Which Camera?

A

Ash93

hi guys im looking for a real low budget camera i was thinking the Samsung SMX F40 or any other under a 200 budget. is the Samsung camera a good one, i looked on YT about it and the quality seems pretty solid for that price but im not so sure about the audio, also what is the file format when you connect to your computer? it it the standard wmv, mov, ? and if you have other suggestion please post :)
 
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Ash93 said:
hi guys im looking for a real low budget camera i was thinking the Samsung SMX F40 or any other under a 200 budget. is the Samsung camera a good one, i looked on YT about it and the quality seems pretty solid for that price but im not so sure about the audio, also what is the file format when you connect to your computer? it it the standard wmv, mov, ? and if you have other suggestion please post :)
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What are you planning on using it for?
 
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Honestly I suggest saving up and buying something that's a bit better but if you really can't then your suggested camera is fine.

The camera that's built in microphone on any camera is pretty bad and its recommended you buy an external microphone.
 
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i plan on using it for like road trips, a day out on the sun, maybe something with special effects, random stuff, anything that makes me film and i have looked into more depth and im looking at the Sanyo Xacti HD Camcorder VPC-CG20BK, looks better than the Samsung SMX F40 imo.

then i guess cameras with the mics attatched (is it the mic boom or something) must be quite costly, i remeber taking a middle school video production class and heard it was like 5,000 or something and we had 5 camera of those. so then how much would an external mic cost?
 
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Ash93 said:
i plan on using it for like road trips, a day out on the sun, maybe something with special effects, random stuff, anything that makes me film and i have looked into more depth and im looking at the Sanyo Xacti HD Camcorder VPC-CG20BK, looks better than the Samsung SMX F40 imo.

then i guess cameras with the mics attatched (is it the mic boom or something) must be quite costly, i remeber taking a middle school video production class and heard it was like 5,000 or something and we had 5 camera of those. so then how much would an external mic cost?
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If you are never going to use the camera for anything other than road trips/home videos, then honestly, any old camera will do. You'll be recording memories -- and that's the important part. If you want to venture into film making/music videos/documentaries/etc. I agree with the guy above. Save up for something a little more expensive. I have an HF21 (cost me 500), and it shoots in full HD. It has a microphone jack and a headphone jack. It has all the important settings in manual. Etc. Amazing camera, and only a few hundred dollars more expensive than this one. A shotgun mic can run you anywhere from 50 to 2,000. I have the AT897, which is about 250 (and provides amazing sound).
 
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Yeah, i have to say i'm with everyone else here, if you are just recording memories then i would go with any old camera (Sony handycams are a good choice) but if you are looking to do a bit of serious filming etc then save up. You get what you pay for really, I've just got a Canon XM2, I've had a talk here with our technicians at the college and one of my tutors swears by the XM2's and he's been in the business for years.

You can find a decent condition XM2 on eBay for just a couple of hundred more than what you are paying now.

At the end of the day though, i guess it's down to what you prefer.
 
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okay correction, i meant to say when im bored ill use the camera for random footage, but i mainly want to shoot films with people work with crew.

so you guys think i should get a camera mounted with a mic or buy an seperate mic with a camera with no mic? which one would be more useful for future events.
 
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Ash93 said:
so you guys think i should get a camera mounted with a mic or buy an seperate mic with a camera with no mic? which one would be more useful for future events.
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Never shoot a movie using the on camera mic. Always use a good shotgun
mic on a boom pole. You don't need to buy a camera with no mic at all, but
it's essential that you buy a camera that has a mic input.
 
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Ash93 said:
thanks for the tip, but we don't have to use the shotgun mic when we're close up talking right?
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Yes. You should always use a good microphone when making movies.
Close up, medium shots, master shots - you will get better audio when
using an external mic.

As you get more money and more experience you may even want to
have several different mics to use under different situations. But for
now you should have a good shotgun mic and never use the on camera
mic.
 
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Ash93 said:
alright thanks rik any recommendation for a low budget besides the AT897
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I used to have an AT897 (I lost it :'(). It's a beautiful microphone. Works very well, and records great audio. I have an NTG-2 right now, and while I prefer it to the AT897, the 20~ dollar difference might be a big deal to you. One thing I absolutely love about the NTG-2 is that with the right preamps, it can be used as a make shift voice over mic. I was never able to get my AT897 to sound like a VO mic. But the main point of a shotgun is on location sound -- so as far as that goes, AT897 is definitely "broadcast quality". Just make sure you get a JuicedLink adapter along with it (since your camera will probably not have an XLR input).
 
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