Low Budget Films

The Sony SLT-A77 is your best choice. the AF system is brilliant and very fast when shooting films. it got nice grip, nice controls, and full 1080p. i own one this camera for shooting films, it is wonderful! and it cost less than a 5D Mk2 or a D800~ you can go to utube and search for "a77 vs 7D film" and it got a Electric Viewfinder with a peaking system that show you whether you are focusing right when you're on manual focus mode. it is way much more convenient than those two! 

The 5D Mark II was used to film, Captain America and Act of Valor, both big budget action movies. 

NoFilmSchool, recently did a comparison of the Canon 5D Mark II, Mark III and Nikon D800, and Canon came out on top in low light conditions. 

The 5D Mark II is a proven system, it is less money and you can pick one up used since the new 5D Mark III has just come out for a great price. Just make sure you invest in some good lenses, as the camera will only be as good as the glass you put in front of it.

Take a Canon EOS 550D. It's the ultimative low-budget camera. has all that good stuff like

- magic latern support

- mic jack

- 1080p recording

The quality is amazing, sure it's not that good as a 5D mark II or III, but you can get yourself a very nice lens or maybe two. And I always think that it is the lens and the body what is important in case of equipment.

Why not get a camera made for shooting movies?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1Dp-iqydOg

a Panasonic GH2 will do the job well. you can get a kit + SD cards for about $1000, It shoots 1080p in 25/24 fps. has mic in (required 2$ adapter) and fully manual settings in film mode. I'm 16 and I own one. On my experiences its a perfect camera for low budget film making. but keep in mind a DSLR for video purposes needs some accessories.

By buying a cheaper body you can invest in a fast prime lens (highly recommend for short film), also an investment in an Ebay-rig  necessary if you want to shoot hand-held (mine costs $150, its form ficmity) also if you want to use recorded audio an external shotgun mic is recommend (azden has some really affordable one with 3.5mm jack that can be used without an external device)

for more interesting stuff I recommend 2 really interesting youtube channels where I get most of my inspiration for buying new gear.

http://www.youtube.com/user/filmriot

if you have any questions you can mail me at dennis@funme.be

very comfortable in hand. the buttons are placed correctly. and high iso performance are better in nikon D800.

I would recommend you don't pool your funds as it will open the door to arguements about who gets to use it and then how to split ownership. Find someone who's parents are prepared to foot the entire bill or who has a job and is earning enough to buy. That should probably be you as I would stab that you're one of the more proactive and enthusiatic members who wants this. You don't need the most expensive camera. It might look good but you'll hardly notice the difference. A D5100 has the same sensor as the D7000 and has a flip out screen that you'll find invaluable if you want a 'better' camera than the D3100. Filming without that handy little thing is not so easy: the 5D's I've seen used in making videos use very expensive rigs and are attached to monitor screens. Instead of Nikon 25fps consider a similar Canon at 30 fps 1080p. 30 fps is much better and if you want to do 'slow' motion style shots 25 fps is limiting. Canon nailed video ages ago and Nikon is only now catching up. Don't forget lenses and microphones are important, though depends what you're filming. You should totally make a camera rig/steady cam one weekend. Plenty of stuff online and would cost under $30. Have fun and take it serious but don't waste money on a camera body for the sake of just having 'the best', better and most expensive as it most probably won't give you any noticeably better results. If you have the money, then still, get the D5100 or Canon equivalent (better for film) and buy some lenses (a wide and normal, maybe 18-55 to start and a 50mm f/1.8 later for good subject isolation), a good microphone and parts to make your own camera and lighting rigs. Don't think Nikon's continuous focus is a winner as manual focus still does the job perfectly... the Nikons uses contrast detection (DSLR mirror is up, so AF sensors aren't being used) in movie mode so it will do a far then near focus before arriving at in focus. I'd go 600D or 550D. Canon is the better way to go here.

The Nikon D800 at this point isn't worth the price. 

Canon t2i is inexpensive and uses the same sensor as the 5D (used to shoot the show House) although it is cropped. Whatever camera you choose skip the kit lens, get non breathing 2.8 or better F stop lenses. Check pawn shops for best lens prices.One reason to go canon is the 4k DSLR that you would have lenses for later going with a lower level DSLR body that uses the same lens types. http://www.dpreview.com/ news/2012/04/...Canon announces EOS-1D C 4K DSLR with 8-bit 4:2:2 1080p HDMI output: Digital Photography Review www.dpreview.com