Friday, December 27, 2013

What camcorder should I get for movies and commercials?




burgundygh


Im looking for a camcorder that is professional, HD, SD card, and something that has longevity. I dont want to make an investment and something better comes out. Ive heard of the RED cameras but I cant afford that. Ive looked at some DSLR's. What do you recommend for movies and commercials?


Answer
Take a look at the Canon XF100. As far as I have seen, it is the only Pro-camcorder at it's price to get a 50 mbps data rate. Everything else under about $5000 is getting half of that, making them little better than a good consumer twinkie-cam.

At $3300, the XF is not much more expensive than a 5DM2 with a good lens.

What is the best camera for recording videos?




Mike Lopez


A video camera that's under $200, can pause videos without stopping the whole video, and has a good grip. Must also have VERY good quality hd.


Answer
Hi Mike:

For your $200 budget, you are not going to have "very good quality HD", when you consider that pro video cameramen and TV stations spend $5000 to $10,000 (and more) for "good HD" equipment.

Unless you use a tape-based (miniDV cassette, for example) camcorder, there is no need for a "Pause" button, and most SD card storage models start a whole new video file when you start/stop the Record button.

Some SD card and HDD storage models have a "pre-record" function that actually saves several seconds of video from before you press Record. So, a "Pause" feature has no advantage.

Sony, Panasonic, JVC, and Canon all make affordable models that sell in your price range. (See a typical B+H Photo listing of models on sale here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Camcorders/Ns/p_PRICE_2%7c0/ci/1871/pn/2/N/4294548093 )

Sony currently has some price promotions that stretch your shopping dollar ($50-$150 off certain models) that are in effect this month. (See the B+H Photo page for examples.)

If you prefer the "pistol grip style" camcorders (like the Sanyo/Panasonic "Xacti"/HX-WA series), look at a Panasonic HX-WA3 model ($198). Panasonic bought Sanyo, and rebranded the Xacti pistol grip line into their HX-WA series.

For palm-size camcorders, you can always buy an accessory grip handle that threads onto the bottom of the camcorder via the tripod socket.

hope this helps,
--Dennis C.
 




Powered by Yahoo! Answers

No comments:

Post a Comment