Q. I am looking to buy a professional camcorder, and am just wondering why they all use tapes and not hard drives? Does using tapes offer better quality? Also, what is a good professional camcorder to buy?
I have a budget of about £18,000 for 5 cameras.
I have a budget of about £18,000 for 5 cameras.
A. Your right, Tape based camcorders do produce a much higher quality video. Until you start to get into the higher end such as Red a basic camera would be around $30, 000 certainly out of my price range.
So us mortals have to use the best we can, its all down to compression, the more the video is compressed the less information in actually saved. Sure tape based video is compress but we are talking about the amount of compression, uncompressed video runs at about 85GB per hour, there are not many flash drive camcorders that can one hold this amount of data, two can handle the data transfer rate. Hard drive cameras are not much better obviously they can save/hold more.
If you watch outside broadcasts, you will see many tape based camcorders, even documentaries will use them. are you looking for a "professional" camcorder or a "prosumer" camcorder. the latter is more of a half way between the two, most people (unless you are a trained camera man) would opt for this type of camera, they give you the best of both worlds automatic features such as exposure and focus, but also to be able to use manual controls. the more you pay the better the quality but the less things there are to help you out.
You do not give a budget, but you would need to start at around $2500 minimum, then work upwards.
Canon, Sony make good quality equipment, but obviously other manufacturers do have cameras for that market.
Again with out a budget there is no point in suggesting a $3000 camera when you only want to pay $1000 or 500
RR
So us mortals have to use the best we can, its all down to compression, the more the video is compressed the less information in actually saved. Sure tape based video is compress but we are talking about the amount of compression, uncompressed video runs at about 85GB per hour, there are not many flash drive camcorders that can one hold this amount of data, two can handle the data transfer rate. Hard drive cameras are not much better obviously they can save/hold more.
If you watch outside broadcasts, you will see many tape based camcorders, even documentaries will use them. are you looking for a "professional" camcorder or a "prosumer" camcorder. the latter is more of a half way between the two, most people (unless you are a trained camera man) would opt for this type of camera, they give you the best of both worlds automatic features such as exposure and focus, but also to be able to use manual controls. the more you pay the better the quality but the less things there are to help you out.
You do not give a budget, but you would need to start at around $2500 minimum, then work upwards.
Canon, Sony make good quality equipment, but obviously other manufacturers do have cameras for that market.
Again with out a budget there is no point in suggesting a $3000 camera when you only want to pay $1000 or 500
RR
What type of camcorder would I need for this?
Q. I'm thinking of taking a sabbatical after high school to go to the Gaza Strip or Syria or Yemen or Mali to make a documentary of one of the wars going on there. I'm going to get a GoPro HERO3 Black that I can put on a helmet mount in case I need to set my big camera down. For my actual camera I'm considering the Sony HVR Z1u because thats what they used to film Restrepo. Would this be a good camera? I'm planning on filming at chest level and buying a better shotgun Mic.
I basically need something thats rugged, easy to carry, and can automatically switch from high to low light.
I basically need something thats rugged, easy to carry, and can automatically switch from high to low light.
A. Hi, young Scion racing fan:
Firstly, yes the Sony Z1U is a good camera (I've shot with one for years, and a documentary buddy of mine has traveled the Middle East and Asia with one for many projects). It's now a discontinued model (the Z5 and Z7, and the S270 are newer models), though you can find many good ones on the used market, or a new one that a Sony dealer has left over.
But other than "auto-iris" for varying levels of lighting conditions, you won't find any good camera that's fully automatic for an untrained amateur out in the field. There are 3-step Gain switches and built-in ND filters on pro-level/prosumer cameras like the Z1U and its "big brothers"; and you'll need to spend quite a bit of time practicing with any decent pro-level camera to know all the settings and menus for good footage.
And since you are familiar with "Restrepo", keep in mind that co-director/videographer Tim Hetherington was killed by Libyan shelling less than a year after the release of his award-winning film on the Afghan war. You might re-think your first big project subject matter if you wish to make it to age twenty. (The two guys who made "Restrepo" had 20-30 years more life-experience & journalism 'chops' than you.)
Save up for lots of rechargeable camera batteries (the good ones are not cheap), and possibly a fold-up solar charger, since you can't "just plug-in anywhere" in a war zone. And take some time during your "sabbatical" to learn a helpful foreign language like Arabic or Hebrew (Middle East) or French (West Africa), or you won't have the full respect of the locals.
[Reminded of "Friends" character Chandler Bing at the airport exclaiming "I'm going to Yemen!"]
hope this helps,
--Dennis C.
Firstly, yes the Sony Z1U is a good camera (I've shot with one for years, and a documentary buddy of mine has traveled the Middle East and Asia with one for many projects). It's now a discontinued model (the Z5 and Z7, and the S270 are newer models), though you can find many good ones on the used market, or a new one that a Sony dealer has left over.
But other than "auto-iris" for varying levels of lighting conditions, you won't find any good camera that's fully automatic for an untrained amateur out in the field. There are 3-step Gain switches and built-in ND filters on pro-level/prosumer cameras like the Z1U and its "big brothers"; and you'll need to spend quite a bit of time practicing with any decent pro-level camera to know all the settings and menus for good footage.
And since you are familiar with "Restrepo", keep in mind that co-director/videographer Tim Hetherington was killed by Libyan shelling less than a year after the release of his award-winning film on the Afghan war. You might re-think your first big project subject matter if you wish to make it to age twenty. (The two guys who made "Restrepo" had 20-30 years more life-experience & journalism 'chops' than you.)
Save up for lots of rechargeable camera batteries (the good ones are not cheap), and possibly a fold-up solar charger, since you can't "just plug-in anywhere" in a war zone. And take some time during your "sabbatical" to learn a helpful foreign language like Arabic or Hebrew (Middle East) or French (West Africa), or you won't have the full respect of the locals.
[Reminded of "Friends" character Chandler Bing at the airport exclaiming "I'm going to Yemen!"]
hope this helps,
--Dennis C.
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