Which camera do I get?

[Pieceinc]

Hello all!
Looking for some camera advice please

I’m wanting to pick up a cheap canon I can use with ML to get clean HDMI. I have other canons & lenses but none of them have ML available unfortunately so I’ll just get a cheap body to use

Options are: 60d, 500d, 550d, 700d, 1200d currently available in my price range

This camera will solely be used for streaming. I’ll be running HDMI to my PC so I’m wanting 1080p & min 25fps

So what do you recommend as I’ve read that some of these output at 3:2 or low FPS

Thanks in advance!

[Walter Schulz]

All ML supported cameras do 1080i60. All offer clean HDMI with and without autofocus active.

The only camera making a difference is 5DIII which offers true 1920x1080 coverage in 1080i60 stream *and* supporting dual display. All other cams do have active area of 1620x1080 in photo mode and 1620x912 in video mode. Everything embedded in 1080i60 HDMI stream. Means: You have to use tools like OBS to get rid of black borders.

Here is an uncompleted list for some Canon cameras. https://wiki.magiclantern.fm/streaming:hdmi_rfc
None of the cameras you selected comes with DPAF. If you insist to use autofocus it will hunt a lot and possibly stop unpredictable. Esp. in not well lit environments.

[Pieceinc]

So you can get 1620:912 @60 from any of those cameras which I can then expand to 1920x1080 in OBS?
But if I have autofocus on I’m going to have issues? By hunt a lot do you mean it will constantly go in & out of focus?

[names_are_hard]

Yes, the AF is weak on these cams in video mode.  If you're streaming a talking head you probably don't care; put it in one-shot, tap half-shutter to AF once, then never change it.

[Pieceinc]

Yeh it’s mostly just me sitting in front of the camera so as long as the autofocus isn’t going in & out all the time it would be fine. Every now & then I may hold something up closer to the camera so hoping it would be able to focus on that and then back to me at a reasonable rate
I currently use a 750d with manual focus which works fine but sometimes it’s a little hard to get the focus crisp

[Pieceinc]

What is the cheapest option to get DPAF? And how much difference would it make for my scenario?

[Walter Schulz]

What is the problem with "crisp"? You have a static scenery with limited space front and back which should be sharp. This is your DOF. You have the distance between near and far. You have a lens with given focal length and variable aperture. Now use any DOF-calculator to get your focus distance. Done. (Is easier with ML because ML will show focus distance and DOF numbers on screen).

Yes, you will get a problem if you have to enlarge view/magnification for any item you want to show in detail. Why not using your smartphone for this one?
Why? Because if you are using your camera with liveview and AF you most likely will use face/eye detection feature. And if you are holding anything (which doesn't feature a face and/or an eye) in front of the camera ... camera will still focus on your face as long as it is visible. You propably have to move your face out of the frame to make cam focus on your item.

You can test this behaviour with your 750D which actually comes with DPAF.

But it doesn't have clean HDMI out with AF activated, right? Because with active AF and HDMI you want both for streaming.
I already linked an uncomplete list of Canon EOS cameras and their HDMI abilities.
Here is a list of cameras with DPAF: https://tamrazyan.com/canon-dual-pixel-autofocus-cameras-list/
What he wrote about prices may not be valid today.

Among ML supported cameras 70D is the only one hosting DPAF. It is hosting the first generation DPAF and I have no personal experience with it.
Other cameras with clean HDMI (out-of-the-box) are Digic 8 and up (with prominent exception: M50, the first). They are running dual screens (display + HDMI out), too. I suppose 5DIV having the same ability (as 5D3 with firmware 1.2.x or up).
I'm not well familiar with Digic 6 and 7 cameras. Most should have clean HDMI without AF only.