What's a good, basic video camera?

[sunfunbill]

I am trying to use the search function here so I don't ask a lot of questions that have already been asked a 100 times. But with electronics coming out with new stuff all the time I thought I should ask this one.

What is a good, basic video camera? Not a pricey one, just one that can do the job. Of course it will be used for Bilinda shoots. Inside, outside, on a boat, in a van,, yeah I got a great imagination !!

I also read about HD verses SD, not even sure what SD means. So I take it some types are not good for shooting for the net??

Also I have windows movie maker, is that ok for editing, or should I go for something better? I know it just makes wmv files but since you can view it in both windows ond real player I assume that should be fine.

BTW I just got into Vermont yesterday. Had an uneventful flight, It's rainy and a bit chilly, for me anyway. Damn wireless card can only get sloooooow conection here, so that sucks!

[Nikki_Licks]

Originally posted by sunfunbill
I am trying to use the search function here so I don't ask a lot of questions that have already been asked a 100 times. But with electronics coming out with new stuff all the time I thought I should ask this one.

What is a good, basic video camera? Not a pricey one, just one that can do the job. Of course it will be used for Bilinda shoots. Inside, outside, on a boat, in a van,, yeah I got a great imagination !!

I also read about HD verses SD, not even sure what SD means. So I take it some types are not good for shooting for the net??

Also I have windows movie maker, is that ok for editing, or should I go for something better? I know it just makes wmv files but since you can view it in both windows ond real player I assume that should be fine.

BTW I just got into Vermont yesterday. Had an uneventful flight, It's rainy and a bit chilly, for me anyway. Damn wireless card can only get sloooooow conection here, so that sucks!

Hey Bill. We have been shooting with the GL2 and have had some very nice results. I don't know if this fits within your budget, but if you look around you can find some great deals for this type camcorder.
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content...der_review.htm

For editing vids, we use Pinnacle Studio 10 Plus along with Pinnacle Hollywood FX for studio. It's a great program and easy to use.

You may want to visit your local camera store and just rent one for the weekend to get a feel for what you like. That may be the more reasonable way to go at first.

Hope this helps you out, good luck

[sunfunbill]

Thanks Nikki_Licks, that was a great link. I see I need to learn more about them, all the different ways they capture and store. LIke you said, maybe renting a few and trying them out is the best way. We live next to a ton of camera shops, so that would be no problem. Thanks again for the input!

[Nikki_Licks]

Hey Bill, NP, Glad I could help. if you are looking for a pretty good editor, I posted this in another thread. It's not too expensive and easy to use.
http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSi...parision+Chart/

If you decide to rent a camcorder and/or a camera, try and get it for the entire weekend. Most camera stores will give you a break when renting through the weekend.

[phuckbunny]

Hi Bill. This all depends on your budget of course. SD = standard definition as opposed to High Def (HD) which as you will see from previous threads is a contestable issue as to whether it works well for the web and for porn.

My personal opinion is I wouldn't bother with HD if it's for internet streaming.

Nicki's suggestion for GL2 is a good one. I personally don't like Canon but a lot of people swear by them. I know from personal experience that Canon machines can sometimes have a problem with the eject mechanism which not only can ruin your camera but naturally eat your potentially irreplaceable footage. This has never happened to me when shooting on the GL or XL models but it has happened to me on another Canon model years ago. I don't know what the chances of it happening is nowadays though as I'm sure the company is making sure the problem is fixed. I have nothing but praise for Canon still cameras which I own, just pointing out a glitch which may or may not be of concern.

On a comparable level and cost to the GL2 I woudl recommend the Panasonic DVC30 or the Sony VX2100. I've owned both but got rid of the Sony and kept the Panasonic. They're both really good but IMO the sound i the Sony is a pain in the arse to control. They also do give slightly different types of picture so like Nicky said, you may wish to rent one and check it out, though sometimes the rental rates for these little cameras can be outrageous for what they should be. Don't rent from a camera shop that won't give you anything less than a 3 day week and one day weekend, eg. if it's $100 per day = $300 for the week or $100 for the weekend.

For editing you can pick up Final Cut Express for around $300 or less at Macmall.

GL2, DVC30 and VX all run around $2K. You can of course get great images from a camera at 1/2 the price but it will be more trial and error b/c you have less to control. At the very least make sure you have 3 ccd sensors - this affects the quality of the colours and makes a tremendous difference.

[sunfunbill]

Hi phuckbunny, thanks for the info. I was looking at some panasonics the other day. I really need to bone up on all the options and stuff. Can you use one for a still camera too? I read one panasonic description where it said it was great for a still camera also.

If so then I could pay more, as my biz partners want to get both a video and still camera, but if one does both then we can spend more on one.

What about how the video is captured? I mean I have heard they can use tape, stick, or even disc. Is one better than the other for the net, or how you edit it? Thanks again for the advice!

[phuckbunny]

Use tape. Stick is still a long ways away from giving you what you need without costing a fortune. The P2 cards on the high end Panasonics don't hold much and cost an arm and a body part. Don't have much experience with disc. Sticks/hard drives will take over of course but IMO they're prohibitively expensive at the moment.

The advantage of capturing on a drive as opposed to tape is you don't have to scroll through the tapes to import it into your computer to edit which can be time consuming. It makes zero difference for the net, you will be changing the output settings when you export your final clips for net compression.

You can use most any vid camera to take stills but you're better off getting a separate still camera, the images are usually pretty low res.

Feel free to drop a line, glad to oblige with help.

[Lana]

Hi Bill! Still on vacation but couldn't help checking in. Nikki_Licks and Phuckbunny pretty well covered it all. I would add - ANY 3CCD camera that records to tape will do a fine job IF it's well lit.
There's a few out there for under a $1000.00 bucks. Even the 1/6th CCD's do a great job well lit.
Almost all my vids we're done on a small Panny 400. We now have 2 DVX100b's - a big jump (we do other stuff other than Lana) and although the difference is huge on DVD it doesn't look all that different on the net. We capture raw AVI then downsize to MPG2 to save hard drive space. It will let you output DVD's and convert to any web format. Definately get yourself a still camera. My first 20 or so sets we're from video and frankly they suck.
Don't use Windows Movie Maker - too limiting.
There's lot's of editors out there for under $100.00 that will give you all the options you need. Ulead, Pinnacle etc.
Sorry Phuckbunny but I don't think Billinda needs final Cut Express just yet - huge learning curve. I don't think he's on a Mac anyway. Are you Bill?
Have you found many pretty dresses yet sweetie?

[sunfunbill]

Thanks for sharing Lana, uh, I mean your advice! I'm still on vacation too, will be in Vermont till the 19th. I actually can't wait to get back and start putting my blog and stuff together. I have a slow connection up here, so I'm not doing much.

I have not gotten any new dresses yet, but when I get back the girls have a budget for some. We have some pretty wild themes for what Bilinda will be going through, I think the next costumes will be little red riding hood and a girl scout outfit!!

[sunfunbill]

Ok, so I went out camera compairing. We can't afford too much, so I stuck to basic ones you find at best buy, circuit city and stuff like that. I only found two that had 3ccd's with tape capture. Hard drive would be nice, but I heard the quality is not as good as tape, is that right? So I assume I want to stick with tape.

Both are Panasonic, the PV-GS320 and the PV-GS500. What is your opinion on those? They go for $450 and $630, about what we want to spend at this time. They seems nice, but again I know nothing about them. Any info?? Thanks!

[Lana]

I've up til now done everything on the GS400.
The 320 has 1/6th chips and the GS500 has 1/4 inch chips.
Both will give very good images but the 500 will give you better low light.