I like to think I’m a handy photographer and I use a DSLR on a regular basis so I know about capturing and processing still images but I’ve really got an itch to start filming and editing.

I know nothing about the hardware involved. What do I need? Lets ignore budget for the time being as I just want to know about what kind of cameras give what kind of advantages and get some idea at what price points different advantages come in to play.

So in layman’s terms…what camera would I need to point at fast objects like cars and bikes and have nice, fast autofocus?
What’s the film equivalent of shooting in RAW and having all the scope for processing that it gives?
Can I use my Canon EF lenses on anything? Like one of those Blackmagic things?
Could I get the footage to blend seamlessly with that of my 7D?

Can anyone recommend me a camera and then show me an example of the footage? Any good websites to check for reviews?

Wow that’s a lot of questions. Starting from the bottom here folks!

So in layman’s terms…what camera would I need to point at fast objects like cars and bikes and have nice, fast autofocus?

You want lenses with good focus rings – autofocus is not good for video.

What’s the film equivalent of shooting in RAW and having all the scope for processing that it gives?

Raw (no such thing as RAW) just means uncompressed. Not that many DSLRs can output clean, uncompressed (raw) video. You’d need something like a Nikon D7100/600/800 or Canon 5D MkIII. You’d also need something like an Atomos Ninja or Blackmagic Hyperdeck Shuttle, both of which use SSD drives, to take uncompressed/ProRes signal direct from the HDMI.

Could I get the footage to blend seamlessly with that of my 7D?

Some people can’t tell the difference between a 5D and a 7D; some people could live with the difference. Shooting raw/ProRes will give you lots of info to grade with, but resolution is always going to be apparent in footage, so it’s usually better to use cameras with sympathetic images.

Have you done any filming with your DSLR? If so, what thoughts do you have on the footage created, good and bad? If not, why not?

Fabulous quality footage can still be badly edited into a movie, but plenty of people are making interesting movies from hardware as apparently unsophisticated as a smart phone. My tip? Have a play with what you’ve got. Learn some basics skills of film-making and edit a few little movies together and THEN you’ll have a good idea what you want/need.

I know nothing about video but I read about something called the Black Magic Cinema Camera which seems cool. Apparently it has the dynamic range to match film cameras, which is important. It takes micro four thirds lenses or, with an adapter, pretty much any old film lens with a manual ring.

Most HD cameras are not AF though (the blackmagic isn’t) canon have a dual pixel chip with AF but the performance is nothing like the tracking of a DSLR shooting stills.
And as for raw? Do you have any idea of the file sizes involved? 😯 you probably don’t need to shoot raw if you are not grading heavily so any 4:2:2 hi-bit rate efficient codec will suffice.

Most HD cameras are not AF though (the blackmagic isn’t)

The BMCC (and the pocket version) has autofocus with the BM kit lens and some Canon EF lenses, I believe, though it’s not a very advanced system. With video, AF is mostly use at the start of a fixed scene then locked. The risk of losing a take because of the AF wandering during a moving shot, or in a shot with much movement, is too great, which is one reason why most camera operators use manual focus.

I realise that you were being rhetorical, but for the benefit of others: raw files are around 1GB/minute. There are numerous variations, but that’s a rough idea. ProRes HQ is 4-500MB/minute.

For what it’s worth, I’d go with what stilltortoise said:

My tip? Have a play with what you’ve got. Learn some basics skills of film-making and edit a few little movies together and THEN you’ll have a good idea what you want/need.