Am i stupid...? if i buy these cameras...

P

priyankeshu

okay

so i have been making music on the computer and now plan to make few short movies upto 1 hour length and show em on the local theater screens... and Cable TV.



First i was planning to get DSLR Canon T2i, but it is slightly out of my budget at the moment, (also it is a bit too much to manage for a indie's indie like me.. )


Then i looked at other options and was amazed to see that simple POINT and SHOOT cameras are offering FULL HD recording capabilities.


I spent a lot of time on the internet and have found following two camera that offer bang for the buck:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EgITiOSOyk << canon s95 costs around $500
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EgITiOSOyk << Sony that costs ONLY $350 (drools.. )



With Focus!!! >> What's more, they even blur the background to get that cinematic effect..


I am almost convinced but i have to be really cautious while spending money... so i would be making a showroom visit and asking the guy to record the videos for me and show the the capabilities..




A few thoughts

- BIG SCREEN -
Can a video that is HD 1080i/p can be shown on big screen after film transfer?

---SOUND---
I know i know, these cameras don't have a microphone input in them. But i don't really need that because i would be recording audio again in the studio for dialogues and adding lots of musical effects. I just need some ambient sounds and i think the stereo built-in mics would be okay for that..





What i am after at this moment is the 1080i figure. These cameras are offering me that HD!!!. Yes i know i know... they are not very good at low light situations (but that is okay with me)


But am i missing something here? Any suggestions if i can go ahead with these.. or would getting T2i a huuuuuuuge leap?


PS: I would be getting a 5d Mark II but may be after a year or so.. till then i just want something simple and easy to use that is not only cheaper but also easy to handle and carry around..
 
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The compression rates that most of these point and shoot cameras use make the footage pretty low quality, despite the resolution. You'll see that the highlights blow out really easily and the shadows will be full of noise and have very little detail. The Canon in this case only takes 1280x720 video, too. And don't expect to get any usable sound from these.

A T2i would definitely be a huge jump up in quality over virtually all point and shoots. You can also pick up a GH1 for around $450, which would be an even bigger jump in quality once it's been hacked.
 
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1st time making a short movie? Use any borrowed camera. Don't spend any money. Make a dozen shorts. Doesn't matter how much the camera is, if u can't compose the good looking shot ~ your film will look like crap.

Read other threads on this forum.

Focus on sound.

"In focus with blurred background" aka depth of field, won't give u cinematic effect alone. Proper shot composition and cinematography will.

Good luck
 
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priyankeshu said:
so i have been making music on the computer and now plan to make few short movies upto 1 hour length and show em on the local theater screens... and Cable TV.

PS: I would be getting a 5d Mark II but may be after a year or so.. till then i just want something simple and easy to use that is not only cheaper but also easy to handle and carry around..
Click to expand...

Are you looking for a camera that is simple and easy to use or
one that is good enough to go to 35mm film or cable TV? You
are not going to find one, cheap camera that will do both.

There is a reason why professional filmmakers use the cameras
they use. I know you HOPE your up to 1 hour movie will be
shown in the local theaters, but what is a realistic expectation?
Does you local theater screens often show short films. Do they
often show movies on the big screen made by first time filmmmakers?
 
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thanks everyone for the responses..


i did some more research over this and found out that PnS cameras have smaller sensor size, so they are not as good as DSLRs ofc.


Are local theaters gonna show my movie?

Well i just hope that they will show, in couple of cases they have shown movies and i live in a smalltown and i have contacts.. even if it is not shown during normal show times it can be shown in the morning when if no other show is running..

the movies are going to be of social and educational purpose so it has little to do with first timer movie maker and they will show it to create awareness amongst people..


Okay, i must save some money to go for 550D i guess


Btw,

If i take the camcorder route, what options would i have? What are the entry level camcorders that might be suitable for the job


i understand that good camcorders cost a lot but i don't want anything fancy just bare minimum that looks okay to the audience.


And there are cases when small and even mobile cameras have been used for showing on Big Screens and they were not even DSLR's but mobile phones!


References:

Festival honors... movie made with

Techdirt about smartphone feature films --

If cellphones can do it, why can't point and shoot ?


Sorry for being an utter noob, :) please bear with me..
 
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You can do with pretty much any camera BUT the less the camera is capable the more YOU need to compensate. The movies you seen done with mobile phones have extremly good skills! But sure it can be done, i do it all the time.
 
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Lcaz said:
You can do with pretty much any camera BUT the less the camera is capable the more YOU need to compensate. The movies you seen done with mobile phones have extremly good skills! But sure it can be done, i do it all the time.
Click to expand...
Hi thanks for the heads up..

Do you show movies on big screen?
What type of cameras have you used for that?

so..... is it possible to get decent stuff out of those cameras that does nt make audience run away :)


PS:
i understand that at the end of the day it is my creative use of the camera and story which is going to matter..

that's why i said i care for the bare minimum. I dont want a blurred image on the screen :)
 
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I've had my shorts shown on large theater screens (using a digital projector). My first few were shot with a Canon HV20 consumer HD camcorder. They looked decent enough. The last one was shot with a Sony HVR-Z5U pro cam and it looked much better. The pro cam has less noise, better color reproduction, and better exposure latitude (among other things). Granted, my lighting had improved by the time I upgraded cameras, and that helped the most.

I've also shot stuff with a Kodak Zi8, and it didn't look nearly as good as even the HV20. Of course, these cams have tiny sensors and are built cheaply. But that's why they cost a lot less.

Yeah, my iPhone 4 shoots fairly decent video (for a phone), but I would never want to shoot an actual short with it. It is such a pain to try to control focus and exposure.
 
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