another camcorder question
- Thread starter RonC
- Start date
Electric Sheep
Dsicle - BoM Dec 06
Ron - I've got few simple couple of questions:
#1 - Do you currently have a (A) Windows PC, or (B) a Mac?
#2 - Does your computer already have a DVD burner in it?
#3 - Would you prefer video editing software that is (A) "professional level" with a deep, rich feature-set but will be hard-to-use, or (B) "consumer-level" that has plenty of popular features but is easy-to-use?
#4 - Are you wanting to primarily shoot (A) "run-and-gun" home-movie style handheld stuff around the the park/zoo/backyard, or (B) "studio setup" style stuff like informational product videos, interviews, and documentaries?
#5 - When you say that you want to be able to "make DVDs", do you mean (A) to give to family/friends, or (B) to make a commercial DVD product to sell. There's a *huge* difference between the two.
#6 - Do you want/need HD quality? HD cameras cost a lot more, and neither DVD nor YouTube are HD.
#7 - What's your total budget for everything (camera, software, etc)? $300? $750? $1000? $25,000?
(If you answer $25,000 then I'll sell you my entire video production company :rofl
#1 - Do you currently have a (A) Windows PC, or (B) a Mac?
#2 - Does your computer already have a DVD burner in it?
#3 - Would you prefer video editing software that is (A) "professional level" with a deep, rich feature-set but will be hard-to-use, or (B) "consumer-level" that has plenty of popular features but is easy-to-use?
#4 - Are you wanting to primarily shoot (A) "run-and-gun" home-movie style handheld stuff around the the park/zoo/backyard, or (B) "studio setup" style stuff like informational product videos, interviews, and documentaries?
#5 - When you say that you want to be able to "make DVDs", do you mean (A) to give to family/friends, or (B) to make a commercial DVD product to sell. There's a *huge* difference between the two.
#6 - Do you want/need HD quality? HD cameras cost a lot more, and neither DVD nor YouTube are HD.
#7 - What's your total budget for everything (camera, software, etc)? $300? $750? $1000? $25,000?
(If you answer $25,000 then I'll sell you my entire video production company :rofl
1) windows, but my son has a mac, and he will be the person who helps me
2)no, but i could get 1
3)consumer level
4) studio, for products
5)i would say "b". info on products, but also a good enough video to sell
6) you tell me what i need. i want to produce info videos to publish on youtube, and also make info videos that can be transferred to DVD or "e-book" format. good enough quality to sell if there is demand.
7) i would like to spend about $1000, but if you tell me that i need to spend more, i will do it. my son does have some software.
2)no, but i could get 1
3)consumer level
4) studio, for products
5)i would say "b". info on products, but also a good enough video to sell
6) you tell me what i need. i want to produce info videos to publish on youtube, and also make info videos that can be transferred to DVD or "e-book" format. good enough quality to sell if there is demand.
7) i would like to spend about $1000, but if you tell me that i need to spend more, i will do it. my son does have some software.
Electric Sheep
Dsicle - BoM Dec 06
Ooo...good info, and just the answers I wanted to hear! Okay, let me do a bit of research and I'll post up some more info in a bit.
Electric Sheep
Dsicle - BoM Dec 06
Okay Ron, the simple way to explain all this is that you're looking at a 3-step workflow:
STEP 1: Shooting video
STEP 2: Editing video
STEP 3: Delivering video
In my opinion, what you want to do is purchase equipment that all works well together (more difficult than you'd think), provides all the options you need (often hard to do in the consumer realm) and maximizes the quality necessary for your final delivery (but doesn't go beyond your needs and price range)...and the best way to figure out what meets those criteria is to work BACKWARDS from STEP 3.
Since your son is going to be using his Mac, I would *highly* recommend you purchase the software package called iLife '08 if he doesn't already have it (all Macs nowadays come with it built-in). The software only costs $79 and it comes with several programs, two of which are going to be critical to you: iMovie and iDVD.
iMovie lets you:
Then iDVD lets you:
Essentially, by using a Mac and iLife, you can make "STEP 2" and "STEP 3" of your workflow a breeze. Oh and if he has an older version of iLife, I'd recommend you plunk down the $79 to get the new '08 version because the new iMovie is radically easier to use and includes the YouTube support you want.
