quote:

---

Originally posted by Bababooey
My question is can a camcorder, in particular this one, produce a totally professional looking film?

---

Not by itself.

But with skilled people, good lighting, professional
camera moves and enough coverage you can make
a professional looking movie with the HV40. I've
given that camera a test drive and liked it.

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

Still not up on all the industry lingo. When you say "good coverage", what does that mean?

"coverage" is the different angles you get of a scene. Many beginning
filmmakers shoot a scene from only a few angles. Covering the scene
from many different angles gives the editor more options and can often
make the difference in a product that looks more professional.

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

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bababooey

I'm considering using the Canon HV40 for my film. It's a hand held camcorder. Most reviews I've read say the picture quality is breath taking, which is no surprise since it's a HD camera. A few people even said they used it to film their documentaries. My question is can a camcorder, in particular this one, produce a totally professional looking film? Or do I need a higher grade of camera?

---

The short answer is "no," not really. Though, that answer comes with caveats.

As far as image quality goes in pure technical terms, if I'm reading the specs properly, it doesn't even have a 2/3" sensor, which is generally the smallest that "professional" grade cameras have.

Also, "usability" in terms of operation and operating with a tiny camera like that doesn't generally allow for the full range of options that professional grade cameras have. These are things like the ability to choose specific focal lengths, zoom smoothly, use selective focus quickly and accurately, choose your aperture and shutter at will, and viewing your image through a large quality viewfinder. Operating tiny cameras like this is also not easy with the lack of stability due to very little mass and lack of ergonomics.

Now, having said all of that, it IS possible to force a camera like that to do what you want it to do so that you do get most of the images you would like to get. Keep in mind, you're still limited by the parameters of the camera. A cheap camera will never be able to produce the same quality of images that a $60,000 camera can. But, if you light your sets and people very well and learn the camera enough to know how to manipulate the settings and you have a GREAT fluid head on a solid tripod, you can create professional looking images with nearly any camera.

Brian Dzyak
Cameraman/Author
IATSE Local 600, SOC
http://www.whatireallywanttodo.com
http://www.realfilmcareer.com

As a musician by training, to me this would be like asking if one could produce a professional-sounding performance on a student instrument; say, a $500 Chinese-made upright piano (vs. $90,000 Steinway & Sons concert grand). The short answer would be no, with caveats. If the piece you are playing is very simple (for example, something from 18th century, like Bach, or Scarlatti, or even early Mozart), where there isn't that much of a breadth of tonal range and very precise technique is required, you could pull it off, assuming that the cheap piano is properly tuned and mechanically smooth and even. Anything more serious and tonally more demanding (Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky...) would demand much more than the cheap upright piano could produce.

Same with HV40; if you shot types of scenes in which HV40's shortcomings might not be obvious, you just might get away with professional looking results. However, you'll be severely limited with the types of shots you could do.

All that said, indie filmmakers have been using HV camcorders and making shorts, as well as features with it for years now. It has been quite popular among them, for sheer bang-for-buck factor.

This was shot on the HV40 (make sure to watch in 720P):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kow8OoOCm6Y&feature=related

Seems pretty professional to me! Only thing with this video, is a lens adaptor is used (a 500$-ish adaptor which allows for the addition of extreme focal length lenses to be added) but for the sheer screen quality, the camera is amazing all on its own, just like any Vixia series camera. Don't fret, these cameras are amazing and possibly even more than what you even need!

I'm not sure, CSmitty, what is your point with this Youtube clip. It shows people talking to the camera in broad daylight, in the shade. In other words, location and angle were chosen to avoid as much as possible problems that could surface with a amateur (i.e. consumer) camcorder. In addition, this is YouTube, which heavily compresses videos. We really have no idea, based on this 720p clip, how the video would hold up if projected in a movie theatre on a large screen. Chances are high that it would start falling apart.

To shoot anything other than extremely optimal conditions with a consumer camera would require painstakingly perfect lighting setup. Even after that, the camera would still be capturing only half the colour information of more professional models (i.e. 4:2:0 chroma sub-sampling, vs. 4:2:2 that more serious models do.

So, no; as amazing as these camcorders are, they really need to be put in perspective: demands of proper, professional-looking filmmaking significantly outstrip what these camcorders can do. As has been said above; you COULD get professional-looking results from it, but you would be SEVERELY limited in the choices of shots. To make it fairly simple: you could shoot a simple drama, or comedy (daylight shots, well-lit interior shots, no special or visual effects, night shots, etc). You most likely CANNOT pull off a horror, action or a thriller that requires green screen, visual effects, exterior night shots, or ANY mildly challenging shot. Otherwise, everyone would be shooting on HV-40.