miniDV, Betamax, 8mm, 16mm, 35mm...

[Caveman]

Heya people!

In response to the thread surrounding HD cameras I was wondering if anyone here shoots on Betamax or anything other than miniDV

Let's all face it, miniDV is pretty rubbish... well it is!

so I was wondering if anyone here's actually gotten past the miniDV stage and if so what're the other mediums like to work with?

cheers,
John

[LiegeCentrino]

I have a Bolex 16mm camera but have yet to use it. I have the film but it's finding the time and the money for the processing fees...

[xander3000]

i 1shoot on a centuries old analogue, and transfer thru a tv card. Cant afford the fancy digi camcorders yet:(

[jcdenton]

A good DV Camera maybe makes things a lot easier. With Film (eg. 8mm) you still need to digitize each frame. That's costy, unless you film it from a canvas using your DV Camera...

[Epsilon]

Film is extraordinarily costly to develop. If it takes $16 to develop a 36 roll of 35mm film, That's roughly $2/frame. For an minute's worth, it will cost you about $360. Now figure two hour's worth... okay, so 35mm is out of the question... 16mm is a bit cheaper, but still adds up. 8mm is exactly half with 16mm costs, because it's 16mm sliced in half.

Now compare to a miniDV tape, for $8.99 at BestBuy... so really tape IS the way to go for the majority. Beta tapes, relatively, obsolete. It's hard to find good beta equipment for a decent price.

PLUS all the high end films and tapes are still analog. MiniDV tapes are digital tapes. So trying to "upgrade" really puts you backwards in technology. Figure within a couple decades, very few, if any, Hollywood motion pictures will be shot with film. I'm right here in the middle of it all, I can see this transition slowly happening. I swear actors will eventually start to be replaced with digital actors.