The Psychological Seduction of Mini-DV cameras...

[Alex]

Yes, there is a seduction taking place.

While a Super-8 camera can seduce because the image you see through the viewfinder is real rather than electronic, Digital Mini-DV cameras also have their own seductive qualities.

I discovered this recently when I picked up a mini-dv camcorder. As I held the mini-dv camera, I felt like I was creating the image, rather than capturing the image.

If you look at the third Greg Brady picture on the forum, you see that he is almost in a praying motion as he films.

But with a Mini-DV camera, you hold the camera at arm's length, sometimes cradling it with both hands. It's a very empowering position, and one that makes you feel like you are totally controlling the situation.

As both arms guide the camera to the desired framing, it feels like you are a conductor conducting an orchestra!

When I videotape with a full size Video E.N.G. Camera, there is a entirely different feel to the experience. It's an experience built on teamwork. I know the camera is doing all the work, and I simply help guide the camera and lens to the right frame and exposure.

Perhaps the proper analogy would be a mini-dv camera is like guiding a remote controlled aiplane or flying a kite. Operating a full size video camera is like being the pilot of a plane.

As for Super-8, I enjoy seeing the image in the viewfinder in a non-electronic form.

[Mike Buckles]

Filming Super 8 is a different experience...I am alot more careful about lighting and my setup when I shoot film not only because of the cost factor, but I can't check the results instantly, so I must have more attention to detail...also, I feel more like a filmmaker, and less of a home video camcorder guy when i use super 8. More than a few folks have snickered when I mentioned I still shoot super 8, but these are folks who also turn out mediocre looking home videos of their families...gray, flat, washed out, no lighting to speak of, etc...

[vt220]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="verdana, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="verdana, sans-serif">Originally posted by Super-8mm in the DigitalAge:
Yes, there is a seduction taking place.

As for Super-8, I enjoy seeing the image in the viewfinder in a non-electronic form.</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

i know what you mean. i shoot mostly film (lucky me!) and when i go back to video, i find it so difficult just dealing with a little TV screen in my viewfinder. blech. it's impossible to focus, looks like poo, and is an all around non-joyous experience as an operator.

side note: in the 70's, panavision came out with a video camera (a modified ikegami i think) that had an optical viewfinder, just like a panavision film camera. this was during a previous "film is dead" panic attack.