I'm looking to take a course entitled "Single Camera Operation" for learning how to proper ally use a Pro video camera before I go out and spend a few (maybe 10) grand on a camera... (Moving from DSLR which is good for only about 50% of my shots).

I asked the instructor what kind of gear we would using and a course outline. Everything they said sounded pretty good except:

"and DVPro - digital tape camera."

To which I'm like huh? As I've looked and can not find information on what a DVPro is... It doesn't appear to be a camera name, nor a format (I've heard of DV tape before or HDV).

Thoughts?


I have sent a reply but I may not get an answer before the sign-up deadline...

Maybe he meant DVCPro. Probably a typo.

The DV, DVCAM, & DVCPRO Formats -- tech details, FAQ, and links. (http://www.adamwilt.com/DV-FAQ-tech.html#DVformats)

Or maybe he's just an idiot.

Thanks Adam, link was very informative.

I'm going to assume it was a typo and she was talking about DVCPro, rather than the latter option.

Try to find out if it's DVCPro or DVCPro HD -- in other words, standard definition or high definition.

I'll see what the reply / clarification is but I highly doubt they would of left out the "HD" part along with the C. So I would say its safe to assume its not HD (which is a bit of a bummer that the equipment seems so out of date while still being top of the line at some point).

Poop, course was cancelled.

Hi Graeme,

Bit off the subject of your original post, but if you're coming from a photog background, you're well on your way to being able to operate a "pro camera", as the language is mostly the same. We all need to frame, expose, color balance, etc. all our shots! (The biggest difference obviously is capturing audio.) If you're coming from an HDSLR and wanting an ENG-style camera (like what most news folks use), then weight and ergonomics will be some of your primary issues.

Depending on what type of video camera you're going to buy with your budget (10K!?! Whew, I'm jealous. Wish I had that when I first started out :) maybe you can first rent one out and play around with it for a few days.

Best,

Currently I'm very impressed with the Red Scarlet fixed lens (i know its talk) and its likely well within my budget (estimated at 6-7k) so I'm leaning towards that. But I haven't really look at other non-DSLR options (because of the cost/DOF and I have a bunch of Nikon lenses. So I was hoping this course would fill in the gaps as to how one professionally use a camera and results there of.

As for sound I was helping with sound on a friends shoot (brought my own equipment) two weekends ago. But the other reason for the course was to mingle with other people starting up in videographer (as I'm finding out that those already stationed as season indie filmmakers scene don't want /appreciate help of a newcomer here in Ottawa).