Good Camera

[Aaron.Williams]

So I want a good HD Camcorder, one that can be used for just about anything, not professional, but not a "home movie" camera. Where do I start and what kind should I get? I can't really afford a really expensive one, so about less than $600 is a good price.

-Thanks

 

[mehar]

I don't have an answer for you but... may I ask why?

 

[Aaron.Williams]

I want to film some live performances for real people and I want a good camera.

 

[DanceOfCards]

So I want a good HD Camcorder, one that can be used for just about anything, not professional, but not a "home movie" camera. Where do I start and what kind should I get? I can't really afford a really expensive one, so about less than $600 is a good price.

-Thanks

Give me some details and I can help you find one. Do you want flash memory , tape, or HDD? what frame rate? how large/heavy? manual focus ring or not? etc. Are these videos going to be close up or from afar if the person is on a stage?

 

[Aaron.Williams]

Give me some details and I can help you find one. Do you want flash memory , tape, or HDD? what frame rate? how large/heavy? manual focus ring or not? etc. Are these videos going to be close up or from afar if the person is on a stage?

HDD, 60fps, handheld, doesn't matter, close up to 10ft away probably

 

[DanceOfCards]

Um, I would suggest using SD because HDDs arent as reliable( break if you drop em, cant be replaced easily).Also keep in mind one thing: its not what you do it with, its how you do it. Anything under $1000 is basically a "home video" cam, but done right, the footage can look amazing. For a good HDD cam I would suggest a Sony HDR series camera, for SD i would go with an HF21($800 but on sale for 550 at BHPhotovideo.com, a great camera store) http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/682488-REG/Canon_4060B001_VIXIA_HF21_Dual_Flash.html. I would suggest getting the HF21(it has 64 gb internal memory also) over a Sony HDD cam, but thats just my opinion. The thing is because they arent high end and have interchangeable lenses, the footage will look about the same. You'll need to use lights and reflectors and color correct in postproduction to get a "proffesional" look.

Btw, some accesories you might want to take into account are:
-mic(if you need good sound)
-spare batteries
-case

 

[CasenW]

I just got this one, it shoots 30fps i believe, 720p HD, but the BIG thing i don't like is that it uses regular batteries, but that is easily solved with rechargable batteries, and I don't know if you do XCM, but it also can do highspeed shots, very cool.
I know it doesn't fit the exact description, but i thought I'd share.

http://www.amazon.com/Casio-EX-FH25...lization/dp/B002YPFKZ4/ref=dp_cp_ob_p_title_1

 

[DanceOfCards]

I just got this one, it shoots 30fps i believe, 720p HD, but the BIG thing i don't like is that it uses regular batteries, but that is easily solved with rechargable batteries, and I don't know if you do XCM, but it also can do highspeed shots, very cool.
I know it doesn't fit the exact description, but i thought I'd share.

http://www.amazon.com/Casio-EX-FH25...lization/dp/B002YPFKZ4/ref=dp_cp_ob_p_title_1

Yea Cameras with video capabilities are catching on and arent too bad, but if I was going to use one for video, the main issue is most can autofocus while shooting.Upside is that they have lots of manual controls. If i was to use a camera for video I would get one with interchangeable lenses, but thats partly because making videos and animations are a second hobby of mine and I like my work to be nice

 

[CasenW]

Sorry for the double post, but i remembered these:

Ehttp://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644718498&N=4294952674&Name=α+NEX+Cameras+&+Accessories#/nex3Section

the NEX-5 Is about $50 more than what you said, but i think it's worth it.

 

[DanceOfCards]

Yes that camera is nice, NEX 5 is pretty good. I was comparing it with the samsung NX100 and olympus pen epl1 when I was thinking of getting one as a camera. For a camcorder the Sonys are the only one with full 1080 HD

 

[Aaron.Williams]

Um, I would suggest using SD because HDDs arent as reliable( break if you drop em, cant be replaced easily).Also keep in mind one thing: its not what you do it with, its how you do it. Anything under $1000 is basically a "home video" cam, but done right, the footage can look amazing. For a good HDD cam I would suggest a Sony HDR series camera, for SD i would go with an HF21($800 but on sale for 550 at BHPhotovideo.com, a great camera store) http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/682488-REG/Canon_4060B001_VIXIA_HF21_Dual_Flash.html. I would suggest getting the HF21(it has 64 gb internal memory also) over a Sony HDD cam, but thats just my opinion. The thing is because they arent high end and have interchangeable lenses, the footage will look about the same. You'll need to use lights and reflectors and color correct in postproduction to get a "proffesional" look.

Btw, some accesories you might want to take into account are:
-mic(if you need good sound)
-spare batteries
-case

Nice camera, might look into this one. Thanks

 

[DanceOfCards]

No problem, be sure to shop around for others though, and black friday is coming up so pay attention to whats on sale.

 

[Aaron.Williams]

No problem, be sure to shop around for others though, and black friday is coming up so pay attention to whats on sale.

True, actually I was looking at a Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1 and it's a good camera at a great price, but I want to compare it to some other cameras that might be more pricey but make better videos

 

[DanceOfCards]

I've never liked Sanyos for their design, mainly stuck with canon or sony which are usually higher rated. If you would be willing to pay a bit more I would go with the canon S series which are very nice.