First film camera for a teenager

Y

ydrol

Hi,

My daughter is very interested in film-making.

She has bought a Bolex 280 off ebay and has me ordering Super 8 film (silent).
We don't have a projector so she will likely develop to DVD.

I can see this might be expensive habit, and I think she'll get more out of digital to start with.
Anyway , in true teenage tradition, she doesn't listen to me :), and I honestly don't know much about it.

But I think a good entry level digital camera might be more economical on the long run.
Any recommendations around £300 (which is pretty much $300 for electronics !)

Any advice appreciated! Can stretch to £400 if it makes a big difference.
 
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I bet looking at the link Uranium City posted set your head spinning.

The good news is Canon makes fine cameras. If you pick any camera
in your price range on that list it will be a fine camera for your daughter.
As our friend from Greece mentioned, Panasonic also makes fine cameras.
The TM700 would be a fine camera for your daughter. Any Panasonic
camera in your price range would be fine. I could recommend the Canon
HF S20 (£650) but it, too, is out of your price range.

On the other hand, pick up a projector on eBay and even an editor/viewer
so she can edit and view super 8. It is more expensive, but learning to
shoot film can be an advantage in the future.
 
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I'm thinking that for a teenager just getting started a DSLR might
be over the top. At this stage film look isn't terribly important. They
can get quite complicated. Starting off with a camcorder, building some
knowledge and experience in the other aspects of making movies can
sometimes be an excellent path to a better camera.

Phill - have you found that learning on a DSLR is just as easy as
learning with a more simple camcorder?
 
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For what it's worth, I used a simple point-and-shoot camera from Sony (cybershot, 150$-ish) and made a mini-movie of me and my wife visiting around Idaho and I learned just as much as I would have with a $30,000 camera (bar all the settings fiddling, but this will be learned with each new camera).

You can do the same with an iPod Nano with the video camera.

If learning shooting and editing is what you want her to do, get her a Sony Cybershot. Then upgrade when she feels confident she can get good frames and work a story out on tape...
 
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directorik said:
I'm thinking that for a teenager just getting started a DSLR might
be over the top. At this stage film look isn't terribly important. They
can get quite complicated. Starting off with a camcorder, building some
knowledge and experience in the other aspects of making movies can
sometimes be an excellent path to a better camera.

Phill - have you found that learning on a DSLR is just as easy as
learning with a more simple camcorder?
Click to expand...

I'm a DSLR user, and I agree with the above. Unless your daughter is already an experienced photographer, and has worked with 35mm cameras, I'd recommend a good camcorder.
 
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I think it's great that your daughter is interested in film-making and has a Super8. I love film and the disciplines it teaches. But when the funds are tight I shoot video.

There are so many good video cameras on the market so it's hard to say what to get but I use a Canon HV40. I have two boys (twins) 14 years old and a year or so ago I got them each a Canon HV20 (used). They have so much fun with them and they've been editing away in iMovie and Final Cut Express creating little shorts for YouTube.

I've learned not to underestimate what young people can learn and learn fast. I think it took my kids about 15 minutes to figure out the HV20.
 
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I got a DSLR as a first camera. Well no, I used a Hitachi point and shoot before, but all auto settings.
The DSLR is the first camera which I use with all manual settings. I am not 100% comfortable with it just yet, but DSLR's are worth every penny.

As a teenager myself, I'd say that they are an awesome investment and should be considered
 
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That's why I asked you Phil - a teenage perspective.

So you started with a cheaper, easy to use camera. Then when you knew you
were serious about getting better you got a DSLR. That's exactly why I am
thinking a fine path to take is getting something like the Hitachi point and shoot
you started with and then moving on to an awesome investment later.

Aside from a DSLR being worth every penny and being an awesome investment
is it really a good first camera for a teenager? You know teenagers better that
I do. I remember being a teen and kind of jumping from thing to thing until
i found something I was truly interested in.
 
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Hey,

I filmed some videos in New York and didn't use my Hitachi much at all, because I wasn't happy with what I filmed. So I put away the camera.. (Mistake...)

Then, I started the most pointless hobby ever....... Airsoft..
Spent a Grand on it, but sold everything for aproximatly for what ii bought it, because I moved to Germany.
8 Months later, I moved back to London. Bought airsoft gear, 2 weeks later sold it again.

The I watched the making off "The Expendables" and boy, I wanted to get an awesome camera so bad.
So after a month of googleing I came to the conclusion to get the T2i. (awesome camera for the price).

So, christmas arrived and I took pictures for a good week, because I didn't have the right memorycard.

When the card finally arrived, I switched over to movie function and I was clueless. I knew that cinema productions are mostly filmed in 24p, so I flicked that on. 1920x1080, check.
Shutter, ISO, Aperture: "How the hell, will I ever find out"..

To make it short: By signing up to forums, reading up lots on the internet, watching Youtube videos and asking other filmmakers, a month later, I know all the functions and what they do.
It might be worth taking a look at a point and shoot, to see if you like filming so much, that you actually want to invest more. If you do not like it for any reason whatsoever, It is a waste of money.

(PS: Sorry for the long post and spelling mistakes, I am german born, so I am not the best at english grammar.)
 
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No need to apologize about your grammar here. The only time
any of us comment on the grammar, spelling and typo's is when
a writer is looking for a screenplay read or a job.

Phil_UK said:
It might be worth taking a look at a point and shoot, to see if you like filming so much, that you actually want to invest more. If you do not like it for any reason whatsoever, It is a waste of money.
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking, too. Which is why I asked about your recommendation
to buy a DSLR right away. It seems to me that starting with a DSLR might even
discourage a teenager just starting out. By the time you got one you were quite
serious.

You spent a month looking up different cameras - in this case it's mom asking.
You then signed up on forums, asked questions, reading a lot on the internet
and watching YouTube videos - in this case the wannabe filmmaker hasn't
done any of that; it's mom who is doing the research.

No question that a DSLR is worth the money. I'm just thinking that recommending
one in this case might not be the best option.

And don't worry about the long post either - I found it interesting.
 
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Yeah. its a bit different, I realise that. In this case, our school got a camcorder, It's a sony and its quite good. Can record in 1080p. So, might be worth looking at some of sonys camcorders first. Almost all of them have some manual controls as well.

And Remember, every time you film, you will get better Images if the subject has sufficient light on it. Filming with a handycam in a dark situation will look like a mobile phone.
Tell her to have a blast and film.

Going out and shooting yourself is the best way of learning!
 
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