Q. im planning on getting into film making, so I've been looking for a great camera to help me out. Preferably, a professional camera but not anything that's going to pull my arm off and not to expensive. It will be used for independent filmmaking so I want it to have a great picture.
A. Any camcorder - if used within the camcorders specifications - can provide good results.
Use the camcorder outside its specs and you will get poor results.
As well, someone with experience can use any camcorder and get compelling content. Someone with no experience can get the most expensive camcorder made and produce poor results.
That said, there are things common to prosumer and professional grade camcorders...
1) Mic jack. This lets you connect a microphone so the camcorder can be further away that the built-in mics can deal with. Consumer and prosumer use 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo jacks. Pro grade uses XLR connectors.
2) Manual audio control. Loud audio will overwhelm the auto-mic gain. An external mic alone will not fix this - You need to be able to control the level of the audio going in to the camcorder. Most consumer cams do not have manual audio control - those that do control the audio level from their menu. Prosumer and prograde have control on the outside of the camcorder - easy to get to and use.
3) Big lenses and imaging chips. Since you never know when you need to capture video, you need to be able to handle as many different lighting conditions as possible. Capturing video under good lighting conditions, any camcorder can do that. Low light conditions means big lenses to allow the lighting in and big imaging chips to capture that light. A starting point for prosumer lenses is 72mm diameter.
4) Cheap storage and video archive capability.
In the consumer camcorder environment, the closest you can get is the Canon HV40. The lenses and imaging chips are small like any other consumer cam, it is the least expensive camcorder with manual audio control. But it does DV and HDV and 24p and has a mic jack and uses miniDV tape.
In $ order: Canon GL2, Panasonic AG-DVX100b, Sony HDR-FX7, HDR-FX1000, Canon XHA1, Panasonic AG-HVX200, Sony HVR-Z5, Canon GY-HM100, HVR-Z1, HVR-Z7... and they go up from here.
Use the camcorder outside its specs and you will get poor results.
As well, someone with experience can use any camcorder and get compelling content. Someone with no experience can get the most expensive camcorder made and produce poor results.
That said, there are things common to prosumer and professional grade camcorders...
1) Mic jack. This lets you connect a microphone so the camcorder can be further away that the built-in mics can deal with. Consumer and prosumer use 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo jacks. Pro grade uses XLR connectors.
2) Manual audio control. Loud audio will overwhelm the auto-mic gain. An external mic alone will not fix this - You need to be able to control the level of the audio going in to the camcorder. Most consumer cams do not have manual audio control - those that do control the audio level from their menu. Prosumer and prograde have control on the outside of the camcorder - easy to get to and use.
3) Big lenses and imaging chips. Since you never know when you need to capture video, you need to be able to handle as many different lighting conditions as possible. Capturing video under good lighting conditions, any camcorder can do that. Low light conditions means big lenses to allow the lighting in and big imaging chips to capture that light. A starting point for prosumer lenses is 72mm diameter.
4) Cheap storage and video archive capability.
In the consumer camcorder environment, the closest you can get is the Canon HV40. The lenses and imaging chips are small like any other consumer cam, it is the least expensive camcorder with manual audio control. But it does DV and HDV and 24p and has a mic jack and uses miniDV tape.
In $ order: Canon GL2, Panasonic AG-DVX100b, Sony HDR-FX7, HDR-FX1000, Canon XHA1, Panasonic AG-HVX200, Sony HVR-Z5, Canon GY-HM100, HVR-Z1, HVR-Z7... and they go up from here.
What is a good inexpensive camcorder for independent filmmakers?
Q. I'm looking for a camcorder to buy, something that will not give me the whole 'home movie' effect and feel to it. I will also need a tripod so it won't be shakey and all that but could you just tell me some good inexpensive camcorders that will give me what i'm looking for. I don't know much about camcorders and lenses but i'm looking into it. If anyone can help me with brands and prices of camcorders to look into I will be very thankful.
-M
-M
A. By "something that will not give me the whole 'home movie' effect and feel," I think your talking about the film-look. It can be replicated, through either software or in-camera. However, both these options are pretty expensive, and it doesn't sound like you have that much money right now. I'll get to that later, but for now I'm going to talk about cameras.
I dont know your budget, but from what you said, Im guessing you want a camera probably $800 or below (correct me if I'm wrong, and I'll re write this). In that price range, I cant recommend any particular camera, but follow these rules and you should have a pretty good beginner filmmaking camera:
1. Get miniDV- pretty obvious isn't it?
2. Look for a lot of manual functions- every cam has auto functions, but look for the ability to switch to manual focus, iris, shutter, etc.
3. 3ccds are better than 1
4. The newest isnt always the greatest- not really a rule but basically dont go and get the newest thing that just came out
Other plusses are mic ports, headphone ports, hot shoes, and optical image stabilizer.
If you get a tripod, get one with a fluid head. I'm not recommending a particular one, but look around on google. To tell you the truth, Im not exactly a pro on tripods. But a useful trick that you can do with your tripod is screw on your camera, and instead of opening up the legs, hold the legs together and walk with it. If you do it right, the tripod will absorb the shake from your hands giving you a very cheap steadicam effect.
I hope this helped, and I'm a filmmaker as well, and I always like meeting other filmmakers so feel free to contact me at evilgenius4930@yahoo.com
I dont know your budget, but from what you said, Im guessing you want a camera probably $800 or below (correct me if I'm wrong, and I'll re write this). In that price range, I cant recommend any particular camera, but follow these rules and you should have a pretty good beginner filmmaking camera:
1. Get miniDV- pretty obvious isn't it?
2. Look for a lot of manual functions- every cam has auto functions, but look for the ability to switch to manual focus, iris, shutter, etc.
3. 3ccds are better than 1
4. The newest isnt always the greatest- not really a rule but basically dont go and get the newest thing that just came out
Other plusses are mic ports, headphone ports, hot shoes, and optical image stabilizer.
If you get a tripod, get one with a fluid head. I'm not recommending a particular one, but look around on google. To tell you the truth, Im not exactly a pro on tripods. But a useful trick that you can do with your tripod is screw on your camera, and instead of opening up the legs, hold the legs together and walk with it. If you do it right, the tripod will absorb the shake from your hands giving you a very cheap steadicam effect.
I hope this helped, and I'm a filmmaker as well, and I always like meeting other filmmakers so feel free to contact me at evilgenius4930@yahoo.com
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