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July, 2025

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Camcorder question

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Ryancavanaugh-
Posts: 45 - Karma: 197
Heavily thinking of buying a used camcorder to use to film my friends and make videos. Can anyone explain to me how the process of getting the videos from the camera to your computer or phone works? I’ve owned an used a dslr but have zero experience with camcorders. Seems like a confusing process
4 years ago
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eheath
Posts: 61977 - Karma: 126,983
if the camcorder records to SD cards, its the same process as a DLSR. I wouldn't recommend using a camera that uses tapes, its a pain in the ass and doesn't really give you a better product. If you want your image to look grimy and low res, you can change that in post.
4 years ago
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Ryancavanaugh-
Posts: 45 - Karma: 197
eheathif the camcorder records to SD cards, its the same process as a DLSR. I wouldn't recommend using a camera that uses tapes, its a pain in the ass and doesn't really give you a better product. If you want your image to look grimy and low res, you can change that in post.

do you know if the Dvx100 or canon gl2 have sd card slots?
4 years ago
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eheath
Posts: 61977 - Karma: 126,983
Ryancavanaugh-do you know if the Dvx100 or canon gl2 have sd card slots?


Those both use tapes and are 20 years old. If thats what you wanna do then go for it, but you should do some research about these kind of cameras before buying.
4 years ago
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crustyboot.420
Posts: 989 - Karma: 4,277
I gave up on my dream of getting a mini dv camcorder after I did the research of how to get the footage to your pc 😢
4 years ago
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sindreplassen
Posts: 1181 - Karma: 10,769
Hmc150 would be great, awesome cam that records in 1080p to sd cards
4 years ago
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Ryancavanaugh-
Posts: 45 - Karma: 197
sindreplassenHmc150 would be great, awesome cam that records in 1080p to sd cards

Shit looks so dope just way out of price range unfortunately
4 years ago
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gravel
Posts: 5524 - Karma: 42,381
nolliebackflipI gave up on my dream of getting a mini dv camcorder after I did the research of how to get the footage to your pc 😢


bruh it's easy
4 years ago
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Ryancavanaugh-
Posts: 45 - Karma: 197
gravelbruh it's easy

Gl2 a move?
4 years ago
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gravel
Posts: 5524 - Karma: 42,381
Ryancavanaugh-Gl2 a move?


yes, that was one of the cameras i learned to film on in high school. you will probably want to buy a cheap point and shoot dv cam to use as your “capture cam” for importing to your computer. also once it is imported you will want to make sure to deinterlace the footage. i use mpeg streamclip but that is for 32bit macs only so it won’t work on any of the new macs, which are 64bit. if you’re on pc it will be easy to find software to deinterlace.
4 years ago
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Jems
Posts: 7801 - Karma: 102,151
Ryancavanaugh-Gl2 a move?

The GL2 is alright as long as you get it for cheap, its basically a vx with worse colors and audio but it still looks good imo. - Its easier to convert footage if you have an apple computer.
4 years ago
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Jems
Posts: 7801 - Karma: 102,151
If you're interested in what a dvx100 looks like here's an unknown video no ones ever seen that used a dvx100/mk2.

https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/884404/HG-Skis-Presents--Eat-The-Guts---FULL-FILMI believe early chef boyardee vids used the GL2, now a lot of them are filmed on dvx.
4 years ago
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Ryancavanaugh-
Posts: 45 - Karma: 197
JemsThe GL2 is alright as long as you get it for cheap, its basically a vx with worse colors and audio but it still looks good imo. - Its easier to convert footage if you have an apple computer.

