Hey everyone. I have a serious passion for film and I have a lot of great ideas. Right now, all I have is an 8mm cam and I hate it. I need to know 2 things.

1)I plan on purchasing a MiniDV camera. I am on a sort of strict budget, so which camera will be the best for my money? I was thinking the Optura 10.

2)What editing software should I buy? I was thinking Ulead VideoStudio 7, as it is $100 usd. Any other suggestions?

Thank you!

EDIT: Holy cow, I'm sorry. I didn't realize I clicked the wrong forum. But still, If u can help I'd greatly appreciate it.

Assuming your budget is about $450-ish for the camera?

Looks like an okay camera for the money. Some reviews say it's not that hot in low-light situations. Might be something to consider if you don't plan on having additional lighting. Has manual white-balance & focus ring... always good.

Don't know anything about about Ulead software. Pinnacle makes "Studio" software that's roughly $100 though, and that's pretty decent for what it can do. The bundled music generator is pretty handy as well, using loops & a few tricks to automagically create a score of any specified length. (Had a bunch of sound fx and foley sounds, too)

You'll need a Firewire connection on your computer, if you don't already have one.

So what exactly do you hate about your 8mm camera? It's possible to make outstanding flicks with older equipment, if the story itself is good.

thanks. do most newer computers have a firewire connection? if so, this one does. i just bought it in december. its a dell.

ill look into pinnacle. and i hate my 8mm because its quality is very shotty looking, it almost has a choppy webcam feel to it. i think its screwed up a bit, not sure though.

well, thanks again. i might be looking into the elura 60 now, because several people have complained about an excess of motor noise in playback with the optura 10.

That particular Elura has no mic input, nor hotshoe for the snapon mics. You'll need at least a mic input.

At about $550-ish there are a few 3CCD cameras popping up. The CCDs are teeny at 1/6" each, but better than a single like this. I don't recall the models... someone will, I'm sure.

Your Dell most likely will have Firewire if that recent. Since it's a PC, you may need to purchase an optional connection cable. The camera connection is 4-pin. The PC is 6-pin. Some cameras include both a 4-4 cable & 4-6 cable... but some only the 4-4. (Just in case you can't get the cable to fit ;) )

Okay, thanks. I guess I will just get the Optura 10. I'm still looking around at lower end studio software, but I'm pretty sure I'm sticking with Pinnacle and Windows Movie Maker 2 (gotta take what's free, lol)

Thanks again for your help! :wink:

2)What editing software should I buy? I was thinking Ulead VideoStudio 7, as it is $100 usd. Any other suggestions?



You can get AVID FREE DV to edit with and it's totally free & much better than VIDEOSTUDIO or VIDEOWAVE.

Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. You never cease to amaze, Sonny.

I wouldn't suggest a camera with no mic input, especcially if there are issues with motor noise. You can have a brilliantly shot video, but if the audio is poor then you have nothing.

Then again we must ask ourselves if sound run through the pathetic pre-amp of a consumer cam is going to make an external mic worthwhile. Perhaps it would be best to record the sound separately and sync in post?

it was the elura that had no mic input. the optura does. well actually, ive decided on the optura 20 because it is much better than the 10 in low light.

Perhaps it would be best to record the sound separately and sync in post?

Yes... but there was a qualifier of very restricted budget in the original post.

A $15 powered mike from Radio Shack is a wee bit more attainable than a DAT deck. ;)