Now that you know what software you're going to be using, now you need to choose a camera that will work well with it. You've got a lot of format options to choose from (including DV, HDV, AVCHD, MPEG2, MiniDVD, HDD, SD card, etc) but to be perfectly honest, your BEST, CHEAPEST, and MOST COMPATIBLE format choice is going to be DV/HDV, which records on MiniDV tapes. Most other formats are either too buggy, too incompatible, require conversion, or are too expensive to really recommend at this time.
Now coming from the world of ProVideo, I can tell you that there are THREE telltale signs of "amateur" video:
#1 - shaky handheld footage
#2 - terrible audio quality
#3 - poor lighting
You solve amateur problem #1 buy shooting on a tripod or other stablization device (even just setting the camera on a table). Please note that the in-camera "image stablization" options are limited in their ability to minimize camera shake--so don't believe the marketing hype you read about that feature.
You solve amateur problem #2 by purchasing a camera with a built-in MIC input and then buying MICs appropriate for your intended use. This, by the way, is harder than you think; most consumer-level camcorders DO NOT have a Mic input!
You solve amateur problem #3 by shooting in natural light, or in a well-lit room, or by using (shocking) lights! There's a real art form to proper lighting, but if you just learn the very minimum basics of 3-point lighting by doing some research on the Internet, you'll be just fine.
One final thought: HD -vs- SD. You'd think that it only makes sense to buy an HD camera, and granted if you have the budget to do it then sure it DOES make sense because you're future-proofing your purchase....but for the time being, you honestly don't have any real NEED for an HD camera:
Okay, *finally* some product recomendations! :rofl:
$79 - Apple iLife software (iMovie and iDVD)
$149 - Rode VideoMic (general-purpose microphone)
EDIT: IGNORE THIS ITEM, SEE BELOW $109 - Sony ECM-44BMP (clip-on mic if you're going to be talking on/off camera)
$69 - Velbon Videomate 607 Tripod (the cheapest tripod I'd actually use)
And finally, the camera! What you buy really comes down to if you want HD or not. If you just want DVD and YouTube quality video, an SD camera will be adequate. Fortunately, they're cheap. Unfortunately, the vast majority of them don't have a mic input! Thankfully, 2-of-the-3 available Canon MiniDV cameras actually DO have that input. I would highly recommend their midrange model:
$229 - Canon ZR-930 MiniDV camcorder
$11 - Smith-Victor TR-56 Camcorder Accessory Mounting Bracket
You'll need that bracket to side-mount the external mic on this camera since it doesn't have a hot shoe mount on top. It's ugly and unwieldily, but when it's all mounted on your tripod you won't care.
Now if for some reason you feel you just *gotta* have an HD camera now, even though you won't be delivering any HD content, then in my opinion there's only 1 HD camera on the market today that's under $1000 bucks that I'd recommend:
$795 - Canon VIXIA HV30 HDV Camcorder
I think that HV30 is the best bang-for-the-buck HD camera under $1000 available today. If I were personally buying a cheap camcorder, that's EXACTLY what I'd buy, no question about it. The only other camcorder I'd consider is lat year's nearly identical version of the HV30, the older HV20. You can find them on-sale now in the $600-ish range if you look around. That's what Eric just picked up the other day at Circuit City.
But truth be told, Ron, you'd probably find that the non-HD $229 Canon suits your needs very well. :eyebrow:
Okay, that's my 1000-words of advice! I'm spent! :rofl:
EDIT INFORMATION:
Ignore my recomendation for that lavalier mic; I actually use those myself and while they're fantastic, I forgot that they require a whole set of wireless audio equipment in the SONY UWP series that you won't have. Sure, I personally have all that stuff as part of my audio kit, but I didn't think about the fact that you won't. So to use that $109 mic you'd need a $450 wireless pair and a $180 Beachtek XLR convertor box (since consumer camcorders don't have XLR balanced audio inputs).
So forget about that mic and let me do a bit of additional research on a mic that would be appropriate for you to speak directly into while on-camera, or just off-camera.