Right now I don’t have an Apple computer. My two options would be a nice hp laptop or a school pc in the video production classroom that has premier pro on it. My video teacher says he has a gl2 I could use but he just needs to find it, but if he doesn’t I’ll buy my own cam. Would you say the dvx is better than the gl2? Or should I look for something else. Also another plus is my teacher has a fat box of tapes he said I can use
4 years ago
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Jems
Posts: 7801 - Karma: 102,151
Ryancavanaugh-Right now I don’t have an Apple computer. My two options would be a nice hp laptop or a school pc in the video production classroom that has premier pro on it. My video teacher says he has a gl2 I could use but he just needs to find it, but if he doesn’t I’ll buy my own cam. Would you say the dvx is better than the gl2? Or should I look for something else. Also another plus is my teacher has a fat box of tapes he said I can use


well, the dvx has better quality and looks killer with opeka fisheyes.
4 years ago
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Ryancavanaugh-
Posts: 45 - Karma: 197
Pretty sure I have it narrowed down to the gl2, Dvx 100, vx2000, or the canon Vixia hf g20. The Vixia is Sd so I just still can’t decide if I wanna go tape or sd. One positive about the tape cams is I can get them super cheap. Are modern street movies usually filmed sd now? (Zootspace, child labor, etc)

**This post was edited on Jan 25th 2022 at 10:59:10am
4 years ago
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Jems
Posts: 7801 - Karma: 102,151
Ryancavanaugh-Pretty sure I have it narrowed down to the gl2, Dvx 100, vx2000, or the canon Vixia hf g20. The Vixia is Sd so I just still can’t decide if I wanna go tape or sd. Are modern street movies usually filmed sd now? (Zootspace, child labor, etc)

zootspace and child labor both use p2 cameras (hpx/hvx) which are early sd cards. that canon you have in that list will not really look like the p2 cameras. all my videos are filmed on a vx2000, check out aaron husak if you want to see some good dvx content. tape cameras will definitely give you a little trouble and cost a lot more to maintain but the sd cameras just can’t replicate the look.
4 years ago
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Jems
Posts: 7801 - Karma: 102,151
@HaydenB
4 years ago
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Ryancavanaugh-
Posts: 45 - Karma: 197
Jemszootspace and child labor both use p2 cameras (hpx/hvx) which are early sd cards. that canon you have in that list will not really look like the p2 cameras. all my videos are filmed on a vx2000, check out aaron husak if you want to see some good dvx content. tape cameras will definitely give you a little trouble and cost a lot more to maintain but the sd cameras just can’t replicate the look.

So your basically saying if I wanna replicate that zootspace look, and don’t wanna spend tons on a p2 camera, go tape?
4 years ago
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eheath
Posts: 61977 - Karma: 126,983
Ryancavanaugh-So your basically saying if I wanna replicate that zootspace look


My best advice for making videos is to do something that is your own style, mimicking filmers you like can help with that, but focus on creating your own 'look' or 'feel' vs trying to replicate someone else's video, just a couple cents from my experience.
4 years ago
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Ryancavanaugh-
Posts: 45 - Karma: 197
eheathMy best advice for making videos is to do something that is your own style, mimicking filmers you like can help with that, but focus on creating your own 'look' or 'feel' vs trying to replicate someone else's video, just a couple cents from my experience.

Yeah for sure I didn’t mean for it to sound like that just trying to better understand what types of cams look like what
4 years ago
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HaydenB
Posts: 1075 - Karma: 8,194
Save up a tiny bit more and get yourself a dvx100 rather than the Canon if you're looking for a cheap full size camcorder with handle record/zoom and all that good stuff. Lots of vids online for how to capture footage to your computer using the rca ports on the camera. If you do go tape, I'd recommend getting some cheap handycam that uses the same tapes to capture your footage, it'll keep you from wearing out your main camera.
4 years ago
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gravel
Posts: 5524 - Karma: 42,381
Ryancavanaugh-So your basically saying if I wanna replicate that zootspace look, and don’t wanna spend tons on a p2 camera, go tape?

