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Buying Video Cameras
Hey couldn't think of a better group to ask but like the title says I am looking into buying a video camera/camcorder. It doesn't need to be super professional but quality is important. It needs to be at least sort of durable and not super bulky because I would like to take it with me places (probably not bigger than one of those standard size Kleenex boxes). I've looked at the Flips (Mino, Ultra, and the new Slide) and they look kinda like what I want but I heard the quality really sucks... Any recommendations? I'd like to not spend more than 1000 dollars unless the camera is really that good... (Again with the unprofessionallness but,) I realllly don't want a camera that works with tape, digital would be best...
Boiling it down to a sentence: A camera that overall costs less than 1000 dollars, is durable/portable, flash memory/SD card that records digitally, and best quality possible within these parameters...
Discussion started by Mckenzielja , on 13 May 07:24 PM
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If your making short films also keep in mind audio. Standard audio on any camera is terrible. You need to get some sort of microphone to hook up to your camera. The cheaper cameras won't have any mic inputs or XLR spots. If you are making home movies and don't care about audio then forget what i said. Otherwise look for a camera that at the very least has the MIC input. Then proceed to get a boom mic or something you think you will need. Stay away from wireless mics if you can.
Stick with Harddrive cameras since you don't want to invest in tapes such as MiniDV which is fine. You can transfer video files faster anyway with no real time tape transfer.
You also should check out reviews of the camera to see what fellow consumers had to say about it. I'm going to be looking for some Harddrive cameras in the future but for more proconsumer uses. So good luck on hunting for your camera assuming you didn't buy one already since this post is months old, but in my opinion can be applied to anybody.
Stick with Harddrive cameras since you don't want to invest in tapes such as MiniDV which is fine. You can transfer video files faster anyway with no real time tape transfer.
You also should check out reviews of the camera to see what fellow consumers had to say about it. I'm going to be looking for some Harddrive cameras in the future but for more proconsumer uses. So good luck on hunting for your camera assuming you didn't buy one already since this post is months old, but in my opinion can be applied to anybody.
Wednesday, 29 December 2010 11:15
When I was looking at cameras I took my project in mind foremost. Sofar I'm doing short films that will more than likely never be seen on a giant screen. I have about $800-1000 worth of cameras but I bought two cheaper handheld size consumer camcorders so I can shoot multiple angles at once rather than drop the entire camera budget into one low end pro or pro-sumer camera and be limited when setting up scenes. I felt the need to get multiple angles is more important than picture quality at this point and for these projects. I'm on a super tiny budget tho so YMMV. My cameras are also nice cause they are small and light enough to mount on vehicles and if one breaks I can make due and won't have filming grounded for months while I save for another $1000 camera.
I also bought two of the same camera model because the memory cards and batteries can be easily interchanged and picture quality will be identical (in theory). They run off tapes and mem cards but I only do digital off the memory cards.
I know that isn't what you were asking for but those are some of my thoughts that went through my head when choosing video cameras. If I have the money later I'll buy better gear or hopefully get a real budget to work with!
Good luck and sorry to be slightly off center for what you were asking but I hope this helps someone!
I also bought two of the same camera model because the memory cards and batteries can be easily interchanged and picture quality will be identical (in theory). They run off tapes and mem cards but I only do digital off the memory cards.
I know that isn't what you were asking for but those are some of my thoughts that went through my head when choosing video cameras. If I have the money later I'll buy better gear or hopefully get a real budget to work with!
Good luck and sorry to be slightly off center for what you were asking but I hope this helps someone!
Saturday, 24 July 2010 17:36
There are video cameras that have hard drives inside of them that are really nice. Hard drive space goes from 60 gb to 80gb, maybe even more. I like them because of how they don't need to have any tapes, they usually have a nice rechargeable batter, although you're going to want to get a second or even third battery, because when you are on the go do you really want your battery to die when your somewhere where you can't recharge?
If someone gives you another recommendation, look it up and look at customer reviews, they'll tell you lots about how a camera works most of the time. Although, I wonder if sometimes when a person has problems with a camera if it isn't that they just don't know what they are doing with it.
If someone gives you another recommendation, look it up and look at customer reviews, they'll tell you lots about how a camera works most of the time. Although, I wonder if sometimes when a person has problems with a camera if it isn't that they just don't know what they are doing with it.
Saturday, 24 July 2010 06:46
You know, you have to decide what features you want on your camera first. A three-chip camera is much better than a two chip camera.
I have seen an SLR type camera advertised on TV lately that they actually made the commercial for the camera with. I believe it is saved on a an SD card instead of tape. I don't know of any camera that is durable. To me, durable is using the wrist strap or a lanyard so you never have to say "Oops! I just dropped my camera!" $5.00 durability device. :>)
I have seen an SLR type camera advertised on TV lately that they actually made the commercial for the camera with. I believe it is saved on a an SD card instead of tape. I don't know of any camera that is durable. To me, durable is using the wrist strap or a lanyard so you never have to say "Oops! I just dropped my camera!" $5.00 durability device. :>)
Friday, 23 July 2010 21:46
good inquiry.... While I seriously do not plan on dropping, if I accidentally do I want it to still work... And yes I do plan on using it at least 3 or 4 days out of the week so it needs to be able to withstand use... Also again really if the price goes above 1000 i don't quite mind as long as it was actually worth it.
Saturday, 15 May 2010 07:07
What exactly do you mean by "durable"? Are you planning on going hiking with it and are fearful of it falling onto the ground? Or do you just mean a camera that will work reliably after much filming use?
Friday, 14 May 2010 11:25