:yes:
STEP 1: Shooting video
STEP 2: Editing video
STEP 3: Delivering video
In my opinion, what you want to do is purchase equipment that all works well together (more difficult than you'd think), provides all the options you need (often hard to do in the consumer realm) and maximizes the quality necessary for your final delivery (but doesn't go beyond your needs and price range)...and the best way to figure out what meets those criteria is to work BACKWARDS from STEP 3.
Since your son is going to be using his Mac, I would *highly* recommend you purchase the software package called iLife '08 if he doesn't already have it (all Macs nowadays come with it built-in). The software only costs $79 and it comes with several programs, two of which are going to be critical to you: iMovie and iDVD.
iMovie lets you:
- import HD or SD video footage from your camera
- quickly and easily edit your footage
- add photos, music, voiceover, transitions
- upload your finished, edited footage directly to YouTube
- export your finished, edited footage to iDVD
Then iDVD lets you:
- use themes to quickly build stunning DVD menus
- automatically build photo slideshows
- encode everything to the industry-standard DVD format
- includes option to use "pro-quality" DVD encoding
Essentially, by using a Mac and iLife, you can make "STEP 2" and "STEP 3" of your workflow a breeze. Oh and if he has an older version of iLife, I'd recommend you plunk down the $79 to get the new '08 version because the new iMovie is radically easier to use and includes the YouTube support you want.
Now that you know what software you're going to be using, now you need to choose a camera that will work well with it. You've got a lot of format options to choose from (including DV, HDV, AVCHD, MPEG2, MiniDVD, HDD, SD card, etc) but to be perfectly honest, your BEST, CHEAPEST, and MOST COMPATIBLE format choice is going to be DV/HDV, which records on MiniDV tapes. Most other formats are either too buggy, too incompatible, require conversion, or are too expensive to really recommend at this time.
Now coming from the world of ProVideo, I can tell you that there are THREE telltale signs of "amateur" video:
#1 - shaky handheld footage
#2 - terrible audio quality
#3 - poor lighting
You solve amateur problem #1 buy shooting on a tripod or other stablization device (even just setting the camera on a table). Please note that the in-camera "image stablization" options are limited in their ability to minimize camera shake--so don't believe the marketing hype you read about that feature.
You solve amateur problem #2 by purchasing a camera with a built-in MIC input and then buying MICs appropriate for your intended use. This, by the way, is harder than you think; most consumer-level camcorders DO NOT have a Mic input!
You solve amateur problem #3 by shooting in natural light, or in a well-lit room, or by using (shocking) lights! There's a real art form to proper lighting, but if you just learn the very minimum basics of 3-point lighting by doing some research on the Internet, you'll be just fine.
One final thought: HD -vs- SD. You'd think that it only makes sense to buy an HD camera, and granted if you have the budget to do it then sure it DOES make sense because you're future-proofing your purchase....but for the time being, you honestly don't have any real NEED for an HD camera:
- YouTube is not HD; heck it's only half the resolution of SD
- DVD is not HD; it's only SD
- Unless you plan on making BluRay disc, you really can't deliver HD right now
Okay, *finally* some product recomendations! :rofl:
$79 - Apple iLife software (iMovie and iDVD)
$149 - Rode VideoMic (general-purpose microphone)
EDIT: IGNORE THIS ITEM, SEE BELOW $109 - Sony ECM-44BMP (clip-on mic if you're going to be talking on/off camera)
$69 - Velbon Videomate 607 Tripod (the cheapest tripod I'd actually use)
And finally, the camera! What you buy really comes down to if you want HD or not. If you just want DVD and YouTube quality video, an SD camera will be adequate. Fortunately, they're cheap. Unfortunately, the vast majority of them don't have a mic input! Thankfully, 2-of-the-3 available Canon MiniDV cameras actually DO have that input. I would highly recommend their midrange model:
$229 - Canon ZR-930 MiniDV camcorder
$11 - Smith-Victor TR-56 Camcorder Accessory Mounting Bracket
You'll need that bracket to side-mount the external mic on this camera since it doesn't have a hot shoe mount on top. It's ugly and unwieldily, but when it's all mounted on your tripod you won't care.
