No 'camera' can record for more than 29 minutes 59 seconds. Under international trade agreeements, as soon as a camera is capable of recording video for 30 minutes or longer, it is considered a 'video' camera instead of a 'photographic' camera and tariffed at a higher rate. For this reason, the manufacturers all cut-off the maximum length of any single recorded clip to make sure it stays below 30 minutes.
The Nikon D5300 _is_ a DSLR... which I thought you wanted to avoid. Also, Nikon doesn't do particularly well with video (specifically the focus tracking lags behind.)
Canon camera bodies that include their "dual-pixel CMOS AF" feature (not all models have this) are excellent at focus tracking during video (as subjects get nearer or farther, the camera is able to measure the focus change accurately and very quickly puts the subject back in sharp focus. Most others (with a few exceptions) have to "guess" ... they know they've fallen out of focus but they don't know if the subject is closer or farther... nor how much closer or farther. So they "hunt" for focus and you see this in your video clip as the camera makes several guesses and refines it's way to better focus. Canon's Dual-Pixel CMOS AF feature uses a special beam-splitter (prism) which splits the light into two phases... where the phases align if the subject is in focus, but if not in focus one phase will be shifted relative to the other. But the magic is that the camera can tell exactly how far out of focus the subject is based on the amount of phase shift... and also the direction of phase shift. This allows the camera to very quickly know exactly what focus adjustment should be made ... without "guessing".
Most cameras (regardless of brand or model... as long as they are "current" models) do a fantastic job with still photos. It's hard to buy a bad camera. There are reasons that give one model an advantage over another model... depending on your needs. But when it comes to video capabilities, virtually all of them can do 'video'... but many of them are very limited and in particular... focus tracking is an issue.
A Lumix G7 is roughly $500. A Nikon D5300 is roughly $650. There are quite a few impressive cameras in this price range.
If you want an emphasis on small size but the versatility of swapping lenses, look at Canon's EOS "M" series cameras (these are "Mirrorless" cameras. Just be warned that "mirrorless" cameras are continuously using live-view (they have no traditional viewfinder) and, as such, they eat through batteries faster. But the EOS "M" series has it's own set of lenses... but can also use an adapter that allows you to attach any Canon EOS lens.
There's also the new EOS Rebel SL2. This is the most compact body for a traditional DSLR camera (all DSLR bodies will be somewhat large... they aren't pocket cameras). But the SL2 has Dual-Pixel CMOS AF and since it's a true DSLR, you can use the traditional viewfinder when taking still photos and that provides excellent battery life.
The EOS M100 is probably the lowest priced camera that can do video that includes Dual-Pixel CMOS AF at about $500.
After that, I'd suggest the EOS Rebel SL2 at about $600.
Both of these allow for interchangeable lenses so you can build the system in the future rather than just being stuck with the lens you have. This is a really big advantage... the lens choice makes a big difference in the quality of the result.
Tim Campbell
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da