not really. tape is closer to zoot than dslr but sd is not hd. if you want the visual appearance of zoot/millbastards/buldoz/etc. you need an AC/HPX/HVX/HMC camcorder. those are all 16x9 cameras in 720p. tape cameras generally shoot 4x3 ratio 480p.
4 years ago
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gravel
Posts: 5524 - Karma: 42,381
some of the later versions of those hd camcorders shoot directly to SD cards which is favorable because honestly P2 cards are the worst, so much worse than tapes in my mind. when you import P2 footage you have to keep the folder hierarchy, it stores the audio/video/info tracks all in different folders. just generally a pain in the ass organizationally.
4 years ago
1 1
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Ryancavanaugh-
Posts: 45 - Karma: 197
PondyCrewSave up a tiny bit more and get yourself a dvx100 rather than the Canon if you're looking for a cheap full size camcorder with handle record/zoom and all that good stuff. Lots of vids online for how to capture footage to your computer using the rca ports on the camera. If you do go tape, I'd recommend getting some cheap handycam that uses the same tapes to capture your footage, it'll keep you from wearing out your main camera.

Are your recents filmed on dvx? They look sick
4 years ago
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Jems
Posts: 7801 - Karma: 102,151
Ryancavanaugh-Are your recents filmed on dvx? They look sick

https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1028756/mckin-boston-footage
dvx/mk2 footage
4 years ago
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Ryancavanaugh-
Posts: 45 - Karma: 197
Jemshttps://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1028756/mckin-boston-footage
dvx/mk2 footage

How does the vx2000 fair compared to the Dvx and gl2? I found a vx2k with a fisheye I could probably talk down to 400 from 450
4 years ago
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Jems
Posts: 7801 - Karma: 102,151
Ryancavanaugh-How does the vx2000 fair compared to the Dvx and gl2? I found a vx2k with a fisheye I could probably talk down to 400 from 450


my videos are filmed on a vx2000 with an opteka
4 years ago
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Ryancavanaugh-
Posts: 45 - Karma: 197
Jemsmy videos are filmed on a vx2000 with an opteka


Word your recent looks sick
4 years ago
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WoFlowz
Posts: 8285 - Karma: 65,159
A HMC40 may fit your needs perfectly. It’s a smaller less expensive version of a HMC150. It shoots 720p 24,30,60 and 1080p 24,30,60i. So it will shoot HD (1080x1920) if you would like. It has almost all of the features you would like/need of the larger cams. There is a few exceptions of course. You will not get as many scene files or as expansive of scene files, no variable frame rates or ND filters and not as large of a zoom as the HMC150 or AC 130/160. You do get two scene files which can give you similar footage to zootspace/millbastards/magma/pdog Now it won’t be a perfect match to zootspace or pdog because no camcorder that uses SD cards or Tapes shoots in the same color codec as a P2 Camcorder. The HMC40 also has a smaller sensor so it won’t be amazing in lower light but it can get the job done, won’t be great tho. It records to SD cards, so just like using a DSLR you pop the SD card into your computer.

Pros-
fits a 43mm opteka fish eye
not insanely expensive (mine cost about 675usd including fisheye, camera, charger and light)
shoots to SD cards
scene files
professional features at lower cost

Cons-
not as large of sensor
Average lowlight for that time
not as large of zoom as other camcorders
Doesn’t have as many scene files
no ND filter


here’s mine rigged up with a light and fish eye

And here she is with Just the lens hood


Here’s a video filmed on it from a few weeks ago and I should have another on NS and YT by the end of the weekend. https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1024364/Fids-Opening-week----
4 years ago
2 1
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Ryancavanaugh-
Posts: 45 - Karma: 197
PondyCrewSave up a tiny bit more and get yourself a dvx100 rather than the Canon if you're looking for a cheap full size camcorder with handle record/zoom and all that good stuff. Lots of vids online for how to capture footage to your computer using the rca ports on the camera. If you do go tape, I'd recommend getting some cheap handycam that uses the same tapes to capture your footage, it'll keep you from wearing out your main camera.

What was hylanding filmed on?
4 years ago
1 0
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HaydenB
Posts: 1075 - Karma: 8,194
Ryancavanaugh-Are your recents filmed on dvx? They look sick

I usually film on an hvx200 but now I'm on an hpx170. Both are P2
4 years ago
3 0
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HaydenB
Posts: 1075 - Karma: 8,194
Ryancavanaugh-What was hylanding filmed on?


That was on an hvx in 480 4:3 mode
4 years ago
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