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anyone know about cameras
- Thread starter joe81
- Start date
lordofduct
Established Member
Digital should NEVER be considered an alternative to film!Each have their advantages seperate of each other. One great for editing and price(digi), and the other just looking so damn gorgeous(film). (of course there are more advantages on either side, but why should I waste my time!) But yeah, it all comes down to what you want to do with your camera...
Family Films - of course look for price
Indie Films - a lot comes into play! do you want a dry flat and grainy look to it. Or do you want a lot of contrast and high range of color. Are you filming primarily in low light or high light? I really never found a good all around camera... So decide between what you want. For a lot of color go with a 3-color chip... if you want to save some funds and like that dry grainy look go with a cheaper single chip. (blue filters help a lot to fix the grainy look too, but only works with great lighting... no night shots! Not blue filter like blue tint..) Now i will get ready for Berty to tell me how wrong I am... but seriousily it all comes down to preference! I like high color in dark shots, so i spend the flow!
Family Films - of course look for price
Indie Films - a lot comes into play! do you want a dry flat and grainy look to it. Or do you want a lot of contrast and high range of color. Are you filming primarily in low light or high light? I really never found a good all around camera... So decide between what you want. For a lot of color go with a 3-color chip... if you want to save some funds and like that dry grainy look go with a cheaper single chip. (blue filters help a lot to fix the grainy look too, but only works with great lighting... no night shots! Not blue filter like blue tint..) Now i will get ready for Berty to tell me how wrong I am... but seriousily it all comes down to preference! I like high color in dark shots, so i spend the flow!
NIN did one of their complete DVD concerts on mini dv. It was then editted completely on a mac. It's not perfect, but what would be, in a dark concert, without perfect lighting.
I've had several vhs, vhs-c, and normal 8mm camcorders, and the 8mm seems to be better quality than the other two, in pretty much all circumstances.
I would prefer film, if the quality was good enough. If they would just start producing 16mm film again, at a somewhat affordable price, I think that'd be awesome. Don't think just because it's analog that it's going to look bad. It's like music.. If you get a really nice reel to reel setup, it's going to have a good s/n ratio, and a lot of people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between that and digitally recorded music on a cd. That's why some studios still use them for mastering tapes..
I've had several vhs, vhs-c, and normal 8mm camcorders, and the 8mm seems to be better quality than the other two, in pretty much all circumstances.
I would prefer film, if the quality was good enough. If they would just start producing 16mm film again, at a somewhat affordable price, I think that'd be awesome. Don't think just because it's analog that it's going to look bad. It's like music.. If you get a really nice reel to reel setup, it's going to have a good s/n ratio, and a lot of people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between that and digitally recorded music on a cd. That's why some studios still use them for mastering tapes..
lordofduct
Established Member
Try to use some creative lighting then... you know like they do in tv shows. Use soft low watt bulbs that spread instead of pointing on a single subject.
anyone know of a site that has cheeper prices for cameras? i looked on bestbuys site since they were the only site out of the retail sites that have high performance video cameras. the one i was looking at on there is like 3,000 so i was wondering if there's a better site to buy cameras off of.
lordofduct
Established Member
I'd wait a bit before getting a new dv camera. Yes, the technology will always improve, but right now there's a big push to go HD. I bet within a year you'll be able to find cameras that shoot at least in 1080i. If you can wait until you can get one of those kind of cameras, do it. Otherwise, go to a pawn shop and get a one-chip or even a three chip. I know there are those who would bombard you with technical jargon until your ears bleed, but at the price range you're at, I wouldn't be so concerned. I got a Sony PC100 five years ago. It was considered to be quite nice (and expensive). Now they use that kind of camera for Dogma films... Although, I'm still able to get a decent image out of it, considering it's a one-chip.
Most mini-dv cameras are at least a three-chip, meaning that they have three sensors measuring red, green, and blue, meaning a better color rendition than a one-chip.
I guess most importantly is, do you have any good ideas? Have you written anything? Have you worked with actors before? Because all the technical know-how won't amount to crap if the content isn't there. I just finished "working" on an indy film in New York which was shot on a Varicam (they were originally going to use a Sony Z1 and shoot in 1080i, but the DP bitched and so they got the Varicam). The Varicam shoots in 720p, and at best looks like 16mm transferred. At best. And I don't even want to talk about the script. So, my advice before even getting a camera is develop your ideas, get your actors working, then get something to record it.
Most mini-dv cameras are at least a three-chip, meaning that they have three sensors measuring red, green, and blue, meaning a better color rendition than a one-chip.
I guess most importantly is, do you have any good ideas? Have you written anything? Have you worked with actors before? Because all the technical know-how won't amount to crap if the content isn't there. I just finished "working" on an indy film in New York which was shot on a Varicam (they were originally going to use a Sony Z1 and shoot in 1080i, but the DP bitched and so they got the Varicam). The Varicam shoots in 720p, and at best looks like 16mm transferred. At best. And I don't even want to talk about the script. So, my advice before even getting a camera is develop your ideas, get your actors working, then get something to record it.
actually i was looking at one of the HD mini dv cameras to buy i figured might as well have the latest tech when making the movie. the stuff with script and things already worked it out. the actors ehh fuck um you can have what people think are the best actors and they still suck i'm not worried about bad actors i just need a dozen people that can just be themselves and forget the camera is running.
Sony just came out with a consumerish HD camera. Here's a link from Best Buy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1115366460155
It's about 2000 dollars, but that's probably the cheapest it'll go to HD cameras these days. It'll sure as hell drop soon, I guarantee you.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1115366460155
It's about 2000 dollars, but that's probably the cheapest it'll go to HD cameras these days. It'll sure as hell drop soon, I guarantee you.
if i was going to go with best buy for buying i'd go with this one http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1096380765286
but i was looking for a good online site that'd sell cameras like this one or others that are cheeper than retail prices but a site that i could trust also.
but i was looking for a good online site that'd sell cameras like this one or others that are cheeper than retail prices but a site that i could trust also.
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