What kind of camera do you suggest?

I'm brand spankin new to filmmaking and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. I'm looking for a camera to get started but I don't have a lot of money. $400 is my budget. I've been looking at the Canon Rebel SL1 and the Sony A3000. I want to start by making shorts and once I feel like I'm ready I'll be looking for a better camera to shoot features. Any suggestions would be amazing. Thank you so much.
 
Do you have a smartphone?
If yes: go film something short and simple and edit it.
Have fun.
Do this a second time. Or even a third time.
This way you'll find out whether it is as much fun as you think it is, without spending anything on a camera that you might never touch again if it is not as cool as you imagined.

Otherwise: see if can you borrow a camera from a friend or relative. Get them on board of your little first project and it feels less like borrowing for them ;)

In other words: get a taste of what it is like before spending a lot of money on gear. (Where 'a lot' is relative to what you can spend...)
 
I know for a fact this is what I want. I've worked on a few indie productions as an assistant and that's how I decided that I want to direct and produce films. I want to get experience on a real camera rather than an iPhone. I've looked into a lot of options and I've decided that getting a nice camera would be best for me. And I don't know anyone that owns a camera.
 
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With an iPhone you can still practise framing/composition, shooting in a way that helps creating a good edit. The best camera to use now, is the one you have access to.
And if you really want to be a filmmaker, you don't want to stop yourself from starting by searching for a camera while you have one in your pocket.
You can start NOW.
Shoot a little scene, edit and learn from it.

I know this sounds like being a smartass, but I've seen several people who knew 'for fact' that they wanted to be a filmmaker, but in the end their gear was just collecting dust, because the reality of filmmaking was a lot less glamourous than they imagined.

On the other side: my first project was shot on a crappy webcam in 2000. The resolution was extremely low, the image quality was bad, it was black and white and the computer could just handle 14 frames per second. I couldn't afford a camera and it didn't stop me.
And it was FUN :)
After that I made a short animation with pencil and paper and a scanner.
Only after I knew this is truly my passion I invested in gear.

So, since you made up your mind:

what kind of shorts would you like to make?
 
I'm brand spankin new to filmmaking and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. I'm looking for a camera to get started but I don't have a lot of money. $400 is my budget. I've been looking at the Canon Rebel SL1 and the Sony A3000. I want to start by making shorts and once I feel like I'm ready I'll be looking for a better camera to shoot features. Any suggestions would be amazing. Thank you so much.

$400 is not enough for a camera and a microphone.
Unfortunately I doubt anyone is going to want to watch videos where the sound is recorded with the camera's microphone.

Using a smartphone isn't a bad idea.. you can start off by investing your money in audio gear instead.

For example this is a pretty decent microphone for indoor use, used on ebay for $400.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Audix-SCX1-...627897?hash=item3f58047979:g:Wn0AAOSw42JWDy1h
Although that one is a hypercardioid. the one I have is just cardioid.

But then you'll still need an audio recorder.
And if you want to be a real prosumer you'll want a good preamp too, the sound devices mm-1 is about $400 on ebay used if you can find it. or $500 new.

You can install apps on your smartphone to give you a ton more control over your camera.
Don't just brush them aside. Hell the new iPhone is 4k!! And it shoots slow motion.

What you may not realize is that a good image is created through the use of lighting and color correction.
This is more important than what camera you use.
 
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Welcome to indietalk!

I've been looking at the Canon Rebel SL1 and the Sony A3000.
Get the Canon. A fine camera to start with.

Make sure you also get a mic and use a boom. Audio is just as
important as video. Most who are brand spankin new to filmmaking
don't even consider audio. Don't be that filmmaker.
 
Hi Susan - sadly, the A3000 doesn't have a mic input and the SL1 has a viewfinder that is blocked by the mirror when you shoot video. Neither camera can record a live performance that lasts for more than 30 minutes (because they shut down and have to be restarted).

With a $400 budget, you might want to consider a $214 used Panasonic G6 body, with a $14.69 Canon FD to MFT adapter and a relatively inexpensive Canon FD manual zoom lens. That will leave you just about enough for a simple external mic and boom.

This camera has a mic jack, manual audio gain control, a viewfinder that keeps working when you shoot video, the ability record for hours continuously (like a camcorder) - plus it can record 1080/60p for smooth slow motion (something the A3000 and Canon DSLRs in your price range cannot do).

Here are some examples of the image quality this camera can produce:

Narrative

http://vimeo.com/78037118

http://vimeo.com/81339712

*Music Video*

http://vimeo.com/88584840

http://vimeo.com/84436275

Documentary

http://vimeo.com/97274302

http://vimeo.com/73561266

http://vimeo.com/87978429

http://vimeo.com/78507820

Slow Motion/Sport

http://vimeo.com/100512839

http://vimeo.com/106572210

http://vimeo.com/76503135

Wedding

http://vimeo.com/107366816

http://vimeo.com/104542323

Travel Video

http://vimeo.com/88543042

http://vimeo.com/86145944

It's a pretty good still camera too: https://www.flickr.com/groups/lumix-g6/pool/

Hope this is helpful, good luck with your filmmaking career and best of the holidays!

Bill
 
I know I'm going to get flack for this, but I say go for the camera and forget the mic- for now. Do a few "silent" films that are music driven. Then, when you're ready to do a talkie, look into ADR. It's work, but it'll sound good and if you don't have many people to help you out (ie hold a boom), it's a great way to go. You edit using the camera audio as your scratch track, then bring your actors back and re-record every line of dialouge with a nice USB mic (a Blue Snowball or Yeti will work). IS THIS THE RIGHT WAY? NO. But your movie will still sound good- not as good as the right way, but still good and much better than just the camera mic. I've done for a bunch of shorts and three features that screened in a few theaters.
 
I know I'm going to get flack for this

Why would you think that? :)

IS THIS THE RIGHT WAY? NO. But your movie will still sound good- not as good as the right way, but still good and much better than just the camera mic.

Define "good" and "better". Good and better from a purely technical audio fidelity standpoint but NOT from any other standpoint (aesthetically for example), even relative to a camera mic! This is not an absolute rule, there are some rare and specific exceptions. However, these rare exceptions are almost certainly not applicable to the OP. A point which you consistently fail to mention when peddling this advice to others!

G
 
I know I'm going to get flack for this, but I say go for the camera and forget the mic- for now. Do a few "silent" films that are music driven. Then, when you're ready to do a talkie, look into ADR. It's work, but it'll sound good and if you don't have many people to help you out (ie hold a boom), it's a great way to go. You edit using the camera audio as your scratch track, then bring your actors back and re-record every line of dialouge with a nice USB mic (a Blue Snowball or Yeti will work). IS THIS THE RIGHT WAY? NO. But your movie will still sound good- not as good as the right way, but still good and much better than just the camera mic. I've done for a bunch of shorts and three features that screened in a few theaters.

I'm going to do this for an upcoming short. Just music, foley and no dialogue - I'd described this as a 'silent' film. I think something outstanding can be done in post and saves the cost of a boom swinger.
 
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