Hi,

I'm from NZ, I'm 17, about one and a half years left in high school. I need to get a video camera. At this stage, I'm really just making film sfor experimentation, practice. Although production values matter, it is not a primary concern for me because I want to concentrate on making simple, short films to get a grasp of narrative film.

I don't own a video camera, and although it is possible to borrow friends', I really need to own a camera since experimentation takes time, and I don't know people who are willing to lend their camera over to me for long periods of time in the long run (e.g. like 5-7 months in a row).

Right now the problem is I don't really have the money to get those 3CCD cameras, so I'm basically down to buying 1CCD consumer models. Any good suggestions as to which brand is better if I'm looking for a really standard, even low end consumer camera? Canon or Sony or Panasonic?

What features or specs are preferable at this range? The more manual zoom the better? Which brand has the better picture quality? (since audio is likely to be pretty similar at this level, I may as well concentrate on the picture)

Since I live in NZ, I do not know the pricing here in comparison to the US, however, if you do know some models which fit my description, then don't hesitate to recommend. What things do I need to be wary of when looking for these cameras?

One last thing, is that since I will probably attend a film/television related course after I graduate, it is likely that this camera really only needs to be used as a temporary (1/2 year) 'hold out' camera while I go out and shoot with friends, so is it a good idea to get 2nd hand? One prob is I won't be able to try them out before buying, and will only be able to go by specs, BUT it will be a lot more affordable. What do you think?

Thank you for your time,
neoslimdog

Hey Neo,

If you want ubercheap I suggest a used JVC, I am not sure how the NZ currency works but in Canada you can pick one up for about $500.00 and they are pretty good.

I had one in my first year of film school and it was great in low light situations though had a little burn out.

Hope that helps

if you're just going to experiment and mess around and don't really care about the quality, you can just buy a Hi8 video camera. you can find them for 100 bucks sometimes, brand new, since everyone is switching over and wanting to by miniDV

be sure not to get a NTSC camera. NTSC in a PAL environment sucks. NZ is Pal if you dont already know.

Thanks for your replies.

Yes, I'm definitely getting PAL, and I am thinking more of a digital format, mainly because I will possibly have access to computers which have editing software. Also, I'm going to use it not just for short films, but also for keeping memories/going on holiday/special events, etc.

I researched some of the cameras yesterday, and I've figured, that the top end video camera I can get is something like:

Canon Optura 40 (MVX25i here)
Sony HC85
Panasonic PV-GS120/200

That is the kind of price range I am looking at, no more. Anyone had significant problems with those models? Or are there better models/brands for less than those?

What I'm really looking for is acceptable zoom control, possibly a manual focus, and the best video quality/colour representation. I'm concerned since I've heard a lot of bad things about low-light performance with low-end/consumer Canons. Is that the case? Are teh Sonys any better in this department? I'm really quite new in this department, so are there any pointers on what I should look out for when trying out models/looking at specs?

Thank you,
neoslimdog

This message has been edited. Last edited by: neoslimdog,

I have a Sony dcr-trv70, which is good for the money I spent on it. (900) when it first came out, I don't know much about the prices now but I assume its a lot cheaper now. In low light, it sucks. There are many ways around it though. I do it through adobe premiere, using color correction, levels, contrast , etc etc. Picture quality is execellent, the more light the better the picture. As for the zoom control, it is very senstive. Here's a indepth review of this cam.

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/sony-dcr-trv70-camcorder-review.htm

Thank you. The problem is, I can only find the TRV80 here, and it's pretty rare too as they seem to be phasing it out for the HC series...

What are your suggestions on brand? I really want manual focus control and at least some sort of 16:9... right now I'm concerned with the low light performance of these things. Any suggestions?

neoslimdog

A couple things -

Low light performance is overrated, unless you absolutely have to film important events at night with no available artificial light.

I personally prefer the low-end Canon or Panasonics to the low-end JVCs. JVCs that I have used tended to have problems with motor noise.

Manual focus and exposure control (at least) are fairly important. 16:9 is not important at all, IMO. You can easily replicate this on a computer with minimal resolution loss, and also while maintaining more of the frame in case you need it later.

The cheaper Panasonic 3CCD cameras like the 953, the GS120, or the GS80 (is that the new one they released this spring?) are OK. They will give better color than 1CCD equivalents from Canon, etc. for similar cost. However, they have a tendency to overexpose and oversaturate. Color bleeding and smearing are also possible.

It's a tough market for an aspiring filmmaker to look in the low-middle price range, since the products in that sector are geared towards family use.

Thanks for replying.

One last thing: Woudl you say the Optura 40 or the Optura 400?

One has a focus ring, while the other has a higher resolution LCD and better low-light performance...

neoslimdog

This is just like my topic. I ultimately decided on a Panasonic GS70 -- happy with the test results so far, but I haven't used it in production. One of the reasons I went with it was that it has a manual focus ring. Gotta have that at all costs, IMHO.

quote:

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Originally posted by neoslimdog:
Thanks for replying.

One last thing: Woudl you say the Optura 40 or the Optura 400?

One has a focus ring, while the other has a higher resolution LCD and better low-light performance...

neoslimdog

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focus ring > bigger LCD and low-light performance


low light performance is kinda a misnomer. it means it will read information at a lower light level, but the quality goes down and isn't going to look good anyway. so you have to decide: are you just going to light things properly so they look the best, or are you going to shoot low levels because you don't have lights and everything is going to look bad. personally i'd rather just figure out a way to get lights.

anyway, low light performance is nothing if the autofocus is going to be focusing on a thousand different things while your actors are moving and messing everything up.