Now if for some reason you feel you just *gotta* have an HD camera now, even though you won't be delivering any HD content, then in my opinion there's only 1 HD camera on the market today that's under $1000 bucks that I'd recommend:
$795 - Canon VIXIA HV30 HDV Camcorder
I think that HV30 is the best bang-for-the-buck HD camera under $1000 available today. If I were personally buying a cheap camcorder, that's EXACTLY what I'd buy, no question about it. The only other camcorder I'd consider is lat year's nearly identical version of the HV30, the older HV20. You can find them on-sale now in the $600-ish range if you look around. That's what Eric just picked up the other day at Circuit City.
But truth be told, Ron, you'd probably find that the non-HD $229 Canon suits your needs very well. :eyebrow:
Okay, that's my 1000-words of advice! I'm spent! :rofl:
EDIT INFORMATION:
Ignore my recomendation for that lavalier mic; I actually use those myself and while they're fantastic, I forgot that they require a whole set of wireless audio equipment in the SONY UWP series that you won't have. Sure, I personally have all that stuff as part of my audio kit, but I didn't think about the fact that you won't. So to use that $109 mic you'd need a $450 wireless pair and a $180 Beachtek XLR convertor box (since consumer camcorders don't have XLR balanced audio inputs).
So forget about that mic and let me do a bit of additional research on a mic that would be appropriate for you to speak directly into while on-camera, or just off-camera.
:yes:
Last edited:
You can upload hd videos to vimeo.com. I know it's not youtube, but if you wanted to embed an hd video into your current webpage without having to host it yourself, vimeo is a great way to go.
I have the Canon HV30 and love it so far. I haven't edited anything yet, but I have recorded and hooked it up to my tv via HDMI and the picture quality is amazing.
Duane is the video professional though so listen to what he has to say before you take my advice. I am a video newbie myself.
I have the Canon HV30 and love it so far. I haven't edited anything yet, but I have recorded and hooked it up to my tv via HDMI and the picture quality is amazing.
Duane is the video professional though so listen to what he has to say before you take my advice. I am a video newbie myself.
Electric Sheep
Dsicle - BoM Dec 06
Holy crap, look at that POST TIME and then look at the EDITED TIME...that took me over 2 hours to research and write! LMAO!!!
Good thing it's a saturday! Ha-ha-ha!
Good thing it's a saturday! Ha-ha-ha!
Electric Sheep
Dsicle - BoM Dec 06
Hey, I made an edit on the LAV mic.....I need to do some more product research, so I'll get back at ya with that in a little bit.
Electric Sheep
Dsicle - BoM Dec 06
All new info and recommendations
Okay, so I've received a bit more info on what Ron is trying to do, so it changed my recommendations. Also, I gathered new info on the lav mic, so I'll include that here as well.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Turns out that Ron's son doesn't live in the same city as he does, so he plans on doing the filming and sending the raw data to his son to edit. Unfortunately, that means MiniDV tapes are not going to work because his son would have to have the camera shipped to him as well, or else he's going to have to have the same camera on his end, effectively doubling the price of the camera. NOT a good idea!
So instead of MiniDV tape, I'm going to recommend a camera that records to SDHC memory cards like this:
By choosing a camera that records to SDHC, your son won't need a camera on his end; he'll just need a cheap $12 SDHC card reader.
To be honest, a MiniDV camera that records in HDV format is vastly superior to one that records on SDHC in AVCHD format...but in this situation, the memory card method makes more sense. The bad news is that AVCHD is a relatively new/modern format that requires a new/modern computer. You son's Mac is going to have to be a relatively recent model that has:
So that's hurdle #1 -- having the proper computer system. If he has the right hardware, he can buy the newer OS and/or iLife, but he's got to at least have the right base hardware. If he doesn't, then you're gonna either need a new Mac or else a new PC that is of the equivalent hardware level and some sort of video editing software (which, I'll admit, I'm not as familiar with, but I *know* isn't going to be as simple/easy-to-use as iMovie which is geared towards extreme simplicity).
