Studentfilms.com - Film School Forum





Donate to help run the site and get a custom "Supporting Member" forum member title.

Welcome to Studentfilms.com, the online film discussion forum for filmmakers and students who are applying to film school, attending film school, need advice on making films, or just want to share their films with the world.

    Studentfilms.com - Film School Forums  Hop To Forum Categories  Miscellaneous Topics  Hop To Forums  Cool Filmmaking Sites    What Camera should I buy

Moderators: Mike_V
Go
New
Find
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
What Camera should I buy
 Login/Join 
Freshman
Posted
Hey guys I'm looking to buy a camera to make movies and I figured this is the place to get help. I'll give you an idea of what I'm looking for.
I'm looking to pay around $600. I'm mainly looking to get the highest quality video because I want it to have a movie look. Canon is the company I want. Finally, I'm using Adobe Premiere 7.0 so what ever works with that would help.
If you guys have any suggestions at all to help please respond it would mean a lot.
Thanks.
 
Posts: 3 | Location: Toronto | Registered: December 14, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Freshman
Picture of Nick Coyle
Posted Hide Post
Find a Bolex H16 on eBay.
Yes, yes, yes, I know it's a film camera. But it's really the only surefire way to get that movie look. Plus 16mm is equivalent to 4k, which if you know about that, means an H16 is equivalent to the Red One.
I found one for about $100 and it's awesome.
 
Posts: 39 | Location: Boulder | Registered: August 18, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Freshman
Picture of hoohaProductions
MSN does not support status - click here for the profile.
Posted Hide Post
Good suggestion. If your not into hassling with film, though, definitely check out the Canon HV series. I still use my HV20 on a regular basis. I'm sure you can find it used these days for sub-$500. The newer models are fantastic as well, of course.

I'd recommend getting a used HV20, a really solid tripod, and whatever lighting you can find for within your budget.

Good luck.
 
Posts: 164 | Location: Washington | Registered: February 18, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Freshman
Posted Hide Post
Canon HV20/30/40- All depending how much money you want to spend. Each model has 24p for a more cinematic look but the HV40 has native 24p. Another plus for the HV40 is that it has a built in ND filter. You can pick up an HV20 for 500 or less which would allow you to pick up a decent tripod, some filters, and a firewire. If less than 500 you can probably pick up an external mic as well.
Another thing about the HV series of camcorders: once they hit $700 mark (during the holidays... like now... when the HV40 is $715) they barely go down in value, which is why you can pick up a USED HV20 for $500.
If you really want a cinematic look you can get a DOF adapter and all the accessories that go with that, but that would be later down the line.
Check out HV20.com for more stuff on the HV series and accessories to get. When I got my HV30 that's where I went.
 
Posts: 57 | Location: Maryland | Registered: April 12, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Sophomore
Posted Hide Post
16mm is NOT comparable to 4k... Where are you getting that information?

Last time I checked, 2k can capture all of the information available in super 16 frame.

16 is swell, but not that swell... and probably not worth owning unless you plan to be prolific and spend a lot of money.

I'll agree with the HV-series advocates here... though the lack of manual control is infuriating sometimes.
 
Posts: 276 | Location: Edmonton, Canada | Registered: November 10, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Freshman
Picture of Nick Coyle
Posted Hide Post
The original negative (or positive, if you're working with reversal film) is equivalent to 4k. The problem is hollywood had a really screwy workflow (back before digital intermediate) that required the film to go through countless generations on the optical and/or contact printer before a release print was made. This hurt the quality. Nowadays, we have digital intermediate, which uses a sensor and a laser to gather the data pixel by pixel. However, because of the limitations on the sizes of our sensors and the precision of our lasers, we cannot currently make a 16mm scanner that can scan anything better than 2k. This and the generations problem is the only reason why some people think 16mm is 2k.
Also, the perceived image of the original 16mm film in motion is actually said to be better than 4k because each frame has a different set of details (due to the fact that film is a random assortment of grain). When it is put in motion, our brains combine the details from several frames at once, which results in more detail than what is on a single frame.
Anyways, film is more expensive than digital, but you certainly get what you pay for. However, money can obviously be a problem, so you should go with what you can afford in the end. It's better to be making films than not making them.
I'm only suggesting film because I believe it's incredible to work with, it's great to learn on, and many people don't even think twice about it because it just seems so inaccessible.
 
Posts: 39 | Location: Boulder | Registered: August 18, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Freshman
Posted Hide Post
Well i think you should have to Bolex H16
. This one is best for making film.
 
Posts: 1 | Location: Chicago, USA | Registered: December 01, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
  Powered by Social Strata  
 

    Studentfilms.com - Film School Forums  Hop To Forum Categories  Miscellaneous Topics  Hop To Forums  Cool Filmmaking Sites    What Camera should I buy










© Studentfilms.com, 2012