Camera Advice (Canon Vixia HG21)

Hey guys.

I've been getting serious about getting serious about film making lately, so I've been doing a lot of research on cameras. My budget's not huge, and I would still have to spend money on basic lighting and audio equipment, so I've been looking at cameras in the $500-1000 range. I understand that I'm not really going to get professional looking video with any camera that cheap, and that's fine. I just want a camera that would be decent enough to cut my teeth on that would actually have value later on.

With that in mind, I've become very interested in Canon's HG21. It has quite a bit going for it:

  • it shoots in HD
  • it has mic and headphone jacks
  • lots of manual controls
  • records to hard drive, which is more convenient than tape

Really, the choice came down to between the HV20/30/40 and this one. Recording to hard drive is a big seller to me, as I imagine it would be much easier to work with than miniDV.

Is there anything I'm overlooking, or would this be a more or less wise investment? From what I've seen, this camera is the best one in its class, but I'm more than open to suggestions.
 
Hey there, I use a Canon Vixia HF200 which is VERY similar to the HG21. I have to say, I LOVE IT. I know it's not professional quality per se, but to my pretty-untrained eye, it looks amazing. It took me a while to find a video editor that would work with the format(although I read on here that the newest versions of most programs are compatible now) but I settled on Sony Vegas and I love that, too.
I've found that if there isn't really other noise, the mic in the camera works really well at just picking up voices. If you have good lighting, the picture is HD and phenomenal.
If you want some examples of what the camera looks like, take a look at my Youtube channel. All of my original stuff was shot with it(so just not the news clips). Here's a link, I hope it helps you make your decision.
http://www.youtube.com/sammislawa

Have a wonderful day!
 
Welcome!

I understand that I'm not really going to get professional looking video with any camera that cheap, and that's fine.
You are wrong. With excellent lighting and composition you can
get a very professional looking video with just about any camera.
Add great audio and acting, a compelling story with a good script
and editing and you'll have yourself a very professional looking
video. The choice of camera is barely a factor in what makes a
professional looking video.
Is there anything I'm overlooking, or would this be a more or less wise investment? From what I've seen, this camera is the best one in its class, but I'm more than open to suggestions.
You've done your homework, it's a fine camera.
 
Thanks!

You are wrong. With excellent lighting and composition you can
get a very professional looking video with just about any camera.
Add great audio and acting, a compelling story with a good script
and editing and you'll have yourself a very professional looking
video. The choice of camera is barely a factor in what makes a
professional looking video.
Yeah. No crew, either, so I'm going to have to spend a few months learning lighting and editing. I'm just eager to get a camera so I can actually start, but I'm plagued by pre-buyer's remorse.

You've done your homework, it's a fine camera.
Good to know. I'm also thinking of getting the HG20, and spending the rest of that money on more audio equipment; I doubt I would use the viewfinder anyway.
 
Really, the choice came down to between the HV20/30/40 and this one. Recording to hard drive is a big seller to me, as I imagine it would be much easier to work with than miniDV.

Recording to hard drive is not necessarily easier to work with. What do you plan to use for editing? Most newer NLE's are able to handle AVCHD now, but it's worth noting that AVCHD takes a good deal more processing power than HDV to edit. The quality can be higher, but that depends on what bitrate you record at.

I've personally got my eye on either the HF20 or HFS10. These are essentially the same camera as the one you've mentioned, but utilize SD cards rather than a hard drive. No moving parts equates to less power consumption. Additionally since they use solid state memory, they're much less shock sensitive. Accidentally drop a hard drive based camera, you could ruin the disk.. accidentally drop a tape or SD based camera, you'll probably just scuff the camera.

I've had an HV20 for a year and a half now, and I've really been happy with it. The only difference between it and the HV30/40 (aside from the color of the case) is that 30p was added to the HV30/40.

If you're looking for a good deal on an HV20, send me a PM, I might be willing to part with mine for less than you'd have to pay for a new one.. including extra batteries and whatnot.

Oh yeah, :welcome:
 
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I love my HF100.Shooting to SD cards gives you unlimited footage. (good/bad?) plus you can upload and still have your camera to use. I got Canons external mic for it and an amazed at the sound I get. Plus everybody wants to touch the wind screen.
 
Recording to hard drive is not necessarily easier to work with. What do you plan to use for editing? Most newer NLE's are able to handle AVCHD now, but it's worth noting that AVCHD takes a good deal more processing power than HDV to edit. The quality can be higher, but that depends on what bitrate you record at.
Probably Adobe Premiere Elements 8, which I've read can handle AVCHD. When I filmed a few things back in high school, I used an older version of APE, so I figured I might as well start with that. And while my computer can't handle editing the footage, my roommate has a decent quad-core machine, so that shouldn't be a problem. My only gripe is that since, to begin with, I'm mostly going to be uploading video to the internet there's no real need to have the HD footage since I'm likely going to be downconverting it all anyway. But it's useful to have for future endeavors.

I've personally got my eye on either the HF20 or HFS10. These are essentially the same camera as the one you've mentioned, but utilize SD cards rather than a hard drive. No moving parts equates to less power consumption. Additionally since they use solid state memory, they're much less shock sensitive. Accidentally drop a hard drive based camera, you could ruin the disk.. accidentally drop a tape or SD based camera, you'll probably just scuff the camera.
This is true. I certainly prefer flash memory when its feasible, based on years of accidentally dropping various mp3 players. I just think that recording to SD cards is so inconvenient and inelegant. Sure, if I drop the camera it has a better chance of surviving, but I have to buy more SD cards, not lose any of them, switch them out when they get full, deal with a smaller overall storage space that costs more... to me, it just doesn't make sense. In addition, the HG20/21 is heftier than the flash based cameras, which is a positive to me.

I've had an HV20 for a year and a half now, and I've really been happy with it. The only difference between it and the HV30/40 (aside from the color of the case) is that 30p was added to the HV30/40.

If you're looking for a good deal on an HV20, send me a PM, I might be willing to part with mine for less than you'd have to pay for a new one.. including extra batteries and whatnot.
They're super nice cameras. They have a slightly bigger CMOS, they can record in both HD and SD, and I think only the HV40 has a proprietary hot shoe. I'm just worried about using miniDVs. They seem so, well, silly in this day and age. With the advent of AVCHD, they no longer have superior compression, and they're more of a hassle than flash or HDD variants. I have heard rumors that most companies plan on discontinuing their miniDV cameras soon, and while I'm sure they'll make the actual tapes for a while longer, I can't help but get the sense that miniDV is in its death throes.

With that said, that's a very generous offer that I just might take you up on. Dead format or not, a deal is a deal.

Thanks for all your help!
 
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