So assuming he can get the right hardware/software setup, then the following are my camera-related recommendations:
$645 - Canon VIXIA HF-100 AVCHD Flash Memory Camcorder
$79 - Apple iLife software (iMovie and iDVD)
$149 - Rode VideoMic (general-purpose microphone)
$135 - Azden WLX-PRO Wireless Lavalier (clip-on mic if you're going to be talking on/off camera)
$69 - Velbon Videomate 607 Tripod (the cheapest tripod I'd actually use)
$11 - Smith-Victor TR-56 Camcorder Accessory Mounting Bracket
For recording, you'll need a couple of these:
$44 - Kingston 8GB SDHC Card
And you'll need to buy this to send to your son so he can read the cards without needing the camera around:
$12 - Sandisk MicroMate Card Reader for SDHC Cards
So that's my camera equipment recommendation list. I think that'll do you just fine, will be easy to use, is in the ballpark of your budget (only a little over, right?), will meet your usage needs without going totally overboard, and most importantly will allow your son to edit the video footage without needing a camera on his end.
Granted, the HF100 isn't as nice of a camera as the HV30 I previously recommended, and it's not as cheap as the non-HD ZR930, but it's a good compromise considering your separate locations. If you really need to save a couple of bucks, you could consider the non-HD $409 Canon FS-10 instead of the HF100 because it too records to SDHC cards and has the necessary mic input, but in my opinion spending the extra $240-ish for the HF100 is smarter because it's a cheap upgrade to get a better quality camera (larger sensor = better image) that also gives you the ability to shoot in HD.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay, one more thing. While doing my research tonight, I ran across a couple of excellent introductory articles that will help you shoot high-quality videos (there's an annoying ad to skip on some links; sorry):
The Beginner's Corner: Shooting for the Web
The Beginner's Corner: Three-Point Lighting
D.I.Y. lighting on a micro-budget
I've personally used those $10 Reflector Clamp Lights myself, and with the proper color balanced ECA light bulbs they work really well for basic 3-point lighting. You can build you own el-cheapo 3-point light kit this way for under $50 bucks!
Okay, that's all I've got for now! :rofl:
Okay, so I've received a bit more info on what Ron is trying to do, so it changed my recommendations. Also, I gathered new info on the lav mic, so I'll include that here as well.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Turns out that Ron's son doesn't live in the same city as he does, so he plans on doing the filming and sending the raw data to his son to edit. Unfortunately, that means MiniDV tapes are not going to work because his son would have to have the camera shipped to him as well, or else he's going to have to have the same camera on his end, effectively doubling the price of the camera. NOT a good idea!
So instead of MiniDV tape, I'm going to recommend a camera that records to SDHC memory cards like this:
By choosing a camera that records to SDHC, your son won't need a camera on his end; he'll just need a cheap $12 SDHC card reader.
To be honest, a MiniDV camera that records in HDV format is vastly superior to one that records on SDHC in AVCHD format...but in this situation, the memory card method makes more sense. The bad news is that AVCHD is a relatively new/modern format that requires a new/modern computer. You son's Mac is going to have to be a relatively recent model that has:
- An Intel Core Duo or better processor
- Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system
- 1gb RAM minimum
- iMovie '08 (part of iLife '08)
So that's hurdle #1 -- having the proper computer system. If he has the right hardware, he can buy the newer OS and/or iLife, but he's got to at least have the right base hardware. If he doesn't, then you're gonna either need a new Mac or else a new PC that is of the equivalent hardware level and some sort of video editing software (which, I'll admit, I'm not as familiar with, but I *know* isn't going to be as simple/easy-to-use as iMovie which is geared towards extreme simplicity).
So assuming he can get the right hardware/software setup, then the following are my camera-related recommendations:
$645 - Canon VIXIA HF-100 AVCHD Flash Memory Camcorder
$79 - Apple iLife software (iMovie and iDVD)
$149 - Rode VideoMic (general-purpose microphone)
$135 - Azden WLX-PRO Wireless Lavalier (clip-on mic if you're going to be talking on/off camera)
$69 - Velbon Videomate 607 Tripod (the cheapest tripod I'd actually use)
$11 - Smith-Victor TR-56 Camcorder Accessory Mounting Bracket
For recording, you'll need a couple of these:
$44 - Kingston 8GB SDHC Card
And you'll need to buy this to send to your son so he can read the cards without needing the camera around:
$12 - Sandisk MicroMate Card Reader for SDHC Cards
So that's my camera equipment recommendation list. I think that'll do you just fine, will be easy to use, is in the ballpark of your budget (only a little over, right?), will meet your usage needs without going totally overboard, and most importantly will allow your son to edit the video footage without needing a camera on his end.
