What is the best camcorder $300 and under for low light lov budget film?

best camcorder in low light image

Rodger

I an currently writing a script for a fan film based on The Crow. I cannot seem to find a low budget camcorder with good software and low light capability. Most of the film will be shot at night and I want a good clear picture in low light and it has to work with windows movie maker!
I'd appreciate any suggestions cause I can't find anything in my price range.

Answer
Good low light video capture behavior = large lenses and large imaging chip systems.

Big glass and big chips are expensive. There are no "inexpensive" camcorder with lenses larger than 60mm lens filter diameter + 3CCD (or 3CMOS) imaging chips (1/3" or larger) which is why you can't find any.

Versions of MovieMaker before Windows 7 cannot deal with AVCHD compressed MTS files unless they are transcoded first. Only certain combinations of of Windows 7 and MovieMaker Live can deal with AVCHD/MTS files... No version of MovieMaker will deal with MOV files (unless transcoded, first). Only certain configurations of MovieMaker will deal with AVI files. So I'll say any consumer camcorder or camera that captures high definition video to flash memory or hard disc drive is not do-able because dealing directly with MovieMaker won't happen. No one should ever waste their $ on a DVD based camcorder. As for miniDV tape, MovieMaker can't deal with HDV. But, if the computer has a firewire port, it can deal with importing standard definition DV files. Certain versions of MovieMaker can deal with the MPG files from some consumer cams - no version of MovieMaker can deal with standard definition MOD files...

For $300, the Canon FS series standard def flash memory cams are OK - and they can do stndard definition widescreen - but you will need to use a transcoder like MPEG StreamClip www.squared5.com or HandBrake www.handbrake.fr to convert the files to WMV format so MovieMaker can deal with them.

Good luck!

What's a good web site to browse camcorders by their low light performance?

water_skip

What's a good web site to browse camcorders by their low light performance? I've found buying guides on Yahoo and stuff but they just show simple stuff like optical zoom. I'm more concerned about how well they actually see.

Answer
There's no need to. It's simple. There are two methods:

Sony uses infra red image sensing which requires NO light at all, just heat. It can shoot in zero lux.

ALL others use image boosters or multiple pixel groupings to achieve lower light sensitivity, usually down to 2 or 3 lux (a candle) but the images appear grainy.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How do you upload videos from a video camera to the computer?

best video camera yahoo image

waterpolog

I want to put my video on my video camera to google videos. so how do i do it?

i am VERY confused.

Answer
If you have Windows XP, there is an import function with Movie Maker through the Accessories. You can then edit it and upload it through that program.

The main question is...do you have Movie Maker....if not you can download it from Microsoft.

If you need more help....just contact me...waynocook53@yahoo.com

What are the differences between video cameras used on documentaries and ones used in movies?

Corey

How come the ones used in movies have a much better detail...? I am interested in buying a video camera for a documentary and am on a budget.

Would like to buy the best choice.

Answer
Unfortunately, there is no way you are going to buy a camera used in a movie. This is why. Movies arent shot with video cameras, theyre shot with film, 35mm in fact. Now remember how much it cost to buy a roll of 24 exposure film? Movies shoot 24 frames per second, which means that they use millions of feet of film for an entire movie, equivalent to hundreds of thousands of dollars. And I forgot to mention that an average movie camera costs $100,000.

As for documentaries, some are shot on film as well, but most are shot on video. Even though they are shot on video, the cameras used still cost at the very least $3000 (for an xl2, or a DVX100b). If you have the money, great! go for one of those cams, because they are great cams. However, if not, plan on getting a minidv cam with 3ccds, as many manual functions as possible, optical stabilizer and zoom, and a mic and headphone port, at the very least. The cams that fit these specs are the pv-gs cams by panasonic. A pv-gs300 costs around $700 new, but you could get a gs400 used for that price as well. Cheaper ones start at around $300-400, so go to froogle and do a search for gs250,300, 400 any of these are good. Dont go for the gs500, its still pretty expensive, and the gs400 has more functions. There are other cams as well, but these are the only cams in the consumer range that have 3ccds and good manual functions for a cheap price. If you have slightly more money, you could try going for a used canon gl2 for $1500 off of eBay (i got mine for $1475 plus $30 shipping). I'm into filmmaking as well, so feel free to contact me at evilgenius4930@yahoo.com. Hope this helps!

Powered by Yahoo! Answers