I'm a print journalist who'd like to shoot a broadcast-quality short documentary with a mate. We've got ?1000-?2000 to spend on a camera. I'm assuming DV is the way to go. Can we get the results we need on that kind of budget and what camera should we be looking to buy exactly?
Many thanks,
Rob.
If it's a good documentary with a strong story you can probably get away with anything, otherwise you're looking at more than that for a true 'broadcast-quality' DV camera.
You might find an XL1, PD150 or PD170 going cheap now that the XL2 and Sony HDV cameras are out, all of which are pretty good. Certainly I know someone who has shot some broadcast documentaries on his XL1, though the picture quality isn't as high as documentaries shot on Digibeta or film. If you're aiming more towards the 'news show' and 'gritty realism' end of the scale that kind of camera should be fine.
Thanks for the advice Mark.
