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Author
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Topic: Purchasing a New Camcorder
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SiLeNt EaGle
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posted 05-27-2000 10:25 PM
Hey everyone, it's me again! I am once again in the act of purchasing a video camera. I have a few questions that I hope you can answer...
1) I am looking at video camera with a few things. First of all, I want it to be under $1000. Second of all, I want it to be able to hook up with a computer. Finally, I want it to be video, not 16mm or 8mm type film. What type should I get?
2) Is is possible to edit on your computer? I went to Circuit City and talked to the guy about editing on the PC. He said that that was totally stupid becuase you can only work with 10-12 seconds at a time. I don't know if this is correct... Can you hook up with the computer and edit, then send it back into the camcorder?
Thanks,
Louis
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Louis Matthews
Filmmaker/Director
NextGen Production
http://NextGenProductions.Hollywood.com/
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SiLeNt EaGle
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posted 05-27-2000 10:32 PM
I am probally thinking about DV.------------------
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Louis M.
NextGen Production
http://NextGenProductions.Hollywood.com/ Do you think I give a d--- about a Grammy? Half of you critics can't stomach me, let alone stand me. But Slim, what if you win, wouldn't it be wierd? Why? So you guys can lie just to get me there? So you can sit me next to Britney Spears? Christina Agulera better switch me chairs. So I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst, arguing over who she gave h--- to first. Little b---- put me on blast on MTV, he's cute but I think he's married to Kim, he he!
-Eminem - "The Real Slim Shady"
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JasonSly
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posted 05-28-2000 12:07 AM
I got a new camcorder this summer, a Sony Digital 8. I love it, it looks so much better than any other camera I've seen. And they are all much less than $1,000. Especially if you shop on eBay like I did.As for editing on the computer, it's not as bad as what the Circuit City guy told you. It isn't stupid, it's much better than any other kind of editing. You can work with long clips, I work with 10 minute clips easily. It just depends on you computer. I'll be honest that I cannot, however, edit and put it on video. I just don't have the power to record video that big on the computer, but you can do it if you have a better system. There's my two cents, hope I could help you a little bit. |
Mister Twisted
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posted 05-28-2000 12:20 AM
Heh, that guy was talkin' poop (the guy at Circuit City, I mean)...A 20GB HD (IDE should be fine, don't believe anybody who tells you you need SCSI, but avoid Fujitsu drives) will store 90 minutes of DV video. People are going to post and tell you that you should get a 3CCD camera, like the GL-1. That's out of your price range. A single CCD consumer grade DV camera will give you pictures like this:  Good enough? The reason this picture is a bit blah looking compositionally is that the guy who's making this movie has decided that he wants it to be 16:9; try cropping it to 640 x 360, and you'll see that it's a stronger picture. Also bear in mind that this picture has a fair amount of JPEG compression applied, the original is a bit cleaner.
[This message has been edited by Mister Twisted (edited 05-28-2000).] |
funkymunkey
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posted 05-28-2000 02:12 AM
Sweet pic, Mr. Twisted. Just wondering, but camera did they use? It looks really good.I'm getting the Canon Optura soon. I bought it on eBay for just above $900 including shipping. As soon as I get it, I'll be sure to post some stills up for you. BTW- That guy that you talked to at Circuit City is an arse. I love non-linear editing and would never go back linear. You can put together an editing suite on your home PC for under $1000 that would blow away any linear editing system. I'm currently using a Trinity at school which allows you to do stuff you would never be able to do on linear. Plus, non-linear editing is a lot easier and precise than linear editing. I'd recommend you go back to Circuit City and get that guy fired. Not only is he a bad sales man, he's a liar. Just kidding, although it would be cool if you did. ------------------
Si amas algo
dejalo libre,
si regresa es tuyo,
si no nunca lo fue.
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SirGahrjyn
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posted 05-28-2000 05:56 AM
I have three main computers for video editing each with a different firewire card for DV and Dazzle for analog. The Dazzle works great for analog as long as you know how to set it up correctly. You can also work with as much video as you have hard disk space to spare. Basically I can capture video and audio from about any modern device out there. I now have 2 digital cameras and one 8 and one VHS camcorder.
Which I don't suggest working with very long clips not because of the computers capabilities but more so because you can work better with shorter clips. Start editing clips that are around 10 to 45 seconds to create a clip that is a minute or two or more then begin another clip. After doing this load all the 2 to 3 minutes clips into the storyboard and comprise longer clips until you get the entire movie done. All in all I am just saying don't have a clip that lasts 10 minutes with no break aways or transitions that would bore me to death. It's really late so I'll give you the specs on my hardware later.
Oh I will say the Cameras are...
RCA analog "VHS"
Hitachi VM-E52a 8mm
JVC GR-DV3u "Digital" with analog out
Canons ZR10 "Digital" with analog in/out
~Scotty~ |
Mister Twisted
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posted 05-28-2000 12:22 PM
funkymunkey, the camera is the (PAL) Canon MV20. The US equivalent is the Elura. We had two main reasons for choosing this camera. Firstly, we knew that we could hack it to enable DV input (in Europe, most DV camcorders have DV input disabled, because the import duty on VCRs is much higher than on cameras), and secondly, we wanted the progressive scan function (known as "movie mode" in the US, I believe), because we can film at 25 frames per second, rather than 50 fields per second, for the "film look". I suspect, though I can't really prove, that using NTSC, you'd be better off filming at 60 fields per second and simulating 3:2 pulldown to get a "film look", so there aren't any particularly strong reasons for choosing the Elura rather than a slightly cheaper camera. |
SiLeNt EaGle
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posted 05-29-2000 09:19 AM
Thanks everyone! I just want to be 10,000% sure that you can really edit on the computer becuase I don't want to waste $1500 because I misheard a post. Just to ask, how long can my camera take if it is 400 mhz, PII, 100Mhz Buss, 96 SDRAM and 8GB hard drive (i only have 4.86 left). Thanks------------------
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Louis M.
NextGen Production
http://NextGenProductions.Hollywood.com/ Do you think I give a d--- about a Grammy? Half of you critics can't stomach me, let alone stand me. But Slim, what if you win, wouldn't it be wierd? Why? So you guys can lie just to get me there? So you can sit me next to Britney Spears? Christina Agulera better switch me chairs. So I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst, arguing over who she gave h--- to first. Little b---- put me on blast on MTV, he's cute but I think he's married to Kim, he he!
-Eminem - "The Real Slim Shady"
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Mister Twisted
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posted 05-29-2000 01:16 PM
I'd seriously consider getting another Hard Disk. A Gigabyte stores about four and a half minutes of DV. With enough patience and ingenuity, you probably could just about get by with what you have, but you'll find it very frustrating. A 20G HD costs, what, about $100? | |
