video cameras

T

Thorn Bird

Forum Mom
May 24, 2005
14,767
22
533
Marklar
₥65
mine's going kaput and i need one by next wednesday so i'm looking for any opinions/advice on some good ones. i'm not looking to spend even $400 i don't think. i haVen't looked into these things in years and i'm sure a lot has happened/changed/improved to them. thanks for any input!
 
If you have a Costco near you, buy it there. Lifetime warranty, additionally you can have it this weekend. Shop around online, then find something comparable at Costco
 
tell spange to check out the turner employee store...they often have stuff like that...right now they are selling mad cheap ps3's and xbox360's
 
thanks guys!! so what's better...going dvd or hard drive? obviously tapes are being phased out -- and now what do i do with all my tapes? :mad:
 
Buy hard drive. Most DVD's have a max of 30 min, unless you buy the expensive ones, then you ahve a whopping 60 min. As far as my hard drive one goes, I just turn it on and start shooting, no need to worry about if I have media in, or how much space is left, or buying more. it's awesome.
 
I have this. Sorry, you can't borrow it. Even though miniDV and HDV tapes will be around for a while because of the cost/storage ratio, its probably best not to go that route unless you're just looking for the absolute cheapest option. Writable DVD cameras are for morons, don't fall for that. I'd look to find something that writes to solid state media as :
  • There are no moving parts, so less chance of damage from movement.
  • No moving parts also means your batteries last longer
  • You can swap out cards when they get full. This is nice because then you can edit later without having to screw with the camera. If you shop smart, you can get something that uses the same cards as your digicam. The camera I have uses dual fail over slots, so when one gets full, it moves to the other. They're hot swappable, so I can record forever.
HDD is alright, but I'd only count on it lasting for 2-3 years before the hard drive gives up. Yeah, its a laptop drive, but you're stressing it far more than you would a typical laptop. Since they have specially written MBRs, you can't field replace those drives. Then again, most manufacturers build cameras in the sub-$500 range to last about 3 years anyways, so it might not matter.

If you get a smaller camera, invest in the one with the best image stabilzation you can find. You may think you have a steady hand, but you don't. Trying to watch home movies shot on these tiny cameras without stabilzation is like trying to watch Cloverfield drunk. I can show you a $1.50 image stabilizer trick that I call Bobo-NoShake.

If you go HD, get something with 3 real 1920x1080 sensors in it. You will not enjoy the noise on a 1 chip camera. If you're staying with SD, get whatever looks good to you.

Buy a camera with the smallest LCD you can tolerate. Bigger ones look sexy, but they suck more batteries and don't help you shoot better video.

ND filters and wind screens are cheap. They are your friend. Use them.

Spending the money on an outboard mic is almost always money well spent as most built-ins suck. Something directional (like a hypercardioid or a shotgun) will keep the audio on the subject and help from picking up all the noise the cameraman and the crew behind them are making.

Canon and Sony are best of breed in this category. I'd only venture to other brands if you've played with it in the store and are really happy with it.

Edit your videos before you show them. You may think that raw footage off the camera is facinating, but it's really, really boring to everyone else.

Bye.
 
theacoustician said:
I have this. Sorry, you can't borrow it. Even though miniDV and HDV tapes will be around for a while because of the cost/storage ratio, its probably best not to go that route unless you're just looking for the absolute cheapest option. Writable DVD cameras are for morons, don't fall for that. I'd look to find something that writes to solid state media as :
  • There are no moving parts, so less chance of damage from movement.
  • No moving parts also means your batteries last longer
  • You can swap out cards when they get full. This is nice because then you can edit later without having to screw with the camera. If you shop smart, you can get something that uses the same cards as your digicam. The camera I have uses dual fail over slots, so when one gets full, it moves to the other. They're hot swappable, so I can record forever.
HDD is alright, but I'd only count on it lasting for 2-3 years before the hard drive gives up. Yeah, its a laptop drive, but you're stressing it far more than you would a typical laptop. Since they have specially written MBRs, you can't field replace those drives. Then again, most manufacturers build cameras in the sub-$500 range to last about 3 years anyways, so it might not matter.

If you get a smaller camera, invest in the one with the best image stabilzation you can find. You may think you have a steady hand, but you don't. Trying to watch home movies shot on these tiny cameras without stabilzation is like trying to watch Cloverfield drunk. I can show you a $1.50 image stabilizer trick that I call Bobo-NoShake.

If you go HD, get something with 3 real 1920x1080 sensors in it. You will not enjoy the noise on a 1 chip camera. If you're staying with SD, get whatever looks good to you.

Buy a camera with the smallest LCD you can tolerate. Bigger ones look sexy, but they suck more batteries and don't help you shoot better video.

ND filters and wind screens are cheap. They are your friend. Use them.

Spending the money on an outboard mic is almost always money well spent as most built-ins suck. Something directional (like a hypercardioid or a shotgun) will keep the audio on the subject and help from picking up all the noise the cameraman and the crew behind them are making.

Canon and Sony are best of breed in this category. I'd only venture to other brands if you've played with it in the store and are really happy with it.

Edit your videos before you show them. You may think that raw footage off the camera is facinating, but it's really, really boring to everyone else.

Bye.
Click to expand...

a buddy of mine you might know has that cam but the company bought it...that's like a 5k+ cam isn't it? :wtf:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back