Patrick Jenkins
October 12th, 2004, 09:19 PM
I'm in the planning stages of putting together a summer video workshop ('05) for interested high school students (I work for a school system). I'm looking for a camera that would provide the best 'all purpose' results for anything the kids may want to do - short films in traditional studio setups, student documentaries on anything located anywhere, etc.
The students would already have some knowledge of video/broadcast as they would have already taken an inschool class during the year. So in that regard, a camera with a little more manual flexibility (GS200/400) looks interesting. Budget dictates that I'm limited to about $1,000 per camera (# to be determined by the # of kids in the workshop), but I can probably work that up a little bit if necessary (Gs200->400) - also I can't shop around for used stuff even if good deals can be found - anything I purchase will ultimately be paid via purchase order so used isn't an option.
'Distribution' of student works will also only be TV or DVD (we have a local cable channel) so film, PAL/25p, 24p, etc aren't really an issue. Widescreen probably will be important (it's the cool thing these days, students will want it) and all of these cameras are reputed to be excellent in that regard.
I've already got the other misc. equipment (audio, lights, editors, etc), so I'm basically looking for a good camera that students could get good results with, provided they work a little elbow grease. Low price will keep me from worrying too much if one of them has the butterfingers with the gear.
Suggestions? Thoughts?
The students would already have some knowledge of video/broadcast as they would have already taken an inschool class during the year. So in that regard, a camera with a little more manual flexibility (GS200/400) looks interesting. Budget dictates that I'm limited to about $1,000 per camera (# to be determined by the # of kids in the workshop), but I can probably work that up a little bit if necessary (Gs200->400) - also I can't shop around for used stuff even if good deals can be found - anything I purchase will ultimately be paid via purchase order so used isn't an option.
'Distribution' of student works will also only be TV or DVD (we have a local cable channel) so film, PAL/25p, 24p, etc aren't really an issue. Widescreen probably will be important (it's the cool thing these days, students will want it) and all of these cameras are reputed to be excellent in that regard.
I've already got the other misc. equipment (audio, lights, editors, etc), so I'm basically looking for a good camera that students could get good results with, provided they work a little elbow grease. Low price will keep me from worrying too much if one of them has the butterfingers with the gear.
Suggestions? Thoughts?