I need a camera, by that I mean camcorder. I want to start recordng shit that i do. Beats, shows, maybe do some interviews with artists and filmakers.. whatver. I also wanna try and experiment with creating music videos and things of that nature. I need something that provides a hi-quality shot, but also cost is concern. Is there any "steals" out there on cameras? Can anybody can recommend one to me? Ideally im looking for something small enough to carry around nyc but also hi-res and has the potential to shoot something fairly high quality. Im not looking looking for Beyonce video quality shit, but something like a well shot indie/underground-level vid would have. any suggestions would be apprecited. I already have the adbode creative suite so i would most likely use premier to edit and stuff.
Can anybody recomend me a quality camera?
- Thread starter Ash Holmz
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From what ive seen, its gonna cost u a cool G if u want something Pro Quality....If ur looking for standard consumer gear thats another story...
Check out: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
Check out: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
N.Y.S.O.M.
A Beat Nut
ill o.g.
yo Ash there was a Digital Camera convention at the Jacob Javits Center today i just got in from that shyt alot of dope stuff in there or hit up B&H on 34th n 9th ave
Low G
ILLIEN
ill o.g.
Look up the Panasonic DVX 100... That is a good bet for what you want... also you should be good if you get any camera that says 3ccd on it. That basically means it has 3 chips to process color with instead of one and will ultimately look better. Also remember that without proper lighting any camera no matter how nice will look bad. Another one you might check that is cheaper still is the Cannon GL2... these are mini DV cams tho if you're looking for HD stuff it will cost more.
Peace.
Peace.
The draw back with most cams come into play when you want to use it in a club or something. Dimly lit places give poor quality footage. I spent about 500 on mine....wish I had did more homework on whether it recorded well in darker places. The night vision shit makes things move in slow mo.....terrible!
slik da relic
RS Jedi
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 1
B&H is Jewish owned i believe, so they are closed on saturdays.... whats ur price range?
da relic
da relic
Ash check out the Canon HV30. It's probably the best camcorder under $1000 that shoots HD. The settings are kind of annoying but, for about $800 it can do the same shit a $2500 camcorder can do out of the box (if you know how to work it lol).
shadeed
Go Digital or Go Home
ill o.g.
i could write you a book on this subject -
In terms of "quality camera", literally any 3CCD (3-chip) Mini DV camera will do the job based on your requirements.
This means that you can go to Best Buy/ Circuit City and grab a camera from the selection
and get busy and have quality footage.
Our first ummm(thinking) 60 episodes of our Rock TV show were shot with a camera you wouldn't expect a 'professional crew' to use ----> the difference is our Technical Director
is a top-notch cameraman so we can get by w/ that.
A lot of professional cameramen use the big-boy cams at work but for personal usage, operate a small camera for concerts/personal filming and all that.
Where cameras start to break into "prosumer" and "professional" are in the area of audio.
The mid-range prosumers will offer XLR mic inputs and allow you to manage separate audio levels.
The higher end cameras will offer film speed, various settings, additional lense capability etc. At this stage of the game,
you lack the knowledge to take advantage of that stuff so sticking with something mid-range/entry level would benefit you best.
The HD Debate
You DO NOT need an HD camera to film quality footage. Keep in mind, if you film in HD, you also have to utilize editing software capable of editing HD which is additional money to consider.
Personally, I'm an early adoptor of HD and have well over 100 hours of HD concert and exclusive footage to date, UNLESS you are rendering direct to DVD/Blu-Ray you will lose quality via compression if you try to upload video to YouTube, or where-ever.
My recommendation is to HOLD OFF on HD cameras because the industry is still working out the kinks, there will be better hard-drive HD cams coming down the line.
Tips for best results:
When filming - control the lighting and audio as much as possible. It's almost better NOT to film in a loud nightclub than putting something of horrible quality to try to "capture the moment".
Shoot w/ a tripod WHENEVER possible. A quality shot often depends on steadiness among other factors.
Practice zooming in and out (get warmed up) before filming - Your camera lens is the "eye" with which the viewer will see the footage - keep that in mind.
Hope this helps - I'm gonna be doing a bunch of workshops for all these "DVD magazine/ Online TV guys" that have popped up in the past few years so believe me, what I typed out is 100% facts. Good luck.
In terms of "quality camera", literally any 3CCD (3-chip) Mini DV camera will do the job based on your requirements.
This means that you can go to Best Buy/ Circuit City and grab a camera from the selection
and get busy and have quality footage.
Our first ummm(thinking) 60 episodes of our Rock TV show were shot with a camera you wouldn't expect a 'professional crew' to use ----> the difference is our Technical Director
is a top-notch cameraman so we can get by w/ that.
A lot of professional cameramen use the big-boy cams at work but for personal usage, operate a small camera for concerts/personal filming and all that.
Where cameras start to break into "prosumer" and "professional" are in the area of audio.
The mid-range prosumers will offer XLR mic inputs and allow you to manage separate audio levels.
The higher end cameras will offer film speed, various settings, additional lense capability etc. At this stage of the game,
you lack the knowledge to take advantage of that stuff so sticking with something mid-range/entry level would benefit you best.
The HD Debate
You DO NOT need an HD camera to film quality footage. Keep in mind, if you film in HD, you also have to utilize editing software capable of editing HD which is additional money to consider.
Personally, I'm an early adoptor of HD and have well over 100 hours of HD concert and exclusive footage to date, UNLESS you are rendering direct to DVD/Blu-Ray you will lose quality via compression if you try to upload video to YouTube, or where-ever.
My recommendation is to HOLD OFF on HD cameras because the industry is still working out the kinks, there will be better hard-drive HD cams coming down the line.
Tips for best results:
When filming - control the lighting and audio as much as possible. It's almost better NOT to film in a loud nightclub than putting something of horrible quality to try to "capture the moment".
Shoot w/ a tripod WHENEVER possible. A quality shot often depends on steadiness among other factors.
Practice zooming in and out (get warmed up) before filming - Your camera lens is the "eye" with which the viewer will see the footage - keep that in mind.
Hope this helps - I'm gonna be doing a bunch of workshops for all these "DVD magazine/ Online TV guys" that have popped up in the past few years so believe me, what I typed out is 100% facts. Good luck.
Low G
ILLIEN
ill o.g.
^^^ Yeah man I've been working with video for a while and that's a good post all i gotta add is don't zoom when you're recording cuz that's the only move your eyes don't do naturally and looks real amateur... I was just involved in a music video today and we were using the dvx 100 and it's for youtube etc to promote one of the albums I've been working on.. that's mini dv and perfect for internet video and even TV if filmed well.