Granted, the HF100 isn't as nice of a camera as the HV30 I previously recommended, and it's not as cheap as the non-HD ZR930, but it's a good compromise considering your separate locations. If you really need to save a couple of bucks, you could consider the non-HD $409 Canon FS-10 instead of the HF100 because it too records to SDHC cards and has the necessary mic input, but in my opinion spending the extra $240-ish for the HF100 is smarter because it's a cheap upgrade to get a better quality camera (larger sensor = better image) that also gives you the ability to shoot in HD.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay, one more thing. While doing my research tonight, I ran across a couple of excellent introductory articles that will help you shoot high-quality videos (there's an annoying ad to skip on some links; sorry):
The Beginner's Corner: Shooting for the Web
The Beginner's Corner: Three-Point Lighting
D.I.Y. lighting on a micro-budget
I've personally used those $10 Reflector Clamp Lights myself, and with the proper color balanced ECA light bulbs they work really well for basic 3-point lighting. You can build you own el-cheapo 3-point light kit this way for under $50 bucks!
Okay, that's all I've got for now! :rofl:
Electric Sheep
Dsicle - BoM Dec 06
Oh by the way, I forgot to mention that if you're going to be shooting product videos and all the sound will be YOUR VOICE, you'll likely only need that Azden lav mic setup...meaning you won't need to buy the Rode VideoMic.
The Rode mic is a damn-useful item to have for OTHER video uses however (basically, everything that's not just your voice talking) but you might not need it to start with. Just depends on how you're going to use the camera.
The Rode mic is a damn-useful item to have for OTHER video uses however (basically, everything that's not just your voice talking) but you might not need it to start with. Just depends on how you're going to use the camera.
Electric Sheep
Dsicle - BoM Dec 06
If you're going to learn editing on your own, and you're wanting to using that Canon HF100 camcorder and your existing Windows-based PC, you might find that your PC may not be powerful enough to edit the AVCHD footage the HF100 produces.
For example, the software I'd recommend on a Windows PC in lieu of Apple's iMovie (which is Mac-only) is the $99 Pinnacle Studio Plus version 12. The system requirements for editing AVCHD footage are:
A Core 2 QUAD processor to edit 1920x1080? That's nuts! I can't image that your home computer is that powerful, Ron.
So honestly, if you're planning on doing the editing yourself instead of sending it off to your son to edit, then I would *HIGHLY* recommend you DO NOT PURCHASE THE HF100 camcorder and instead purchase my original recommendation, the Canon HV30 (or for an ultra-cheap option, the non-HD ZR-930).
Those cameras use MiniDV tapes and will be much more compatible with your existing computer--meaning, you won't need an ultra-powerful monster of a PC just to edit the footage you shoot.
The *ONLY* reason I recommended the HF100 is because it's a practical way to send the raw footage to your son to edit. But if you're not going to do that, then don't buy that (or any other AVCHD) camcorder.
:waving:
For example, the software I'd recommend on a Windows PC in lieu of Apple's iMovie (which is Mac-only) is the $99 Pinnacle Studio Plus version 12. The system requirements for editing AVCHD footage are:
- Intel® Core2 Duo 2.4 GHz or higher required for 1440x1080 AVCHD editing
- Intel® Core2 Quad 2.66 GHz or higher required for 1920x1080 AVCHD editing
- 2 GB RAM required for AVCHD
A Core 2 QUAD processor to edit 1920x1080? That's nuts! I can't image that your home computer is that powerful, Ron.
So honestly, if you're planning on doing the editing yourself instead of sending it off to your son to edit, then I would *HIGHLY* recommend you DO NOT PURCHASE THE HF100 camcorder and instead purchase my original recommendation, the Canon HV30 (or for an ultra-cheap option, the non-HD ZR-930).
