bigshow231
I'm an inspiring filmmaker and I need help on finding a video camera from $200-$350 for my new sitcom I'm about to film. Don't care for brand just need a really neat camera with HD, high fps, boom mic input & would record footage that look as if it came straight off of TV onto YouTube. What would you recommend...Help!
Answer
Hi "Big":
First, your budget is pretty low to get anything decent for pro-looking results, unless you buy used-gear. And contrary to popular consumer belief, you don't need "HD" to shoot high-quality 16:9 widescreen video. We haven't been in the "VHS quality" equipment era for almost 20 years, 'way before HDTVs entered people's living rooms. Just about everything made since 1990 shoots "DVD quality" video, and most have 16:9 widescreen settings.
Second, "high fps" has nothing to do with recording scripted TV shows. U.S. television is 30fps. Period. (You're not shooting "Mythbusters" or "Time Warp".)
(The correct term, BTW, is "aspiring" filmmaker. And if you want to do more than just aspire, pick up a book or two on modern filmmaking & video production techniques. And pick up a book on TV lighting techniques; that's where most of the "straight off of TV" look comes from. Here's a YouTube comedy short (shot by Jon Na) with great lighting, and almost 5 million views: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIV3DVxKBO8 )
For a starting point, which meets your budget and wish-list, the Canon Vixia HF-R300 is under-$300, can accept an external mike, and shoots full-HD at a respectable 24Mbps (digital bit-rate, near pro-quality). Here's the Canon USA webpage with specs & manuals: http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/camcorders/consumer_camcorders/vixia_hf_r300#Overview
Just make sure your computer & editing software is up-to-par for handling AVCHD video footage. (Movie Maker ain't gonna cut it!) Otherwise, shop around eBay for a good used Canon or Sony MiniDV camcorder, which will give you near-broadcast quality footage, great digital sound, and be easy to edit.
hope this helps,
--Dennis C.
Â
Hi "Big":
First, your budget is pretty low to get anything decent for pro-looking results, unless you buy used-gear. And contrary to popular consumer belief, you don't need "HD" to shoot high-quality 16:9 widescreen video. We haven't been in the "VHS quality" equipment era for almost 20 years, 'way before HDTVs entered people's living rooms. Just about everything made since 1990 shoots "DVD quality" video, and most have 16:9 widescreen settings.
Second, "high fps" has nothing to do with recording scripted TV shows. U.S. television is 30fps. Period. (You're not shooting "Mythbusters" or "Time Warp".)
(The correct term, BTW, is "aspiring" filmmaker. And if you want to do more than just aspire, pick up a book or two on modern filmmaking & video production techniques. And pick up a book on TV lighting techniques; that's where most of the "straight off of TV" look comes from. Here's a YouTube comedy short (shot by Jon Na) with great lighting, and almost 5 million views: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIV3DVxKBO8 )
For a starting point, which meets your budget and wish-list, the Canon Vixia HF-R300 is under-$300, can accept an external mike, and shoots full-HD at a respectable 24Mbps (digital bit-rate, near pro-quality). Here's the Canon USA webpage with specs & manuals: http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/camcorders/consumer_camcorders/vixia_hf_r300#Overview
Just make sure your computer & editing software is up-to-par for handling AVCHD video footage. (Movie Maker ain't gonna cut it!) Otherwise, shop around eBay for a good used Canon or Sony MiniDV camcorder, which will give you near-broadcast quality footage, great digital sound, and be easy to edit.
hope this helps,
--Dennis C.
Â
Good, light-adjusting video cameras?
Mrs. Huggi
I need a camcorder that can work well with low amounts of light (e.g. dusk, night) but without adding too much to the price. I mean it doesn't matter if it's that expensive, but hey there's a recession on! Know any? Please help!
like under 350 pounds
Answer
Camcorders record what they can see. Light comes in the lens, hits the imaging chip(s) and is converted to electronic signals the camcorder records to whatever media is used for storage.
Lenses and imaging chips are expensive (that translates into more cost in the camcorder).
As the lenses and imaging chips get larger, the camcorders' low light behavior gets better and the cost of the camcorder goes up. Please don't take this the wrong way - but your expectations of video quality ("work well with low amounts of light") need to be appropriately set.
The price range you provided to us in your budget is about where entry-level, consumer-grade, camcorders are. Lens filter diameter will be around 37mm and single imaging chip will be around 1/6".
Double your budget to get camcorders with 43mm lenses and single 1/4" imaging chip and a corresponding improvement in low-light behavior.
Triple your budget to get camcorders with 58mm lenses and single 1/3" imaging chip and a corresponding improvement in low-light behavior.
In my opinion, there is no consumer grade camcorder that "work well with low amounts of light". The lenses and imaging chips are just not big enough.
The jump to prosumer and pro-grade basically ends up being about 8x-10x your budget. These camcorders have 72mm lenses and 3-chip, 1/3" arrays. And all the manual controls available on the outside of the camcorder so they are easy to get to and use - not buried in the menu like consumer cams do.
Tip #1: Use a video light.
Tip #2: Use the white balance.
Sony, Canon.
Camcorders record what they can see. Light comes in the lens, hits the imaging chip(s) and is converted to electronic signals the camcorder records to whatever media is used for storage.
Lenses and imaging chips are expensive (that translates into more cost in the camcorder).
As the lenses and imaging chips get larger, the camcorders' low light behavior gets better and the cost of the camcorder goes up. Please don't take this the wrong way - but your expectations of video quality ("work well with low amounts of light") need to be appropriately set.
The price range you provided to us in your budget is about where entry-level, consumer-grade, camcorders are. Lens filter diameter will be around 37mm and single imaging chip will be around 1/6".
Double your budget to get camcorders with 43mm lenses and single 1/4" imaging chip and a corresponding improvement in low-light behavior.
Triple your budget to get camcorders with 58mm lenses and single 1/3" imaging chip and a corresponding improvement in low-light behavior.
In my opinion, there is no consumer grade camcorder that "work well with low amounts of light". The lenses and imaging chips are just not big enough.
The jump to prosumer and pro-grade basically ends up being about 8x-10x your budget. These camcorders have 72mm lenses and 3-chip, 1/3" arrays. And all the manual controls available on the outside of the camcorder so they are easy to get to and use - not buried in the menu like consumer cams do.
Tip #1: Use a video light.
Tip #2: Use the white balance.
Sony, Canon.
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