Camera advice anyone? please lemme know

H

Hyde

hello all.
I need some serious guidance here.
I am an amateur filmmaker, and until now I have only worked with consumer camcorders like the Canon Zr100 or like cameras.

Well, I want to upgrade, and I have about a thousand dollars to 1,200 to do it.
What should I get? What would you get and for what reasons please.
I admit I want to get a digital camera that can give me more of the professional look that some of these larger cameras have. They seem more like film.
For example, 28 days later was shot on a Canon XL1 camera, and I see I can find these USED for under 1000 dollars…but they are used.
The newer cameras I see are way more than that in order to get that kind of visual imagery.
SO I am aware it will not be perfect, but there has to be a good step or two up.

I like the fact that I had a 3 year warrantee on my previous camera and after 3 years I could pay additional money and extend the warrantee. I took good care of it and sent it in at the end of every year for maintenance. Well, I doubt used cameras offer that kind of security, but new cameras cost so much more if you want to get that professional look to your video.

Can anyone recommend where I should look and what exactly I should be looking for? ANY input is greatly appreciated. Please let me know.
I realize I will have to compromise one way or another.
I don't own a laptop, but I have a great imac to do my editing on. When filming, I need info storage in another way. Although, I have been proud of my projects before and they have received good feedback…I suppose I am an artist more than a person knowledgeable about camera terminology or science. Please advise. I am SO needing help here.
 
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rayw said:
Cooool!
Do you often record with the Rode pin-plugged into the S20 or seperate device?
And how do those turn out? Worth the effort?

TIA! :)
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Yup, I record with the NTG-2 directly going into the camera's 3.5mm jack. I use an adapter to go from XLR to 3.5mm. For events I mount the mic on top of the camera with a shock mount. To my ears the audio sounds great, I'm very pleased with it. However, I don't doubt that the audio would be better if it was recorded into a quality audio recorder. The reason I went with the NTG-2 over the NTG-1 was due to it's ability to use batteries to power it's phantom power requirement.
 
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Hyde said:
p.s.
Some of you recommened the 7d...but I am not into going for the 7d and using it to shoot video...thanks for the suggestion, but not my thing...it really isn't cheaper and it is a photo camera that takes video, not a Camcorder that shoots pictures at times. I am not even interested in still shots...only video and I like the camcorder set up with sound on it too. just by the by....still appreciate the input though. Thanks guys!
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Don't dismiss the 7D - if the NEX VG10 hadn't have come along I'd have probably shot Arkham on a 7D (or even a T2i/Rebel) - yes, some people don't get along with the DSLR form-factor for shooting video but seriously - the results speak for themselves: http://vimeo.com/groups/eos7d/videos/15345816 (this is just a random video I picked - there's lots of great 7D stuff out there).

Remember, the body is just a capture device - with an APS-C sized sensor, the Canon can capture great, filmic shallow DoF shots when paired with the right lens. There's other options too like the Panasonic GH2. Before you spend any money though, try and find someone near you that's got some of this kit - there's a lot of indie filmmakers using it - try it out, shoot some tests then decide what works best for you.

Oh, and as for the sound - we recorded separate audio on Arkham with a professional sound guy - the first shoot I ever did we got some pretty good video but terrible sound - don't make the mistake of thinking the audio side is easy - it isn't. And honestly, you can get away with less than stellar video but bad audio will really ruin your film.
 
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I went through the headache of researching which camera to purchase a few months ago. Here are some links that helped me out..

http://dslrhd.com/2010/12/panasonic-gh2-vs-canon-60d/

http://www.eoshd.com/content/459/first-look-panasonic-gh2-versus-canon-60d

http://www.selfreliantfilm.com/2011/02/panasonic-gh2-some-thoughts/


The reason I picked the GH2 over any of the Canons in the same price range +/- is because:

  • I have shot with a Canon for a year or so prior. I just thought the GH2 looked better.
  • The GH2 has better sounding audio, I can run a stereo line into the camera and record usable audio... and the mics on the GH2 are a little less thin sounding than the Canon.
  • The hack for the GH1 was pretty impressive and the hack for the GH2 is shaping up to be the same way.
  • The GH2 lens mount lets me use a wider variety of glass.
  • MUCH less moire and aliasing issues with the GH2.
  • Adjustable viewfinder.
  • Theres no mirror in the camera so you can monitor on an external monitor while youre recording video.
  • HDMI output is 100Mbit ProRes 422 video.
  • Price.
  • NO OVERHEATING ISSUES!!!
 
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