Cheap digital cameras
by Alex La Clair
on
Jul 29, 2009 at 2:54:24 am
I'm looking for a good camera that is at least digital, and prefferably shoots in HD. In about a year or so my group of friends are plannning on shooting a full length movie with it which will most likely be run&gun, but until then we are planning on shooting small films that will be both indoor and outdoor in both high and low light which we're going to release on youtube or something. That is why we want to buy the camera. We've gotten together a budget of 2k dollars. I've been doing research for about 3 weeks now, but I have to say I'm horribly confused about what I'm looking at. Most the cameras at that price range seem to be about the same in picture quality, shooting capabilities, and contolability. We have a sound system already so the sound quality isn't much of an issue and we can use all 2k on the camera if need be. So I was hoping that some of the users would be able to make suggestions on what they use, and like.
Re: Cheap digital cameras by Gord Stephen on Jul 30, 2009 at 1:18:20 am
Hey Alex,
For under $2k you're looking at either a new, high end consumer HD camera (like a Canon HFS10 or HV40) or a used SD prosumer camera (like a Panasonic DVX100b). I'd be tempted to go the consumer route (which will be cheaper, and can still yield great results) and spend the leftover money on lights - no matter what camera you use, things look bad in the dark.
What kind of audio equipment are you using? If you go the consumer route but are using XLR audio gear, you'll need to look at an adaptor unit to get sound into the camera.
Re: Cheap digital cameras by Alex La Clair on Jul 30, 2009 at 1:32:19 am
I think I'm going to go the consumer route. The Canon Vixia HG21 looks pretty good as well as the HF S10. I didn't get an XLR mic because I would need an adaptor and didn't want to spend unneccessary money. Thank you for bringing up lighting because I completely forgot about looking into lights. Thanks for the advice you've been extremely helpful.
Re: Cheap digital cameras by Gord Stephen on Jul 30, 2009 at 3:35:05 am
I'd lean towards the HFS10 rather than the HG21 - there's a lot more that can go wrong recording to a hard drive vs flash media. The HFS10 also has a nice 1/2.6" sensor - a lot bigger than the HG21's 1/3.2". But either will work great.
