This summer, I've decided to make my first short film. I am not rich. There will be no film involved, nor even any 3 CCD cameras. There will be one camcorder, under a thousand dollars. This does not mean $999, either. I've been contemplating the Canon Elura series, but I know very little about what else is available, and I think it would be foolish not to ask around. What I've read about the Elura 70 I like, though depending on how much money I get from tutoring, and how far down prices have gone by the end of the semester, I might consider the 80, 85, 90. Anyway, does this sound like a good plan? Don't bother telling me that I'll never do anything festival worthy with a 1 chip camcorder, I know that, I just want to make a film. Any advice on cameras or anything else would be appreciated.
BONUS: This is just a random question, because it's something I'm trying to understand. Is the reason one needs a fast hard drive and high bandwidth connection (like Firewire) to edit MiniDV because the video is stored on tapes, and the camcorder can't just slow them down to keep pace with your narrow ass USB connection? Like, if the camcorder recorded (hypothetically) direct to DVD or something, it wouldn't be a problem, it would just take forever to transfer the footage, right? I would never buy a DVD camcorder, mind you, but I'm curious as to how this works.
Thanks.
quote:
Originally posted by DeLorean
Don't bother telling me that I'll never do anything festival worthy with a 1 chip camcorder, I know that
How do you know that?
I've seen some great movies in festivals shot with small, consumer grade cameras. Maybe it's a little pixelated when shown on a 30ft screen and maybe the colors aren't as vibrant - but if the story and actors are good and the characters interesting, the ending strong and the sound excellent, none of that other stuff matters.
There's a local festival, now in its 14th year were all the movies are made on that old "PXL 2000" camera that uses audio cassettes to record and a grand total of 2000 pixels. And many of those black and white shorts are wonderful and have gone on to other film festivals.
So don't sell yourself short. You make a good film with a good story and pay close attention to the sound (50% of a movie) and your 1 chip camera won't make any difference.
I know I didn't answer your question. But I don't have any actual experience using the cameras you mention.
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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)
quote:
Originally posted by certified instigatorI've seen some great movies in festivals shot with small, consumer grade cameras. Maybe it's a little pixelated when shown on a 30ft screen and maybe the colors aren't as vibrant - but if the story and actors are good and the characters interesting, the ending strong and the sound excellent, none of that other stuff matters.
Well, that's the plan ?:I? I haven't really been to any festivals, so it's good to hear that there are some that don't discriminate on this sort of thing.
First, good luck with your filmmaking. I'm hoping to get started also. I agree that you don't need thousands of dollars of equipment to make great movies. That being said, I have upgraded a few times...
I guess you are in the $500 price range. I'm sure the Eluras are pretty good but I will put in a vote for one of the 2003 Sony TRV models. I had the TRV22 and it was an excellent camera. It blew away my first MiniDV cam, the Canon ZR10. The ZR line hasn't improved much over the years so please ignore it. The TRV22 was very good in low light and produced nice video overall. Some would say that it didn't do anything exceptional but most people who saw my video were impressed. You'd have to find a TRV on ebay because they'd been replaced with new HC lineup. You could probably get a TRV22 for $300 on eBay. This is still a great deal.
I've owned a Canon ZR10, a Sony TRV22 and now a Panasonic GS400. I just recently upgraded to the 3CCD GS400. It's probably the best consumer cam out there right now and I love it.
Check http://www.camcorderinfo.com for reviews and forums. Just becareful on this site because they seem to love Panasonic and bash Sony. They sometimes recommend a camera because it has better still image quality vs one with better video quality that they reviewed months ago. You should ignore still image capability. These are video cams.
Also check http://www.dvspot.com for reviews.
Generally, larger CCDs give better quality and better low light performance. If you are going to light your movies properly then low light may not be an issue for you.
Items to focus on:
Still image capability: Ignore these features. These are video cams not still cams!
Large optical zooms: You should frame your shot first, shouldn't need to zoom.
Digital zoom: useless, disable this in the menu.
How is the sound quality of internal mic? Does it pic up tape mechanism noise?
Can you plug in an external mic?
Does the cam do a "true" 16:9 mode?
Here are my opinions on the consumer level cams from the top 3. I no nothing about JVC, Samsung or any other manufactures. You probably want to stick with one of the top 3 manufactures.
Canon:
Pros: very good image quality and colors when in good light or outdoor shooting due to good Canon lens. Very good image stabilization. Large optical zooms, which for filmmaker shouldn't even matter.
Cons: Low-end ZR series are very poor in normal household lighting. Not sure about Eluras.
Sony:
Pros: very good low light capability, especially the 2003 TRV19/22 lineup due to 1/4" CCDs. Good to pretty good video quality. Very good image stabilization. NightShot mode (for what it's worth).
Cons: Sony's seem to do most things well but nothing exceptional. 2004 HC line-up brought smaller cams and smaller CCDs (1/6").
Panasonic:
Pros: Brought 3 CCDs down to consumer level. Very good color and video quality in good light.
Cons: GS120 and GS200 suffer from poor electronic image stabilization. May suffer in low light.
sigamy, thanks so much for the info. That's exactly the kind of information I was looking for, and I'll be sure to check out those sites before I buy anything. The camcorderinfo site looks pretty comprehensive--a lot to examine, but that's good. I didn't realize there were 3 CCD camcorders on the market for anywhere less than a thousand... the Panasonic GS--- series intrigues me. I wonder if it would be worth saving for a new one.
Incidentally, does anyone have any advice about buying camcorders used? Is it even a good idea?
After doing some research, I think I'm definitely going to try for one of the Panasonic PV-GS cameras. Maybe the 150 or 250 coming out this year, if I can afford them. Does having a "Leica Dicomar" lens make any discernable difference? And am I right in a assuming that these are probably the best under $1000 choices on the market right now?
