Can anyone recommend a digital camcorder?

Capture hardware, software and techniques

Moderators: Admin, Moderator Team

Post Reply
reddragon
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2003 2:19 am
Location: North East England
Contact:

Can anyone recommend a digital camcorder?

Post by reddragon »

Hi,
first of all let me start off by saying this is an excellent website, i've just found it by searching on yahoo and it's exactly what i need.
i am 19 and am currently in my first year of study at the University of Wales, Bangor where i am studying History with Film Studies, which has turned out to be an excellent course. I've always wanted to be involved in film production.

I'm currently involved (in a small way) in the production of a cheesy zombie film called Dead Force (the director of this film has a website at http://www.roughcutpictures.20m.com/ which you may want to check out)

Next year we have to produce our own films from scratch as part of our course (whereas Dead Force is just for fun :P) and so i've decided to buy a camcorder to practice making short films over the summer. I write short stories and there's a few i'd like to adapt to screen.

So i'm looking for a digital camcorder (as i'm also somewhat of a computer expert and would like to edit my films on pc and put them onto DVD with my DVD-writer).....
can anyone recommend a good model?

I'm not looking for anything thats completely professional, but i would like one thats going to give me the kind of quality that would make my films look good on the big screens in our lecture theatres where we screen our films (i'm talking cinema size here)

It's got to be quite small, but i would put features over size - it's got to have useful features like a widescreen option.

I'm looking for something around £500, but cost is not really a factor either, just wait til the final student loan installment gets here and i could go higher!

So if anyone has any recommendations for a decent model of camcorder for around £500 for a first-time camcorder buyer, lets here them!
Anonymous

Post by Anonymous »

I have no idea what prices are on used camcorders outside Norway at the moment, but if you could get the XM-1 for a reasonable price I would definetly recommend it. I simply love it..
reddragon
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2003 2:19 am
Location: North East England
Contact:

Post by reddragon »

well at first look i found one for £1800.... which is certainly not in my price range at the moment as i need a bunch of other stuff as well, so is there anything else thats a little cheaper?
sitpha
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2003 1:21 am
Location: US

Minidv cam

Post by sitpha »

I am comparing different minidv cameras. I am mainly looking at either the Sony DCR-vx2000 or the canon XL1. I am not familuar with either one of them and am a newbie at this film making stuff. My main interest would be in documentary filming. The canon seams a bit more expensive than the sony.
Does anyone have any recomendations?, experience? the features I like about digital, is editing ease, multitrack sound and quality.
:cool:
Ornsack
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1520
Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2002 11:43 pm
Location: Bristol, England
Contact:

Post by Ornsack »

Well the X1 and what not are extremely expensive as MiniDV cameras go (as fantastic cameras as they are).

Try looking for last years models... My mate got his JVC gr-dvl160 camera 2 years ago for £700, and they now sell it in my local Currys for £350. Pretty standard quality for a DV camera (800,000 pixel ccd) but it's still a fantastic camera.
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loFABl-1Zcw]THE SALESMAN - YouTube[/url]
reddragon
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2003 2:19 am
Location: North East England
Contact:

Post by reddragon »

wow, i can get the JVC gr-dvl160 for £300 on ebay, not bad, will consider it.
is there anything that might be a slightly better camera for a little more money?
User avatar
BrownCowStudios
Forum Addict
Forum Addict
Posts: 917
Joined: Tue Dec 03, 2002 4:06 am
Location: Columbus, Ohio

Post by BrownCowStudios »

Make sure that the camera you get has a mic input... This will be very important later if not now. Most JVC's don't have mic inputs, so beware... Just something to consider...
Ornsack
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1520
Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2002 11:43 pm
Location: Bristol, England
Contact:

Post by Ornsack »

I find you get better results re-recording vocals in post production rather than to carry a boom mic around! After 2 days of doing it for a Uni project I was close to swinging the pole against a wall in frustration!
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loFABl-1Zcw]THE SALESMAN - YouTube[/url]
reddragon
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2003 2:19 am
Location: North East England
Contact:

Post by reddragon »

yeh most films are done that way, unless you're like scorsese who hates dubbing and always uses the sound recorded on location.
but still, if i'm out recording things that i'm not going to be able to re-record the sound on, i'm gonna need a mic......
Ornsack
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1520
Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2002 11:43 pm
Location: Bristol, England
Contact:

Post by Ornsack »

If you get one without a mic port, just use a portible cassete recorder or Mini-Disc with a mic facility. It'll probably work out cheaper! And nobody's gonna notice any quality difference if you use cassette...
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loFABl-1Zcw]THE SALESMAN - YouTube[/url]
hanasand
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 189
Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2003 4:52 pm
Location: Norway
Contact:

Post by hanasand »

But isn't the synchronizing afterwards kind of time consuming?..
kowalski
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Apr 25, 2003 2:11 am
Location: Scotland

Post by kowalski »

We've been making our films on Sony Digital 8 cameras for about 3 years now and found it a good alternative to the low/mid-range priced MiniDV cameras around. The major bonus this format had for us, was that it allowed analogue footage we were shooting on our secondary fx/stunt/crash Hi-8 and 8mm cams to be played back on the Sony cameras and captured via the firewire card, as the card did not have analogue inputs. (Not all Digital 8 cameras have this backwards compatibility with Hi-8/8mm tapes now). They also had mic-in sockets so we were able to mic up all the audio with good results.
It may be worth checking this format out, as you can pick up split new cameras pretty cheaply, though some of the models are a bit heavyweight compared to their MiniDV counterparts. (Though give me a chunky full sized VHS shoulder mounted bone buster anyday!)



[Edited on 25-4-2003 by kowalski]
Ornsack
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1520
Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2002 11:43 pm
Location: Bristol, England
Contact:

Post by Ornsack »

Originally posted by hanasand
But isn't the synchronizing afterwards kind of time consuming?..
That's what clapper boards are for!
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loFABl-1Zcw]THE SALESMAN - YouTube[/url]
reddragon
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2003 2:19 am
Location: North East England
Contact:

Post by reddragon »

im looking at the Canon MV600, it seems to have all the features i want for a price i can afford - has anyone had any experience with this model? (or its forerunner, the MV500 or 500i)
Post Reply