Nikon D5100 vs Canon T3i/600D Video Shootout 

@titaniumslug I tried so hard to keep them even in terms of f stop and ISO but the Nikon has a mind of it's own. However they were pretty close, I was amazed to see the Nikon had a great depth of focus than the Canon at pretty much all the same settings.

@JesseShotland did I do a typo in the video? If so maybe I can fix it

Continued again: Sorry, this is my final thought and I'll stop posting, haha: Because he was using different lenses, I have a feeling that this was the biggest difference in the two cameras. Aside from the color differences (which is resolved in post production), one lens had clarity from large depth of field and the other did not. I think what you and I are seeing is 90% lens (and DOF), 10% camera. But I appreciate your sentiments!

@janahun it is marked correctly, the title is what I shot it with.

I've had the D7000 for some time now and wanted another dslr with a swivel screen and was debating over the T3i,d5100, and panasonic gh2 . I ended up getting the t3i. Viewing some sample videos of the 5100 I wasn't totally sold on it. Another good test would be the t3i and a gh2 :)

I had the t3i for a while then purchased the 5100. I was amazed. The quality with video is pretty similar but i noticed the canon to be a wee bit over-saturated. The still image quality however was far better on the nikon.

I get the impression these two are very evenly matched, or is it just me?

@Ghostmaker1970 Easy, you hold the AV button on the back whilst rotating the wheel thing next to the shutter button. Manual still live mode is almost exactly the same, so reading the manual for that will help with video.

Sorry you feel that way. I will admit I am not Shane Hurlbut however I have been doing this for 3 years. How come you don't share your videos here on YT?

Hey! If you don't mind me asking do you know what your settings were at when you were in the studio using the Nikon? I have nice studio lights but for some reason I cannot figure out why the camera is almost over compensating for the bright light.

The image quality on the D5100 does not deteriorate when you raise the ISO at all, it just adds more grain, which can be removed, but the detail will be saved. It has a better sensor than the rebel canons, so naturally higher quality should be the case. On the other hand, the canons have magic lantern... I own a D5100 and the only hard thing in it for me is setting custom white ballance. And audio? "low sensitivity" is perfect for lavalier microphones, does the job for me, no complaints.

the cool thing about nikons is that the autofocus in videomode has been on their cameras since the D3100! the canons only put that on the recent 650D!

@drumat5280 I see! Thank you for the quick response. I thought those shots just for showing the camera.

@mrman17 thanks for letting me know that, that make sense now.

@differenceis That explains it then. If you have an aperature/focus ring then you will be able to manual focus by simply switching it from AF to MF on the lens.

@differenceis And first step, turn lens on the manual mode and focus manually.

Thanks for making this comparison video, there are some factors that i like about the Canon... but overall... i like the Nikon better, seems to be more vivid.

Did you use exposure lock on the Nikon. With Nikons you have to use a grey card or meter of an area in the room to get your exposere & then lock that exposure in. If you shut the Live View off & then turn it back on you have to meter again if you have changed scenes or lighting. Also you can't make in camera changes to the ISO or apeture while in live view. Changes don't take effect until you turn live view off & then on again. I shoot with a Nikon D300s. It just takes some getting use too.

I enjoyed watching this comparison video, so thanks Dave. In the end, I bought the Sony A57 SLT. lol! It kicked both of their butts.

@StreetWise1994 no manual exposure controls

I heard that the Nikon D5100 doesn't have manual mode in video, which is why I opted not to get one. It's about $100 cheaper than the T3i, at Sears, but it's a no go. If not for the manual-video issues, that woulda' been my camera.

thats what i noticed rolling shutters are handled way better on the nikon d5100 thann my mack 3 which is unreal but im happy i own both.

@drumat5280 I believe the Nikon's DX crop sensor is a tiny bit bigger than Canon's APS-C - IIRC this also does affect things like depth of field.

Great video! Could you please tell me what your T3i setting were for this video?

Nice video. And love the shirt by the way! Where could I get one?

Dave lets be real here for just one second and let sensibility reign for once. Your 3 years and countless videos are no match for Clodi1990's 4.5 months of RU-vid and 0.00 videos on youtube /sarcasm mode. Keep up the videos, can't wait for your 6D comparisons!

@Ghostmaker1970 it might be a couple of weeks

Actually, it surprisingly wasn't. And I wanted it to be, because I wanted to exchange my 5100 for the T3i, but the Nikon won to me. And the reason being, everything was just clearer. A lot clearer. And the colors are supposed to be flat on the Nikon, because the color correction comes out much better in post production when you shoot flat, than when you use the Canon color profiles (other than neutral). If he was using the Cinestyle Canon profile, then they would have looked a lot closer.

