Welcome, Steve.

Flash memory is fine. This is my camera
http://pro.jvc.com/prof/attributes/features.jsp?model_id=MDL101851&feature_id=01
see what it records to? The exact same SDHC memory card the FS200 uses.

MUCH more important is lighting, composition, sound and a good story. I
really like that that little camera actually has a mic input. You need to get
yourself a mic and put it on a boom. That will get you better sound. Learn
to light scenes (even scenes you don't think need lighting) and above all,
make sure you have a story worth telling.

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

I would suggest, if you can have $400 squeezed out for this Christmas gift, get yourself something like Sony hHDR-CX100. It shoots AVCHD (Hi-Def video), which is significantly better than youf FS2100 Standard-def. It can be ordered for under $400 ( http://www.amazon.com/Sony-HDR-CX100-Camcorder-Shutter-Optical/dp/B001PY41YQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1259356124&sr=8-1).

Canon's HF series is also great, if you can find one for under $400. Keep in mind; you'll need a separate microphone, lights, stands... Cheap solutions can be found if you look around. Any cheap vocal mic from musiciansfriend.com (or any other musical instrument site) will do significantly better job than the built-in camcorder mic. As for lights, ordinary halogen work lights from Home Depot (or Lowes) provide plenty of flexibility (a $99 kit gives you 1,200W of light on a telescoping stand, with increments, from 200W to 1,200W, using combinations of 6 halogen bulbs ( http://www.homedepot.com/Lighting-Fans-Worklights/h_d1/N-5yc1vZaqn9Z66xgv/R-100655355/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053). There are even cheaper work lights ($40 or so), so you should be able to put together something usable with very little additional cash.

Vasic,

The Sony HDR-CX100 looks like a good camera. I've never shot in AVCHD before. Will I have any problems trying to capture it? I'll mostly be capturing on the school computer which is an iMac, and the software is Final Cut Express. Will I have to convert the files or anything or should it be a straight transfer from camera to FCE? With the FS200, you have to capture into iMovie and then export it to FCE. Should I expect the same thing with the HD camera?

Thanks very much for the input.

FCE doesn't do well with AVCDH. You will have to convert the files.

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

Thanks for the info. I'll probably just end up with the $260 Canon FS200 and use those extra $100 and put them towards lights or a mic. I did some reading and it looks like AVCHD can be a pain to work with, so I'll probably stick to SD for now, and when I get some real money in a year or two, buy something nicer.

Actually, no software does well with AVCHD, and it's not so much the software, but the hardware; AVCHD puts heavy demands on it. FCE/FCP (as well as iMovie) solves it quite elegantly -- they transcode into AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) or ProRes (FCP only). The resulting files are much bigger, but are infinitely easier to work with, render effects, cut/splice, etc. I would most certainly recommend AVCHD as an efficient format, having had about a year and a half of experience with it (and an iMac, MacBook and MacBook Pro).

A benefit of HD is the feature most AVCHD camcorders have -- capturing in 24p (US market only, though). The only drawback there is that the 24p frames are encoded within a 60i stream, using telecine (2:3 pulldown). In order to edit this in a proper 24p timeline, you'll need to remove the pulldown during the transcoding of AVCHD into the editable format (AIC, ProRes, etc). There is only one cheap software that allows you do this: Cineform's NeoScene. AfterEffects (CS4) can do it as well, but it's much more expensive.

Regardless, if you can stretch it, HD would be a good way to go. If you can't, get your cheap FS200, then try to make some summer money and swap FS200 for a HF100/200/HF-S100 or something similar (or even better).

Ok, you'll have to bear with me here, I'm not very knowledgeable about formats and converting files and whatnot. 🙂

If I capture the AVCHD into FCE will the files automatically work, or will I need to use a software such as Cineform Neo Scene to convert the files? I don't think I'm gonna be able to afford an extra $100 on top of the HD camera. Plus, FCE is only available on the school computers, I don't have a Mac, so I doubt I'll be allowed to install the software there.

Also, once I burn my final product to a DVD-R will it play on a standard DVD player and TV or because its HD will it need a Blu-Ray player and/or HDTV?

It just sounds to me so far that AVCHD is kind of annoying to deal with...but it may be worth it, and easier than I thought, so I don't know. Chances are, I'll get the cheap FS200 and maybe if I can make some $$ soon, I'll try and get something better.

Thanks for all the help so far, I really appreciate it.

No, no, you'll have no issues with transcoding into FCE. The feature is called "Log and Transfer" and it is quite simple. You hook up your camcorder to the iMac (or stick the memory card in a card reader), go to "Log and Transfer", pick shots (or entire folder) that you want to put into FCE and hit transfer. The transcoding is done faster than real time (speed depends on how fast is your iMac). The result is a bunch of files on your iMac that you can edit exactly the same way as standard-def DV, only they'll be in full HD (1920x1080 pixels). The files will be transferred with the same framerate as was in the original AVCHD (i.e. if you had an American model, it will be 60i; if it's a EU model, 50i). You can edit in HD and render the final result into anything you need. If you need to deliver in SD, you can take it into DVD Studio Pro (or iDVD) and it will down-sample the resolution to SD. Of course, the resulting DVD will look pretty spectacular, as the image was obtained from an extremely high quality source.

Since you have fairly limited knowledge of HD (and AVCHD in particular), it won't hurt if you start out with FS200 and SD workflow. As you go along, try and read up a bit on AVCHD workflow and issues related to it, including delivering HD content in Blu-ray format (suffice it to say, you don't necessarily need a Blu-ray burner and blu-ray blank discs in order to create a disc in HD, playable in an ordinary Blu-ray player; DVD-R disc can hold up to an hour of HD content in Blu-ray compatible AVCHD encoding). There's lot to learn about this HD business, so step first into SD, figure it out there and when ready, move on.

Excellent post, Vasic!

Vasic,

Thank you very much for the informative response. I'm going to take your advice, start in SD and in a year or two, move on to HD. Thanks again!

C.I.:

Why, thank you! Coming from someone with over 2k of posts under his belt, in addition to the wealth of practical experience in the business and art of filmmaking, it means a lot!

and Steve (in MD):

How about this for a plan: at the end of your junior year, start hinting to your folks about your graduation gift wish (a decent HD camcorder). Depending on the economy in your family, possibly stretch it to include a MacBook... If not, a cheap Acer will still get the job done...