Buying camera: tips for a newbie

[missdean]

I am launching myself into documentary film-making. I need to buy a camera, but really have no idea what to get - something that won't bankrupt me, but will still produce good-quality visuals / sound etc.

Advice / tips would be greatly appreciated. Would features should I be looking for? Will a second-hand camera be sufficient?

Thanks, and happy new year!

[ickle_jim]

i have asked the same question myself over at the simplydv.com website and they all reccomended the Sony TRV240 as a first camcorder which costs ?469 new from amazon.co.uk. Its a digital8 camera which means you get as good performance as a more expensive DV camera but cheaper, the downside is the cameras are bigger and bulkier than a DV camera but as most serious film makers will tell you thats actually an advantage.

Like i said this is the advice i got from other people, so dont sue me if im wrong.

[Mods]

What matters about a camera is that it films. It doesn't matter if it can do widescreen, it doesn't matter if it can make one person turn into 50 people on the screen, it just needs to film. Colour is always good too [img]wink.gif[/img]

As you're making documentarys, you would probably want zoom. Doesn't matter - it comes with almost every camera you buy today. No wait, EVERY camera [img]smile.gif[/img]

VHS Camera thing - big, bulky, wouldn't recommend it to start with.

8mm camera - Grainy picture quality, but the cameras are light, easy to use and very cheap when they're second hand these days. New, they start at about ?250. Second hand, you could pick one up for between ?50 and ?250.

DV camera - lovely quality picture, quite pricey, comes with lots of bells and whistles. Yes, you can even make someone appear in the colours of a photo negative. Second hand ones will still be fairly pricey. New they start at about ?400 (maybe a bit less), second hand, about ?200. I highly reccomend you try and find a second hand DV camera.

Anyhoo, 8mm are always good to start with. You'd probably want to find one with a good ZERO LUX setting (so that you can film in slightly darker conditions etc). 8mm is getting better still, Hi-8 produces very nice quality pictures etc. A lot of 8mm cameras come with the flip out screen nowadays too like DV cameras.

If you want true first-time professionalism, go for the Canon DMXM2. But only if you've got ?1,666 to spare. Or maybe even the Canon XL1 if you've got over ?2000 [img]wink.gif[/img]

Now, you come from London, so what I suggest is you pick up the local Diamond Free-ads, or Free-ads Trader or whatever it's called these days, and look under the FOR SALE > CAMCORDERS section. I got my first three cameras from the Free Ad's, and they never let me down. Great condition cameras, not very expensive either.

As for sound, most cameras these days, first or second hand produce sufficient sound. A wind-proof microphone might be a good idea too.

So, features (bearing in mind you want to do documentaries)
- Zoom
- A good ZERO LUX (between 0.9 and 0.2 should be fine)
- adjustable Manual focus


And yes, 2nd hand is sufficient!

Hope this helps, good luck!
[img]smile.gif[/img]
m0ds

[missdean]

Thanks for all the advice - now I have some options to investigate.

m0ds - please could you explain what zero lux is...as I said I'm a complete beginner and am really starting from scratch with nothing more than an idea and a passion!

Thanks
missdean [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

[missdean]

For other newbies, check out http://www.simplydv.com/choosing1.html - the article gives a good overview of the different cameras available, explaining the features and development of digital and analogue formats. Also briefly discusses different brands - Sony / Canon etc, as well as explaining FireWire in layman's terms.

Check out the rest of the site for camera reviews.

[McZ]

I'm a n00bie at film making and i have jumped in head first (cracked my nogggin on a rock). I got me a rig to handle NLE and all that wonderful software. My Q now is: which Camcorder? I've narrowed it down to 3 or 4. Canon's GL1, Canon's GL2, and Sony's TRV950. The thing that attracts me to the two Canon jobbies is the "Frame Mode"/Progressive mode option. I've heard that it will make it look more like film. But, on the other hand I could always use a After Effects filter to get that film look if I went with the Sony. Any other advantages/disadvanteges that I'm not aware of? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Come on and help out a Yankee! Look what I have for a President!

[Mods]

missdean, zero lux is basically a function of the camera that allows it to shoot in low level light settings.

For example, a bedroom with a bedside lamp on. Something with a low zero lux will mean that you can point it at the areas of the room that arent lit up so well, but the camera will still "see" whats there.

Basically, our eyes are something like complete zero. Most cameras these days are 0.3 ish. So, they pick up some stuff in low light areas but not all.

Know what I mean? Cos its hard to explain [img]tongue.gif[/img]

It's useful really for filming in dark places, barns, forests, around a campfire etc

m0ds

[missdean]

Thanks m0ds - I got it.
Marisa