This video help me choose my first DSLR. I was debating between the T3i and D5100. From what I seen the D5100 takes better pictures and video. Nikon it is....

Nikon looks warmer in colors, I like that.

@drumat5280 I guess Nikon aren't quite there with the video side of thing just yet. But maybe they might come out with some firmware to make manual control easier. Its good that you are open minded enough to give them a chance and see what they have to offer.

@differenceis Are you sure you mean aperture? So are you saying that nothing happens if you rotate the focus ring during video? Focus = aperture. Even zoom affects the aperture for most lenses.

Great test. I wish you had run back and forth between two clips a few times. That makes it easier to compare. I know I can do by reversing the video but it would be cool. Also just want to comment on your shirt; Awesome! :).

@differenceis I was just told by someone else who has this camera that you need to change the focus settings on the lens itself (not the camera).

@Terskov Its more convenient to use and feels better in the hand.

its the lenses that determine the aperture. The lower the aperture number, the more shallow your depth of field will be.

I believe that both cameras are amazing. The differences are on the persons who shoots! I 'm a beginer and just bought D5100! I believe that nikon is better for me and i can handle better! Choose the best for you!

Plus, if you are starting out, and if you are not made out of money, you will save money on filters, since the non-expensive lenses are 52mm in diameter. The 35mm 1.8 is also cheap, you get 50mm equivalent on a full-frame.

I believe he got it right. He was shooting with the opposite camera. Therefore when you saw the Canon, he was shooting with the Nikon and vice versa. Happy shooting!

i use the nikon d5100 just everything comes out so crisp. check out a few of recent videos and you will see how good it looks.

@3:38, how were you able to achieve that clarity ? like there was barely any noise in the footage from D5100 in the dark. Would you able to recall now like after 8 years ?

David,thank you!!!!! Best review)

Excellent description

Nice video. Which one do you recommend for movies? Replacing standard video camera. Nikon has auto focus mode for videos, but the overall video/photo quality (except in dark) seems better with Canon. What do you think? Thx.

Nikon has a yellow bias, where the Canon has a blue bias. Shooters wear yellow shooting glasses to flatten out contrast to gain a better visual [see indoor shot on left window sill]. It effects coloring though [see grass scene]. Aftermarket automotive HID lighting has an enormous color variation. What road surface effects what coloring to use [like using color filters to affect white balance]. Canon is blue, Nikon is yellow; skin-tones accept yellow biasing more pleasing than being blue-biased.

@Ghostmaker1970 i will make a video on this in the future.

so from that, the Nikon seems a lot better in low light than the Cannon, would you say thats correct, cause there seemed to be a bit of confusion?

@orthusnet on my camcorder I can lock down the exposure.

It1s no true that D5100 has no manual control. Well, it is semi-manual, which is more than enough for the majority of users. You set aperture or exposure before going into live mode and then lock it with a button A/E lock. This works just fine. You either need a depth of field by setting aperture or freezing an action by setting exposure. Why would one need to set both in fully manual????????

Continued from my post below: In fairness, he had a shallower depth of field on the Canon than on the D5100. Go back and look at his shrubs at 3:05 and notice the pink tree in back is bokeh but the 5100 shows it clearly. Also, the rolling shutter is much more noticeable on the T3i than on the Nikon. Truth be told, I know that the T3i can get great results, and probably same with the 5100.....but in this video, the 5100 looks better.

D5100 rolling shutter looks far better. You actually can adjust manual exposure with Nikon, but it requires a little more work(AE-L).

@aomegapresents What is your iso set at? Go outside in bright light and set it at 100. If you get noise then, you probably have a defective cam. Most reviews say that low light is the nikon's strong point.

@differenceis Saying you cant adjust the aperture is like saying you have no manual focus. The Nikon has manual focus. Is there something I'm missing here?

At 4.42 with the shot with the lamp in the foreground & the garden outside was the Nikon stopped down more? because there seems to be a lot more detail in the Nikon shot, especially in the background. If the same there may be something to the Nikon. How do you find the sigma 30mm by the way, is it sharp enough wide open? I have the Canon 50mm 1.4 and find it to be WAY too soft wide open. I'm wondering if they need to be stopped down anyway whether to get the 17-55 2.8 instead of a set of primes.

