. I am not a big flash user because I shoot a lot of naturally lit subjects. But, I have used this one with a lot of success and am pleasantly surprised at how well it works.Overall, I can't say anything bad about this camera. I wish I could offer up something constructive. But it appears as though Canon got everything right in this one. Even the interface...though I am sure there will be plenty of nit-pickers out there, the interface is pretty intuitive with minimal use.This is truly the best Canon I have ever owned.