Hi, I've got a friend in law enforcement who is asking me for a recommendation for lens/camera combo for surveillance. I naturally thought to extend the question to you all!
What would you recommend as a set-up for surveillance? My friend won't be able to spend a ton of time learning the ins and outs of it and he's not interested in photography as an art. He will need to use it time to time at night and won't be using a flash (obviously).
Your thoughts?
P.S. Budget doesn't necessarily matter. Unless you are concerned about the fact that our taxes will be footing the bill... 
600D with a 600FD f4.5 and edmika adapter plus a kenko 1.4 teleconverter
in video mode with the 3x digital zoom you can film in HD at equivalent focal lengths of
960mm with normal
2880mm with the 3x digital zoom in video
and
1344mm with the TC and
4032mm if you turn on the 3x digital zoom and use the TC
All in HD and some big SD cards
definately gonna want a gimbal and sturdy tripod too
the reason i specify this lens is that its flat out unreal for video because the focus wheels are not on the lens so you can pull focus very gently without shaking the lens like you would with a ring focus of newer lenses
its also very sharp and 1/10th of the price of a new 600 f4L not that budget is the issue but the focus mechanism is much much better for video
but as for range and potential wide aperture this is killer
the 600 FD, gimal and the camera body can all be loaded into a pelican case 1510 with wheels and handle that fits in carry on baggage on a plane
you could also remote control the camera using an android tablet an OTG cable and the chainfire app to reduce shake.
