Right now i just love taking interesting shots and playing around with cameras. I recently won a commercial contest at my school, and that inspired me to get back into film making. i use to have a minidv sony handheld, which i loved playing around with, but it broke and all i have now is a mini flip camera i won from the contest.
i was looking into getting prosumer video cameras, specifically the GL2 but with high price tags like that, (i know ?1000 is very cheap for a prosumer video camera) would i be better off getting a handheld that would be sold at a store like best buy? with the GL2 getting pretty old now, is the technology in "vacation" video cameras similar to what something like the gl2 would offer? To be honest, as tacky as it may sound, i would really love to just achieve the cinematic look, with shallow dof and all that, which leads me into my next point.
where can i go to learn more about lenses and adapters and everything i would need to know to make a wise purchase? all i really know about semi professional videography is 3ccd. also i kinda know that 35mm is a type of adapter (lens?) that achieves the shallow dof look. as you can probably tell, i am pretty clueless on where to learn and what to learn.
any help appreciated 😀
Welcome to filmmaking.net!
The GL2 is a fine camera. If you can find a used one in your price
range, you'll be quite happy.
In the $1,000 and under range all cameras are pretty much the same.
A Sony is like a Sharp is like a Canon is like a Panasonic is like Samsung.
You can go to any Best Buy and pick up a camera in that price range
and you won?t be able to tell the difference.
There are three things that are VERY important when getting a camera:
Three CCD?s or CMOS
Manual controls for the iris, shutter, focus and white balance.
A microphone input.
The JVC GZ-HD7, the first of the JVC HDD cameras is now a little
over a year old and discontinued, but I?ve seen these on line for
as little as $800. 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 has manual controls, a mic input and an excellent focus ring which
is surprisingly rare on small cameras. It records directly to a built in
60GB hard drive. The issue here is the MPEG-2 compression (TOD).
It?s not compatible with many NLE?s so you?ll need to convert the
TOD to QuickTime or AVI.
The GZ-HD40 is a bit of a disappointment. I like that it records using
AVCHD compression which makes it compatible with most NLE?s but
it loses the important focus ring. And it?s so small.
The Panasonic HDC-SD100 uses a 3-CMOS array and records 1920 x
1080 video in the AVCHD format to SD and SDHC memory cards. I like
the ring on the lens that controls zoom, focus, white balance, shutter
speed, and iris and it actually has a viewfinder in addition to the LCD
screen. Very important it has both a mic and headphone jack. I found
it difficult to handle with all the cables attached (mic, headphones and
monitor) but it?s a camera with all the basics.
The Panasonic HDC-HS300 is a fine camera. I got to use it in January for
a little test run shooting some behind the scenes footage for a model
shoot in Las Vegas. I likes the focus ring - a great improvement over similar
cameras. But I didn?t like the touch screen controls. On the plus side it has
the essentials - headphone and mic jacks and manual control over all the
basics. I like that it uses the AVCHD format. There is a nice toggle switch
at the front of the lens for switching between the zoom and the focus. It
took just a few tries for me to master it.
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. And it?s so small the handling is difficult.
The HV30 adds a 30f (Canon?s ?frame mode?) in addition to 24p.
The Sony HDR-SR12 has a mic input and a good sized 120GB HDD. It uses a
1/3? CMOS chip and like the Canon is really small. Because of the input placement,
the mic cable kept getting in my way. The HR9 (which records to tape) is also
a nice, very small, camera with the essentials. Again the mic input is just below
the lens which is rather poor placement, in my opinion.
Pushing the price cap is the Sony HD1000U. It?s $1,400 and has all the essentials.
The touch screen is too unusual for me - I?m old school - but it works quite well.
I like that it?s a shoulder mount camera. It only uses one CMOS Sensor, but the
image was very nice.
I'm not up on the DOF adaptors. I've used the Redrock and didn't like it. But there
are others here who swear by them. Poke around the forms here for more info.
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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)
Not to be too contrary, but in my opinion, 35 adapters are a waste of time and energy. Granted, the depth of field is an interesting (if overused) look, but take into account the amount of time and fiddling that goes into making them work, and making sure they don't vignette, and keeping the fixed, on-camera lens focused on the ground glass, and lighting to combat the spectacular amount of light loss, and it just isn't worth it. Plus, they're expensive, and you have to buy 35mm lenses (which are often expensive if you want good ones), and they turn your image upside-down, which is very disorienting.
I'm not saying you shouldn't try one out and see if you like it, but you should definitely keep in mind practical considerations if you're thinking about getting one. Besides, there's no law that says that video from a consumer-level camera can't look nice.
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Andrew Gingerich
Exploding Goldfish Films
Check out my blog at http://www.exgfilms.com
and my reel at http://portfolio.exgfilms.com
-----------------
Andrew Gingerich
Exploding Goldfish Films
Check out my blog at http://www.exgfilms.com
and my reel at http://portfolio.exgfilms.com
