The gigantic "which camera should I buy" thread!

[Matt Mercer]

Thank you all for the great replies! A virtual wellspring of information and helpful suggestions! Taking the many ideas here, I'm going to probably take a bit more time to save and then nab one of the better models then I was previously considering. Thank you all for the help!!

[Mike Teutsch]

Get a Canon XL2 and don't look back!

Mike

[Dennis Khaye]

Go with what feels right in your hands. Touch them, use them, play with all the buttons and settings. Use only authorized sellers. Don't buy used.

I think you'll be happier that way.

[Mark Tarman]

I am looking to buy a camera that can be used to shoot weddings, interviews, some small budget commercials etc. It has to look good and even be able to have tv quality. What is the best camera for this? My school uses a jvc prohd100. I have also used canons. what are a lot of freelancers using and what are my price ranges i guess. any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Chris Harris]

I think the number one question here is, what is YOUR price range? How much can you comfortably spend on a camera? There are a lot of nice cameras out there for all kinds of price ranges.

[Mark Tarman]

i am willing to spend up to 6000. it will be a multi purpose cam. sports and weddings and whatever.

[Kit Hannah]

yeah, get the JVC HD-110 - Comes with an IDX battery steup right now for just over $5000. The extra $$ you can use for a nice case, tripod, etc.

[Chris Harris]

How about the Canon A1? It's around $3500, looks professional, great quality, and you can spend some of that other money towards accessories. Plus, you should even have enough money left over for a smaller B camera, like the HV10, HV20, or HC7.

[Dom Stevenson]

I got an A1 2 weeks ago and am very happy with it. Nice lens, manual ring iris and endlessly customizable. If you've got an extra 2500 to spend you could think about a really nice tripod and some lights, wide angle converter etc. You could also go the Panasonic HVX route, but by the time you got your P2 cards and laptop etc you'd be lucky if you could afford a decent tripod. this was the debate that went round in my head for some time before i went with the Canon, but i think i made the right choice.
Good Luck
D

[Edward Barton]

I'm 17/18 and I'm just about to start my gap year in the UK before I go on to do a degree in either Media Arts or Film/TV Production. During my gap year my intention was always to get some practical experience both with companies and by purchasing a camera and making a short or two, which leads me to my dilemma; which camera to get.

My budget is probably £2000 give or take a bit but that alone is sooo much to be paying for a camcorder when I don't have a fulltime job yet and from only ever using £350 cameras so far. I hate being limited by small dinky auto cameras though so it's an expense I need to take on.


Now my options are probably xh-a1 at the upper end, dvx100 and the pd150/170. Maybe the XL2 but that's kind of xh-a1 pricing territory - all three cameras are roughly in my price range. So anyway, my major questions.

Which one would hold its value best? I intend to sell it on in a years time
Is it worth buying used or is it a bit too risky? (only really applies to the pd150)
Should I really buy an HD camera? (I don't have the equipment in my house although my PC should be able to cope but I just don't see it being that worthwhile if I'll only have the cam for a year)
And finally, should I even buy a camera this expensive? Might the HV20 do for example (harder to sell used though, I'd expect - no real pro demand)?


Best prices I've found for the cams are
XH-A1 - £2180
DVX100BE - £2000
PD150 (used) - £1500
XM2 (used) - maybe? - £1150

[Graham Risdon]

Hi Edward

Not an easy one... Most people would say that for longevity you should buy HD, and that's probably good advice. That said, the UK is a little way behind the US, and SD is still popular. I would suggest that for learning, something which allows full manual control is essential. Don't know much about the Canons and Panasonics, but I have a PD150, and various Sony DSR's including a 450, and have always found the 150 a bit fiddly to manually - no iris ring, and most features only accesible from menus.

One big point though is to budget for all the extra bits you'll need like a tripod (you'll struggle with any camera on a bad tripod), batteries (plenty of them!), cables, tape etc. etc

Hope this helps

[Edward Barton]

Yeah, with SD v HD it's a complicated decision. My house certainly is all SD and I'd need to upgrade my PC for it to be able to edit HD well (although I'm doing that anyway). On one hand SD should probably do me fine but I don't want HD to take off and to be left with a lump of electronics. Similarly, I want to get used to something that's going to be around when I'm at uni and afterwards. SD will be completely gone by the end of my degree.

I'd agree on the manual control thing. I can't cope at all with things being done automatically and I need to be able to manipulate the camera as best as I can if I'm learning and generally being experimental.

I've pretty much factored everything into a budget but that said I'm bargaining on buying lights and stuff used and selling most of the stuff on for not a considerable amount less than I bought it.

[Waldemar Winkler]

Originally Posted by Edward Barton

I'm 17/18 and I'm just about to start my gap year in the UK before I go on to do a degree in either Media Arts or Film/TV Production. During my gap year my intention was always to get some practical experience both with companies and by purchasing a camera and making a short or two, which leads me to my dilemma; which camera to get.

My budget is probably £2000 give or take a bit but that alone is sooo much to be paying for a camcorder when I don't have a fulltime job yet and from only ever using £350 cameras so far. I hate being limited by small dinky auto cameras though so it's an expense I need to take on.


