Hi all,

I have a couple of scripts written and am lookin at the possibilities of making a film on a budget. I am considering upgrading my PC and obtaining a JVC GY-HD101 - before I dispense with my hard earned cash I have a couple of questions which I hope someone could answer for me (please forgive my ignorance, I'm very new to all this!):

- My budget for a camera can stretch to afford the JVC HD101. Is this the best camera to go for in this price range? A freind of mine keeps telling me to get the Canon XL2, but I'm lookin for as 'film-like' end product as I can get, and it seems to me that this is the best choice.

- One thing that I feel is important is depth of field, are options available for the JVC HD101 as it has interchangeable lenses? Or is some sort of add-on needed? I have heard some mention of 'Micro35' and 'Mini35', is this what is required?

- In terms of a PC a freind of mine can sell me his second hand for a very reasonable price, the spec is:
Mobo: Asus K8V Deluxe
Processor: AMD 64-bit 3200+ (2ghz clock speed)
PSU: 480W true power Antec.
Ram: 1GB of DDR 3200 (400mhz)
Graphics Card: NVIDIA 6800 Ultra (GPU with 256MB ram)
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
Does anyone think this will be able to handle HD processing and editing?

Any help that anyone can give would be much appreciated!

Thanks,
Emre

You mentioned that you'd be stretching your budget to afford this camera. Before you do, consider all you'll need to produce a movie--ie., tripod, audio gear, lights, etc. If you don't have all you need already, you might want to consider renting for awhile. The camera is only a part of what you'll need.

As far as depth of field control, all the 1/3" chip cameras are the same because they all have the same size chips. The Mini35 and other spinning ground glass gadgets can be nice, but they can also cost more than your camera. And you have to be very careful in how you shoot and understand their limitations. I've seen one film shot with one, not the Mini35 but another version, and you could see the texture of the ground glass in the long shots.

I think the JVC is going to be a very nice camera in its class, but a camera is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to filmmaking. Spend your money wisely.

Thanks Bill,

I have budgeted for everything I need (I think...well, essentials anyway!), it was really just my camera budget I was referring to.

Thanks for the info re the depth of field addition. Just to clarify, if I did go for any camera in this range I would still need some sort of adaptation to achieve results, i.e. there is no stand alone lens that can do this for you? Again, I have budgeted for a camera and additional lens (in which I would include an adaptor such as the mini35).

Anyone have any thoughts on the PC system mentioned hooked up with the JVC HD100? Powerful enough..?

Thanks for your time people,

Emre.

Depth of field is a function of the chip (or negative) size, ie, how big the area is where the light falls, and the lens aperture, and the focus distance and distance of subject from background. The smaller the chips, the greater your depth of field. If you want it shallower, you have to either move in closer to the subject, or zoom in tighter, and open the aperture up as wide as you can.

About the only way to get a shallow depth of field with a small chip camera is to use ND filters and/or light so you're always shooting with your aperture wide open. Even then, if you're on a wide angle shot and backed off from your subject, most of the shot will be in focus.

The alternative, of course, is the Mini35 adapter or something like that, but be prepared to spend some money and to work within the limitations of any adapter.

I don't know anything about PCs. I've always edited with Avid on Macs.

Bill - Thanks for your help, top stuff.

My PC is nearly equal to those specs and I can edit just fine. You may consider a bit more RAM, say 1.5GB or more and a separate hard drive for your editing i.e.: not the same drive your operating system is on. Get either EIDE or SATA running at least 7200 RPM. Idealy, you'll get 2 identical SATA drives and set them up in a RAID 0 or 1 configuration. Your buddy can probably help you with that. Good luck!

Thanks Troy , that's great!

I'm liking this forum, there are some really helpful people here - many thanks

Well, about the budget. I have owned a XL2 and it is a very good cam. The best for that budget. But the JVC superceeds that seriously. In price also.

The important thing is: the JVC is sold by the JVC Professional division, so every add-on dous cost 5 times that same add-on for the XL2. For instance: nice batteries available for the XL2: for about €200 you can power it as long as you want. If you want to use the HD100 on batteries for a long time, better buy the IDX or AB solution. You're looking at over 1000 euros there. A wideangle for the XL2 : +/- €1500, the wide anglelens for the HD100: +/- €10.000...

You'll only be able to use XLR-mics (a lot more expensive than 3.5mm mics - but also better of course)...