Looking for a Good "Starter" Camera

U

urufan56

Hey, I'm new to the forum so I would like to say 'hi' to everyone! Anyway, now to the question:

I'm getting started in Indie Filmmaking and am looking into buying a good "Starter" camera that will help me learn. I would like to have HD (720p is enough) but that is not required. Could some of you give me some tips on which brand is a better choice and where to get started. I'm looking for a camera aroun $250.00 to $300.00.

NOTE: I'm mostly going to be using the camera to make film shorts and stuff like that.

Thanks for everything! :)
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Welcome to indietalk!

In the $250 to $300 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, 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.
It’s not compatable with many NLE’s.

The GZ-HD6 can record 1080/60p through HDMI - pretty impressive.

The GZ-HD40 is a bit of a disapointment. I like that it records using AVCHD
compression which makes it compatable 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.

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.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
What does 3CCD mean?

Thanks for posting so quickley!

BTW: I have used the Canon HV20 with my friend (It's his) while we were filming a short! It worked very well!
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
urufan56 said:
What does 3CCD mean?
Click to expand...

One excellent source for this kind of information is WIKIPEDIA Type in
"3CCD" and you'll get all the details.

Another is good ol' Google. Type "3CCD" into the search and you'll get
tons of info.

If you can wait until you can afford the HV20 it's selling for around $870 now.

Or maybe you could work with your friend and make movies together.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The JVC GZ-HD7, the first of the JVC HDD cameras is now a little
over a year old, 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.
It’s not compatable with many NLE’s.
Click to expand...
i think this is an awesome camera for what it has...and the file format is not a problem to get around for any editing software...you need to use the software that comes with the camera to load into your computer and you can save it in any format you like...then move it to whatever editing software..such as Vagas

i just bought this camera for my daughters to start making short films with...and i PAID $509.00 NEW IN THE BOX for it from SONIC CAMERA...dont know how many they have left...but for the money..its a great little camera.

So Dont get one off ebay for 800.00 when you can get it NEW for $500. at SONIC CAMERA
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
i think this is an awesome camera for what it has...and the file format is not a problem to get around for any editing software...you need to use the software that comes with the camera to load into your computer and you can save it in any format you like...then move it to whatever editing software..such as Vagas

i just bought this camera for my daughters to start making short films with...and i PAID $509.00 NEW IN THE BOX for it from SONIC CAMERA...dont know how many they have left...but for the money..its a great little camera.

So Dont get one off ebay for 800.00 when you can get it NEW for $500. at SONIC CAMERA
Click to expand...

Ok, I see. Thanks. Yea I was looking at the camera and I seemed really nice! :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
....

First off, uh...Sonic Cameras? Dude, they're a scam company. Trust me, I tried to purchase a camera from them and they pulled a bait and switch. Check the Better Business Bureau or ripoffreport.com

Here: http://ripoffreport.com/reports/0/399/RipOff0399963.htm

Secondly, I'm looking for a starter camera myself.

My biggest concerns are:

Ease of learning.

Changeable lenses (For sake of playing around with shots and such; I'm more into experimental film and all)

If possible, a flip out screen.

High quality resolution (On a scale of 1 - 10, a 7/8 or higher)

(Any other suggestions for what i should opt/look for?)

~R
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
AnthemRoad said:
My biggest concerns are:

Ease of learning.

Changeable lenses (For sake of playing around with shots and such; I'm more into experimental film and all)

If possible, a flip out screen.

High quality resolution (On a scale of 1 - 10, a 7/8 or higher)

(Any other suggestions for what i should opt/look for?)

~R
Click to expand...

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.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
AnthemRoad said:
D'oh

I knew that, lol. So yeah, including those...any suggestions?
Click to expand...

The JVC GZ-HD7, the first of the JVC HDD cameras is now a little
over a year old, 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.
It’s not compatable with many NLE’s.

The GZ-HD6 can record 1080/60p through HDMI - pretty impressive.

The GZ-HD40 is a bit of a disapointment. I like that it records using AVCHD
compression which makes it compatable 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.

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.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hmm, alright.

Another question or two.

Whats the difference really between HDD and miniDV? Honestly, I see little difference, only two or three things. Would you say it's merely an example of capitalism at its best (or worst)?