Now my options are probably xh-a1 at the upper end, dvx100 and the pd150/170. Maybe the XL2 but that's kind of xh-a1 pricing territory - all three cameras are roughly in my price range. So anyway, my major questions.

Which one would hold its value best? I intend to sell it on in a years time
Is it worth buying used or is it a bit too risky? (only really applies to the pd150)
Should I really buy an HD camera? (I don't have the equipment in my house although my PC should be able to cope but I just don't see it being that worthwhile if I'll only have the cam for a year)
And finally, should I even buy a camera this expensive? Might the HV20 do for example (harder to sell used though, I'd expect - no real pro demand)?


Best prices I've found for the cams are
XH-A1 - £2180
DVX100BE - £2000
PD150 (used) - £1500
XM2 (used) - maybe? - £1150

Gap year. What a wonderful concept & tradition. Wish it existed here instead of "hit the grindstone and make something of your life!".

I think the decision depends upon where you INTEND to see your work presented in the final form. I recently watched a video on the subject of a blind American jazz musician who learned Tuvan throat singing on his own and then traveled to Tuva to participate in that country's national singing competition. The whole thing was shot on SD cameras and later mastered for film. The feature got the producers (not much older than you) an Oscar Nomination.

Any one of the cameras you are considering will produce the quality you need. What do you believe you can accomplish in 12 months with your camera purchase? How much of it's cost can you recover? 75%? 50%? 25%? How much revenue can you produce with it that will offset your living expenses? How long can you expect to use it to support your financial and creative needs before upgrading?

My preference (mostly based upon familiarity) is Canon XM2. Its 16x9 is impressive, as are manual adjustments. The Panasonic viewfinder is really nice! The PD 150 can perform miracles in low light. The Canon HD camera only suffers in light sensitivity when compared to the others you mention, which is an expected trait of the higher data volume of HD. HD acceptance here is slow. A similar trend seems (based upon other comments to your post) apparent in your area.

In the end, owning the camera is the most important element. An expensive camera sitting on the shelf gathering dust is the best incentive I know when matched with the need to pay bills. Next is mastering the camera. Master the tool. Master the craft (Ferenc Berko).

Good adventure! I hope my opinions will be or service to you.

[Mark Carr]

Hello Everybody,

I am new to this forum, and in anticipation of receiving some much needed help I want to say thank you for any recommendations/comments posted. After reviewing B&H's web site, more specifically their professional video section, I'm more confused than ever. With all the different formats and camera functions/features available, I'm finding it very difficult to determine just what if fact it is that I'm looking for.

I'm primarily interested in finding a professional quality video camcorder, one that can deliver the type of quality seen on your typical television/cable program. I'm not at all interested in broadcasting over the internet, producing CD's, etc.

I recently worked with a Florida based production company that uses the Sony CineAlta HDW-F900 1080/24p – 1080/60i Camcorder. I took a look on the B&H web site and nearly fell off my chair when I read the price tag, $90,000.00. Way out of my budget. Upon searching further I came across the Sony DCR-VX2100 3 CCD Mini DV Camcorder, which sells for a bit over 2,000.00. The reviews were very positive, with some mentioning that they had even used if for low budget TV programs. Which leads me to my question.

What are the functions and/or features that are required of any video camcorder to produce TV quality videos/programs? The Sony CineAlta HDW-F900 1080/24p – 1080/60i Camcorder costs nearly 45 times more than the Sony DCR-VX2100 3 CCD Mini DV Camcorder. If the same scene were recorded with both camcorders and projected on TV, would there be that much of a difference between the two? I guess what I'm trying to determine is just how much does one have to spend on a camcorder in order to use it for TV quality broadcasting? $4,000, $10,000, .....? Are there specific features or functions that are required?

I'm not asking for a long answer, I realize the subject matter is complex. But, if somebody could mention or point me to the least expensive Sony, JVC, or Panasonic camcorder that they feel could produce TV quality output, that would be a huge help. I could then investigate things myself. Or even, if somebody could point to a particular web site that might offer insight into this issue, that would also be great.

Anyway, hope I've asked the right questions. I am a professional photographer and feel quite comfortable discussing digital cameras, but video camcorders seem to be much more complex, and thus more difficult to grasp.

Thanks again.

Regards,

Mark

P.S. If this helps, I'm most interested in recording outside, during daylight hours. I'm not particularly concerned with low light functions (perhaps sunsets). I just want high quality output, that's all.

[Nate Weaver]

Mark, I suggest that you just start reading this site as much as you can.

Your question, even though I know you think you might have narrowed it down a bit, still leaves too much up in the air.

Even then, many people are going to chime in after me recommending this camera or that, and chances are they will be decent enough suggestions for knowing next to nothing about what you want to do. Television programs have been aired using all manner of cameras, from $1k to $100k. What is acceptable to one person is not acceptable to another. Therefore, you will get a huge range of responses.

But I suggest, given the state of your knowledge, to sit down every night for a couple weeks and read, read, read. Think of this as insurance against plunking down $3k for a camera, and then finding out 2 months down the road that you really wanted/needed another, and the experience costing you hundreds (or, potentially, over a thousand).