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Another What Camcorder Thread

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DJ_Pauly_D
Posts: 1043 - Karma: 42
1) What is your budget? How much money can you spend right away, and do you think you can get more money to invest in the future?

my budget is about 300 to 400 and id like to invest on a cheap tripod also

2) What experience do you already have with cameras? Have you ever even used one before? Have you helped your friend out with his camera? Have you owned your own?

Ive filmed shitty edits with my point and shoot

2) What gear, if any, do you currently have? (tripod, old camera lenses, mics, etc)

nuthin

4) What are you planning to shoot and how do you want to use your camera? Are you going to use this with the sole purpose of shooting skiing? or do you think you might try other stuff as well (movies, documentaries, short films, etc)

skiing,tramp,bmx,skate other sports

5) Do you want a camera that you can hand to your friends, that could or could not have film experience, and let them shoot you? or will you be doing all the filming?

a relatively easy to use camera so my friends can shoot me

6) When filming skiing, how do you tend to shoot? (follow cams, leave it on record on a tripod and hike, film from a tripod, etc)

everything

7) What computer do you currently have/use to edit (if not currently editing, what would you most likely use)? If you can provide specifics, such as hard drive space, RAM, processor size, that would be great.

the comp i have right now about 600gb of hradrive space, 4gb 4gb of ram

7) What program do you currently edit on? How familiar are you with it (1- just learning; 10- I can make tutorials and know the keyboard layout)

i have sony vegas pro 9 and im about at 5 i can do simple editing but i learn alot with tutorials

So ive been looking at a couple camcorders like the sony dcr-sx63 or the Panasonic SDRH85K and especially the canon fs200 or even the goproHD but i want more options cuz it sells for 369 on dstructure shipped.... also notice that all the camcorders i posted are standard defenition (except go pro) thats cuz i dont really know if its worth adding the extra buck for it.. u guys tell me
Aug 4 2010 11:07PM
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Rolfe
Posts: 357 - Karma: 20
for the 300 to 400 dollar range i would suggest a go pro
Aug 4 2010 11:29PM
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A.Eberhard
Posts: 4426 - Karma: 415
Agreed. You can't get anything better at that price range, maybe a used hv20?
Aug 4 2010 11:30PM
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miroz
Posts: 10333 - Karma: 3,945
No offense (and I say this everytime) but 300 doesn't get you much. You can't even afford a "good" camera, let alone a tripod. I would keep saving dude, wait till you can afford something better/nicer, because right meow its really only GoPro, which is pretty lame as a "camera." It's a toy.

(If you get a GoPro, you don't need a tripod. Don't get a cheap one either, it'll create more shake/jerkiness than it gets rid of).
Aug 4 2010 11:48PM
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DJ_Pauly_D
Posts: 1043 - Karma: 42
my budget for this camcorder doesnt come from the money i have... i worked all summer and could spend 2grand on a camcorder but i tell myself ... whats the HUGE difference gonna be.. better image quality? what for? all ill be filming is sports and i wont be making huge edits or very artistic landscape shots.. its just for filming me and my bros shred... so i think like 400 is a reasonable price for what ill be filming.. what do you guys think... how much better is a 2500$ cam than a 400$
Aug 5 2010 12:00AM
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IanAvery-Leaf
Posts: 9931 - Karma: 9,399
>implying a gopro is better then a 5D...

but really? Obviously you will get more features/control and overall a better picture on something that is $2000+ more, if it wasn't the case people wouldn't pay that.
Aug 5 2010 12:05AM
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miroz
Posts: 10333 - Karma: 3,945
Well there's obviously a reason that people pay that much more for a camera, so yeah, its THIS much better (alot). 400 gets you nothing. Honestly, when I start recommending cameras, even the basics, they're running around twice what your willing to pay. Unfortunately, videography is an expensive hobby/activity, and if you're not willing to dish out the dough to get what you need, you better find something else to do.

The extra money, that extra 2100 we're talking, goes into all the things that makes the nicer camera, well, nicer. Better sensors, better color control, better media, better codec, better color code, etc. The list goes on. If you don't want to get serious into video, there's no reason to pay this much. However, if you don't want to get serious, and therefore don't want to dish a lot of money, you gotta accept that you won't be getting very much.

Like I said, $400 doesn't get you anything. I'm not trying to put you down, but its life. If you're just looking to shoot your friends and yourself, not caring about quality or color or image, and just want to put the camera on auto and not worry about it, just get a GoPro and be done with it.
Aug 5 2010 12:12AM
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DJ_Pauly_D
Posts: 1043 - Karma: 42
i didnt say a gopro is better than a 5d but please explain to me what these different features are that are cool to use when filming for example skiing with a 5d compared to with a gopro.. what are they.. is it like better slow-motion images or shit like that.. explain to the noob
Aug 5 2010 12:14AM
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miroz
Posts: 10333 - Karma: 3,945
A GoPro is the most auto thing you can get. You turn it on, press record, and it does the rest for you. You don't focus, you don't adjust the iris/shutter/ND filter, you don't white balance, you don't mess with the colors, you don't generally change your framerate (at least not on the fly), you can't zoom, etc.

An expensive camera can do all of these. Sensing light and relaying it as digital imagery is tough - you pay for it. CCDs are light and battery gobbling sensors, but they're good. Now imagine being able to CHANGE the light your camera sees, telling it that it should have high reds (warm picture) or darkest blacks or the highest gamma...that is what you pay for, that ability to manipulate what your camera sees.
Aug 5 2010 12:18AM
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IanAvery-Leaf
Posts: 9931 - Karma: 9,399
lol for once the gopro is better at something
you will get smoother slo mo on a gopro due to it shooting 60 frames every second, vs the 5D Mark ii (dont even consider it, its a $3000+ investment) shooting 30 frames a second. That means you can slow down the footage 2x more from the gopro while still maintaining a smooth video

judging by this thread
get a GoPro HD
Aug 5 2010 12:19AM
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DJ_Pauly_D
Posts: 1043 - Karma: 42
thanks alot for this very clear response +K
Aug 5 2010 1:03AM
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