Call me crazy, but i kinda like more the overall quality of Nikon; i know i know, Canon has all the video options and therefore it's better for filming but, in the end, i think Nikon, regardless of the lack of options, has a very good looking quality.

I really love filming my friends and myself while skiing/ longboarding, but I have never had a DSLR camera before. what do you recommend for someone like myself?

Thanks Sheldon!

Nikonfans everywhere, keep up Dave!!!! :D

Thanks Dave!

It looks like you got completly diffrent settings for Nikon and Canon. The most time Nikon was actually sharper but the Canon had better colors

Is it just me or does the Nikon produce a more life-like video? I'm in the market for my first DSLR (mainly for video shooting), and I was all set on the T4i/650D until this video. Now I have to decide whether I should look at an entry-level Nikon too or just stick with the Canon T4i?! This stuff is way too complicated!!!

That's just about color correction in post.

Dave get a film chart to do moire and aliasing test.

Canon has a change in color, and holds the video really good. non had shaper images and I thought color, but drops frames in video something crazy. to the point that I simply can't watch it.

yet how about auto focus modes? i always hear that canon is best for auto focus. personally I'm not satisfied with the auto focus on my D5200, it is always jiggling and switching focus..... it doesn't look smooth also

How do you like the Sigma 30mm? I've considered getting one for my t2i but i am not sure about it. Appreciate any help. Thanks for the great videos.

I think Dave is slightly Canon biased but he doesn't exactly put down the D5100, he just doesn't seem to give it the credit it deserved. I do agree that Canon has more video centric features but IQ advantage goes to The d5100.

@LifeWithAnAngel Cafepress.

@suxaniita I explain all this on my gear page, watch the video at the top.

two questions: with the d5100 can you at least decide what it is focussing on while shooting video? Also, how long of a video does it let you take?

I would be really interested in seeing non auto comparisons. Ie what is the best you can do with the D5100 and what is the best you can do with the t2i (i say t2i because i really would be interested in allowing you to use magic lantern is this comparison)

the Nikon looked the best in all areas. and im a canon fan sooooo yeah. Nikon 5100 clearly

you will not regret, great price for a great camera.

cool shirt Dave

Genius Idea ! SHow 1080 footage on a video of 720 on youtube where videos look bad compared to the state you upload the video in .

T3i/600d is the best for video shooting, but the Nikon 5100 is the best for photos and high ISO... over 6400 ISO, the t3i has a lot of noise.

The Nikon D5100 has no manual exposure ? I have a Nikon D3100, and I believe it has a manual exposure mode. I got to Manual mode and set everything up, to bumb up the ISO, you hold down the Fn button and rotate the rotatee thing (Dont know what it's called) :p. If that's not Manual exposure, can someone please tell me what exactly it is ?

you should have used ML on the t2i (low light test) to put the iso to 2000!

Do you have a video of your studio setup. The results are excellent.

seems to be the same......but what about the zoom?

@HenriqueSecklerTV ha!

@TheDrewalleman The Nikon D5100 has 20 mins limit

0:05 i know people make mistakes sometimes but why did you say canon 3ti after 0:04?

@timewarpedstudios cafepress

hi, i wanted to ask , as i heard u do not have manual controls in shooting mode in d5100.. is it true?? like exposur , manual focus or iso setting!!

@differenceis True.

do you have video about nikon d5100 and canon 600d but about photo quality

Which one is the winner?

Alo I saw two different photos the Canon EOS Kiss X 5 is the same canon eos t3i 600 d? i see camara written Canon EOS Kiss X 5 and I saw on another camara canon 600 d. It is the same or different camara camara sao? Please reply me

Nikon's are a 1.5 crop factor. Canons are a 1.6 crop factor. Therefor the Nikon has a a bigger field of view which is why it had to be moved closer.

where do you get that t-shirt?

I can the see that nikon d5100 has more aperture, is it right?

@drumat5280 no you said it wrong

do you think they will have an update on fixing the d5100's manual exposure controls?

So you can't use Magic Latern on the T3i?

600D > D5100. However, 550D > D5100 ? Thx for your video, good job !

20 or 4gb whichever first I believe. Therefor when most of us are going for 720 or 1080 p wel be closer to 12 mins than 20

Which is better for video Canon t3i or nikon d5100

Compare the systems not just these two models. See what will serve you better in the long run. Go and demo the camera, don't just watch the videos and decide which is better.

@differenceis But I've seen manual focus or Depth of field (aka aperture change) videos on youtube who claim to be using the Nikon D5100. Check it out. Do you have the Nikon?