I'm more than a little confused with cameras in general. G'ah, I don't know why. Sometimes I wish it was simpler.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
MiniDV is a tape format. The video and audio are recorded to tape.
HDD is a hard drive format. The video and audio are recorded to a
solid state media - no moving parts.

Currently video and audio recorded to HDD is more compressed
and video and audio recorded to MiniDV. This has nothing to do
with capitalism except in the sense that the manufacturers are
responding to the wants of the consumer. Most regular video
shooters are making videos of their family and birthdays and vacations
and not needing to cary several tapes with them is something they
want. This is becoming more and more true with movie makers, too.

There is no need to be confused. If you are going to use your camera
to make movies then get one with a mic input.

Confusion over. You will be happy with any of the cameras I mentioned.
Seriously - if you put the names of each of the seven cameras I mentioned
in a hat and pulled one out, you will like that camera and you will be able
to make movies using it.

If you walk into a BestBuy and tell them your price range and say you need
a camera in that range with a mic input, the very first camera they show you
will be fine.

The confusing part comes in later. When you start learning how to light a
scene, how to schedule actors and crew, how to get locations; when you
start budgeting even one quick meal for the people helping you and
figuring out what to do when an actor is late or a no show....

That's the hard part.

The simple part is buying a camera - the difficult part is making a
movie people want to watch.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
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.
Click to expand...

I certainly hear a lot about these HV30's suddenly!

Those already familiar with them, can I beg a little more info?

What sort of external mic jack can they take? A decent external, shotgun type mic useful for fiction scenes (or just some "not-much-better-than-the-built-in-mic" mic?)

And the bigger question is: I've read reviews which were disappointed that the HV30 wasn't a very big upgrade from the HV20 ... but then they still praise the 30 as a dandy camera.

So my question is: What about the HV30 is improved-enough to justify the extra, newer costs?

Would someone be better advised to just buy the older, cheaper HV20 ... and save a little $$$ ?
Or is the HV30 worth the new model $$$ ?

And ... to avoid splitting the thread:
How much harder is it to edit HD than mini-DV ... on a decent new PC (but not a videoworkstation) ???

They're both still FireWire, right? Will HD simply not edit on an average home PC?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Both the HV20 and HV30 have a “mini plug” . With an adaptor you can
plug in any professional mic.

The HV30 adds 30f (Canon’s “frame mode”) so you’re right, there
wasn’t a very big upgrade, but it’s still a dandy camera.

There is no difference between HD and miniDV. MiniDV is the tape
format and HD (in this case actually HDV) is the format recorded
on to the tape. This type of High Definition can be edited on an
average home PC.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TWISTEDII said:
What about the JVC GY DV500U? I was searching Cnet, and it's the cheapest one, but, was it just built to look more expensive, or is it a decent camcorder? I'm so new at this, I'm not sure if theres some obvious thing I'm just missing. Heres a feature page.

http://www.avsupply.com/details/gydv500u.shtml

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

That camera wasn't built to look expensive - it was the first truly professional miniDV camera.
I bought mine in 1999 and still use it.
rik%3Acamera2.jpg


The stock Fujinon lens is amazing and it's interchangable which is very important (to me
anyway). If you can afford it I highly recommend it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
OK, back to reality...

I have one of these on hold today. No money down or anything, it was just their last one and I wanted them to hold it so I could run home and research. Any thoughts on this? I've never owned a camcorder, I have never made a film, so I'm pretty much brand new at filmmaking and editing and, everything. Would this be OK for me to get my feet wet and see if this is really something I want to continue doing, or do you think its too low quality?

http://reviews.cnet.com/camcorders/sony-handycam-dcr-hc52/4507-9340_7-32775767.html?tag=mncol;rnav

They are asking 250. My budget was no higher than 300, so, thought it was an OK deal. I'm so lost when it comes to buying a beginners camcorder.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I'm curious now. A friend of mine started playing around with his PURE Digital Flip Video Ultra Series F260b - making short movies and all. Would you advise that I get one - for the time being - just to start getting experience. (I had a bit of a hiccup and now won't be able to spend what I was planning on - because i have to use that for rent.)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top