Those cameras use MiniDV tapes and will be much more compatible with your existing computer--meaning, you won't need an ultra-powerful monster of a PC just to edit the footage you shoot.
The *ONLY* reason I recommended the HF100 is because it's a practical way to send the raw footage to your son to edit. But if you're not going to do that, then don't buy that (or any other AVCHD) camcorder.
:waving:
Electric Sheep
Dsicle - BoM Dec 06
Yeah, for your needs, shooting and editing product/information videos at home for distribution on YouTube and standard DVD, that would be fine. So your list would look like this:
$229 - Canon ZR-930 MiniDV camcorder
$135 - Azden WLX-PRO Wireless Lavalier (clip-on mic if you're going to be talking on/off camera)
$69 - Velbon Videomate 607 Tripod (the cheapest tripod I'd actually use)
$11 - Smith-Victor TR-56 Camcorder Accessory Mounting Bracket (to attach the Azden wireless receiver to the camera)
$99 - Pinnacle Studio Plus version 12 software
And later, you could add the $149 Rode VideoMic if you want better general purpose sound. Oh and of course, don't forget you'll need to put together one of those $50 D.I.Y. lighting kits.
This setup will get you shooting and editing great looking/sounding videos in no time, and will do it on a budget too boot!
$229 - Canon ZR-930 MiniDV camcorder
$135 - Azden WLX-PRO Wireless Lavalier (clip-on mic if you're going to be talking on/off camera)
$69 - Velbon Videomate 607 Tripod (the cheapest tripod I'd actually use)
$11 - Smith-Victor TR-56 Camcorder Accessory Mounting Bracket (to attach the Azden wireless receiver to the camera)
$99 - Pinnacle Studio Plus version 12 software
And later, you could add the $149 Rode VideoMic if you want better general purpose sound. Oh and of course, don't forget you'll need to put together one of those $50 D.I.Y. lighting kits.
This setup will get you shooting and editing great looking/sounding videos in no time, and will do it on a budget too boot!
Electric Sheep
Dsicle - BoM Dec 06
Oh, one more thing: you're going to need to buy some MiniDV tapes!
I'd recommend you decide what brand to buy now and STICK WITH THAT BRAND. Most people never have tape problems, but it seems that those who do are the folks who constantly switch between various brands of tape. Each manufacturer uses slightly different chemicals in their tape, and switching between them seems to accelerate gunky build-up on the camera's tape heads. So just stick with one brand (doesn't matter which one) and try not to switch around.
I personally shoot with the cheap JVC tapes which I like because they only cost $2.50-ish. I've bought them for even less in-bulk before.
Oh, and one more word of advice; tape is cheap so if you can, don't re-use them. By always using a fresh tape, you minimize potential digital drop-outs and artificats, and of course always have the original footage stored on tape in case your computer ever craps out on you (hey, sometimes it happens).
:waving:
I'd recommend you decide what brand to buy now and STICK WITH THAT BRAND. Most people never have tape problems, but it seems that those who do are the folks who constantly switch between various brands of tape. Each manufacturer uses slightly different chemicals in their tape, and switching between them seems to accelerate gunky build-up on the camera's tape heads. So just stick with one brand (doesn't matter which one) and try not to switch around.
I personally shoot with the cheap JVC tapes which I like because they only cost $2.50-ish. I've bought them for even less in-bulk before.
Oh, and one more word of advice; tape is cheap so if you can, don't re-use them. By always using a fresh tape, you minimize potential digital drop-outs and artificats, and of course always have the original footage stored on tape in case your computer ever craps out on you (hey, sometimes it happens).
:waving:
Electric Sheep
Dsicle - BoM Dec 06
:rofl:
Nah, I think you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly. Software like Pinnacle or iMovie really simplify the process (iMovie especially, but Pinnacle is good) so it's going to be easier than you think.
Shoot I bet you end up really enjoying the whole video making process. :thumbsup:
Nah, I think you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly. Software like Pinnacle or iMovie really simplify the process (iMovie especially, but Pinnacle is good) so it's going to be easier than you think.
Shoot I bet you end up really enjoying the whole video making process. :thumbsup: