Best $100 camera
- Thread starter Whiteout
- Start date
Use your cell phone.
You're not going to get any benefit from a camera under $100 that you wouldn't have from just recording video on your cell phone, so you might as well just use that. Focus on your fundamentals, and you'll get good enough to make the investment worthwhile. Save the $100 to put towards a better camera later (like a t3i or NEX5n).
You're not going to get any benefit from a camera under $100 that you wouldn't have from just recording video on your cell phone, so you might as well just use that. Focus on your fundamentals, and you'll get good enough to make the investment worthwhile. Save the $100 to put towards a better camera later (like a t3i or NEX5n).
Thank you, and I have considered this, but my best camera is on my iPad 2 and is 720p and very grainy. Also, I'm not paying for it. I'm well past the decision phase, now I just need a camera to actually pick. I was thinking about the Samsung W200? It's just until I save up for a better camera, probably the T3i or, depending on how much I can get, that Blackmagic camera looks amazing.
Cell phone.
Think of filmmaking as a sport hobby.
For $100 you can afford frisbee, croquet, badminton, or dock fishing.
To play at mountain biking, canoeing, RC plane flying, or duck hunting you'll hafta pay a little more than $100.
And to play at motorcross, league football, or bass fishing you'd have to pay a lot more.
How much would NASCAR racing, polo, power boating, or deep sea sport fishing cost you?
Cell phone.
Celtx: http://download.cnet.com/Celtx/3000-13631_4-10850080.html
Free Video Converter: http://www.leawo.com/video-converter/free-3gpconverter.html
VideoPad: http://www.nchsoftware.com/videopad/index.html
Free Audio Editor http://www.free-audio-editor.com/
Go crazy.
Whichever.
Doesn't really matter.
But honestly, you're just wasting money shooting for a 1080 camera that still has few to no manual controls.
Maybe you can find a Vivatar product with something more than manual optical zoom: http://www.vivitar.com/products
Think of filmmaking as a sport hobby.
For $100 you can afford frisbee, croquet, badminton, or dock fishing.
To play at mountain biking, canoeing, RC plane flying, or duck hunting you'll hafta pay a little more than $100.
And to play at motorcross, league football, or bass fishing you'd have to pay a lot more.
How much would NASCAR racing, polo, power boating, or deep sea sport fishing cost you?
Cell phone.
Celtx: http://download.cnet.com/Celtx/3000-13631_4-10850080.html
Free Video Converter: http://www.leawo.com/video-converter/free-3gpconverter.html
VideoPad: http://www.nchsoftware.com/videopad/index.html
Free Audio Editor http://www.free-audio-editor.com/
Go crazy.
or a Sony Bloggie.
Whichever.
Doesn't really matter.
But honestly, you're just wasting money shooting for a 1080 camera that still has few to no manual controls.
Maybe you can find a Vivatar product with something more than manual optical zoom: http://www.vivitar.com/products
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All I'm saying is there's not much reason at this point in the game to toss down <$100 on a camera. The quality increase that you'd be purchasing would be marginal at most, and it's not what you should be focusing on to learn. I'm standing firmly: use a cell, or borrow someone's basic point-and-shoot that has video capability, ignore the grain for the time being, and start focusing on getting astounding compositions, and a quality shot flow in your edit.
yeah, use your cellphone
get this item
http://www.sourcingmap.com/cellphone-camera-tripod-p-37094.html
to hold it. It also allows you to set your phone onto a tripod, or make your own steadycam much easier...
get this item
http://www.sourcingmap.com/cellphone-camera-tripod-p-37094.html
to hold it. It also allows you to set your phone onto a tripod, or make your own steadycam much easier...
Cellphone +1. Spend $100 lighting and stablizing the image and your phone (or iPad) will look better than any camera you buy for that much.
you video on your ipad is grainy becuase of bad lighting. Get good lighting and stabilize your ipad, youll have decent video.
Sure there is. It's MUCH better to make a movie on a $100 camera than not
make a movie. There is SO much to learn about scheduling a shoot day, working
with actors, lighting, treating your cast an crew well, framing and editing.
