Trying to Decide on Which Camera to Buy, Need Advice

Heck yeah, I am coming from an FS100 and purchasing my first DSLR for video. The t4i caught my eye after it was announced and finally offered an alternative to the GH2. The only reason I hadn't bought a GH2 up to this point is because of the still image quality not being as sharp as I had hoped.

However from what I've seen of the GH2 video capabilities they have answered the moire problem which is inherent in large sensor DSLRs. This camera is definitely a game changer and probably the most significant leap in technology towards merging the two machines of video and still photography. I feel like to become a confident cinematographer I've absolutely got to take on both fields of motion and still photography, but I'm really fascinated with the prospect of not having to carry around two sets of gear and equipment. That's what started me on this journey and I've been waiting for the technologies that are available on several different cameras to finally merge into one camera and I feel the new EOS line is going to be it.

Yes, I have experience with the Canon line of cameras. I came up for a little while through the line of Canon camcorders and then noticed two important things. One, my XR200 offered an SD card option for recording VGA resolution video, along with the mini DV format (which I quickly came to loathe for taking so so long to load into my editor.) So then I started exploring the tapeless options available on cameras. But at that point it had yet to develop and trickle down to the consumer level. That took me to looking into the prosumer line from different manufacturers, which at that point were beginning to offer interchangeable lenses. I was hooked. I had done a little experimenting with the still photography button on my camcorder, but the results were less than mediocre. So I questioned "Why hasn't a manufacturer put video capabilities into an interchangeable lens that's light enough to carry around yet capable enough for capturing high quality stills and motion pictures?"

I began looking at cameras that were starting to advertise video capabilities and came to the DSLRs, which at that time were extremely expensive. However, I started to stumble onto adapters (Lettice) which would allow Canon EF lenses to be adapted to their camcorders. The more I got into this the more I began to notice the accelerated rate with which the release of consumer level and prosumer level DSLRs were hitting the market, along with their much improved capabilities (GH1 t3i etc). Also, after experimenting with several adapters on a Vixia I was really unhappy with the results, especially the alignment issues that came into play for every shot were just a drag on time and I witnessed more than a few actors that walked off jobs because camera ops were just taking so long to get the set up into place for just one shot. So I jumped back to DSLRs and was determined to wade out the technological advances. So I just continued to use my FS100 (which is an awesome camera.)

I've been using Windows Premiere and Photoshop Elements since version 7 first launched (3 or 4 years) and have gotten quite handy with this fine program. Like I said before, I am a film student and will be transferring to film school very shortly. Along with the photography classes I'm taking now, my continued work as an actor and my electives leading up to my transfer will put my in the right position to start getting into competition at festivals, winning those competitions, and I will be well on my way to becoming a feature film director.

You gotta crawl before you walk. I've made my bones as an actor and now I'm transitioning into cinematography. I look forward to the challenges in smoothing out those bumps in the road. Thank you for your response.
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"Alright, there's another one in the can."