I'm 60 years old and was involved in television for 4 years in highschool and persued a professional photography career in college with a focus on commercial and architectural work. I have played with video for many years but have not picked up a video camera for 10 years now. Chose a different path in life for work (not photography). As I am getting near retirement from my present career I would like to get into some serious video work both as a hobby and possibly for extra income down the road. My first question regarding a video camera as there is so much to choose from is this: being that consumer cameras have very little ability to control shots manually, I would like something better and it doesn't have to be new. I am also not willing to spend $5000 to get started until I figure out if it will work for me. I've looked at older Canons like the XL1 and XL1S and also Sonys like the PD 150 and 170. This was a starting point. I would like some guidance here as to what makes sense even if it's totally different from what I have seen so far.
Now as to post production, a reasonable starting point for software that doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how to use it.
Good reading material for someone who has some experience but not with present day technology. Any guidance would be much appreciated. I would get back into some classes but my work schedule doesn't permit it and the nearest college is an hour away.
Thanks,
Terry
I don't like the Canon cameras. Doesn't mean they aren't good - they
seem to be the most popular cameras out there - just that in my
experience using them, they don't do it for me. I like the Sony's mentioned.
Except for the fixed lens, they are top of the line SD cameras.
The bottom line is any camera from Sony, JVC, Panasonic and Canon is
going to be fine. there isn't really that much difference. A lot of personal
choice comes into play - kinda like Pepsi/Coke, Ford/GM, Mazda/Toyota,
thin crust/thick crust.
My choice for a SD camera is the JVC GY-DV5000. All manual controls
and an interchangeable lens. In my opinion and excellent SD camera. But
you won't be disappointed if you get the PD150 or 170.
Editing: While I have extensive knowledge and experience with cameras
I have only used Final Cut and iMovie so I can't give you any opinion on
anything else. Others here are the PC experts.
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
Premiere used to be cheap and fairly intuitive to use, but I haven't used the more recent 'Premiere Pro' versions.
For editing programs, in my opinion, it usually goes Final Cut for Mac and Sony Vegas for PC. I use sony vegas and it's really easy to use. If your looking to do some more complicated compositing, green screening, and other effects the Fxhome product series like vision lab is extremely easy to use and can give you incredible results.
"Imperfection equals Realism"
I second Vegas. In my opinion, it is the most user-friendly as well as the easiest to learn. I also have Premiere Pro, but I've found that it and Vegas can do all of the same stuff, just by a different method. As Henry said, Fxhome is great for special effects, and I would also recommend Adobe After Effects.
Thanks for the info. As I currently have a bunch of PC's I will stick with that format until I get to the level that will justify the cost of going to a Mac. Sony Vegas looks interesting. Would like to find more info on that program. Went to Sony's website and they only advertise Vegas 8 now. Vegas 6 series looks more than adequate to get started for me. As to a video camera, if you were to buy a good used unit and wanted to limit your expenditure to $1000-1500, what camera would make good sense? I don't plan a lot of fast action so extreme compactness isn't a priority.
Thanks,
Terry
I love Sony Vegas, and I found it to rule when editing high definition footage, where Adobe Premiere and Avid totally choked.
quote:
Originally posted by Henry701
For editing programs, in my opinion, it usually goes Final Cut for Mac and Sony Vegas for PC. I use sony vegas and it's really easy to use. If your looking to do some more complicated compositing, green screening, and other effects the Fxhome product series like vision lab is extremely easy to use and can give you incredible results."Imperfection equals Realism"
Various versions of Vegas can still be had, also check ebay
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/103-8107161-8611065?url=search-alias%3Dsoftware&field-keywords=sony+vegas&x=11&y=20
quote:
Originally posted by Haoleman
Thanks for the info. As I currently have a bunch of PC's I will stick with that format until I get to the level that will justify the cost of going to a Mac. Sony Vegas looks interesting. Would like to find more info on that program. Went to Sony's website and they only advertise Vegas 8 now. Vegas 6 series looks more than adequate to get started for me. As to a video camera, if you were to buy a good used unit and wanted to limit your expenditure to $1000-1500, what camera would make good sense? I don't plan a lot of fast action so extreme compactness isn't a priority.
Thanks,
Terry
quote:
Originally posted by Haoleman
As to a video camera, if you were to buy a good used unit and wanted to limit your expenditure to $1000-1500, what camera would make good sense?
Used: either the XL1 or the PD-150 makes good sense.
New: In the around $1,000 - $1,500 range there are currently only 5:
The JVC GZ-HD3 is a nice starter camera that records to a 60GB HDD
with manual controls and a mic input. It can be found for around
$800.
The Panasonic series (PV-GS300, PV-GS400, PV-GS500) are terrific
3CCD cameras. It seems the 400 is hard to find and that?s too
bad. It?s a great little camera. But the 500 is still an
excellent starter camera with the essentials.
Sony DCR-HC1000 is very similar to the Panasonic cameras. If
you?re more comfortable with Sony, this is the camera for you.
I like the new JVC GZ-HD7. I?ve seen these on line for as little
as $1,200. A really nice Fujinon lens makes a huge difference and
full manual controls is important. Three 1/5? 16:9 progressive
scan CCD?s are pretty impressive for a camera in this price
range. It records directly to a built in 60GB hard drive.
Close is the Canon HV20. It records in HDV (1080i) and 24p (60i),
has a mic input and manual controls of white balance and focus
but it uses one 1/2.7? CMOS sensor rather than 3 CCD?s. For me
the jury is still out on the CMOS. And it?s so small the handling
is difficult.
=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