Whiteout - look at the Coby CAM5002 $40, the Vivitar DVR 1020HD $60, the
DXG Pro Gear Series DXG-5F0VR is $130. If you buy before Sept 30, B&H is
offering the $150 Sony MHS-TS20 for $65 - a great deal.
Taking me out of context a bit. I'm saying that he SHOULD be making movies, but that at this stage in the game if his camera budget is less than $100, he might as well just film on whatever he can get his hands on and save the money for a more significant purchase later.
I did take your statement a bit out of context. I respect your firm stand
on using whatever he can get his hands on. I decided to answer the
question so he can see what cameras are available in his price range.
Armed with several opinions Whiteout can make a more informed choice.
Thanks for all the help guys. A huge difference to the other forum I posted this on before, where the only reply I got was steal a camera. To everybody who says cellphone, I too am impressed with most smartphones these days. Problem is, I don't have one, and that would be even more than the price range of camera I'm thinking of. As much as I love my iPad, which I am writing this on by the way, I am not impressed with the camera, and I got it three months before the one that had the impressive camera came out. Bad luck. I have had my mind firmly set on getting a camcorder for some time now, also because I am going to get a lot of other gear simultaneously, it seems almost necessary to get a camera too. The DXG camera looks muy interesante... No offense to everybody who said cellphone, but if I wanted to use a cell phone I wouldn't have made this post. I knew about the cellphone idea since an episode of Film Riot...
By the way, if you are interested in filmmaking and don't watch the web show Film Riot, drop what you are doing and watch every episode. Everything I know about filmmaking comes from those guys.
By the way, if you are interested in filmmaking and don't watch the web show Film Riot, drop what you are doing and watch every episode. Everything I know about filmmaking comes from those guys.
You need something with OPTICAL rather than DIGITAL zoom - and - manual focus.
Everything else, like manual aperture and shutter speed controls, are gravy.
Consider a used camera.
There is little difference between a fixed lens cell phone camera, a fixed lens Flip/Bloggie camera, or a fixed lens camcorder look-alike.
If it has a pin/pencil hole aperture it's cr@p useless.
Cr@p
Cr@p
Cr@p
http://www.tfpsoft.com/fun/digitalcameraguide/digitalversusopticalzoom.html
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-difference-between-optical-zoom-and-digital-zo.html
http://www.pantherproducts.co.uk/index.php?pageid=camerazoom
Everything else, like manual aperture and shutter speed controls, are gravy.
Consider a used camera.
There is little difference between a fixed lens cell phone camera, a fixed lens Flip/Bloggie camera, or a fixed lens camcorder look-alike.
If it has a pin/pencil hole aperture it's cr@p useless.
Cr@p
Cr@p
Cr@p
http://www.tfpsoft.com/fun/digitalcameraguide/digitalversusopticalzoom.html
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-difference-between-optical-zoom-and-digital-zo.html
http://www.pantherproducts.co.uk/index.php?pageid=camerazoom
If you are okay with used gear, ebay has some decent bargains.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/JVC-Everio-...rofessional_Video_Cameras&hash=item4607a96a1f
http://www.ebay.com/itm/JVC-Everio-...rofessional_Video_Cameras&hash=item4607a96a1f
You, as cinematographer, such that it is, have ZERO control over the depth of field.
Everything is pretty much auto adjusted to compensate for an equivalent of f11 or so.
Cellphone.
Flip/Bloggie.
Pin/pencil hole camcorder.
All three will generate the exact same depth of field - and - likely the same digital only zoom, which would kinda defeat the purpose of spending money on a higher rez camera.
Yeah, I don't know why you need 1080p. You're a first-time filmmaker. It's going to take you some time to learn this craft. Your first few films might be awesome. But they won't need to be 1080p, cuz they sure as hell ain't gonna see the big screen. For learning the ropes, SD will do just fine.
Manual exposure and manual focus are SO MUCH more important than full HD. You mentioned audio -- you'll be recording externally? Or are you just shooting music vids?
Manual exposure and manual focus are SO MUCH more important than full HD. You mentioned audio -- you'll be recording externally? Or are you just shooting music vids?
dude...ok check it out... in 19 steps, because 20 is clearly too many:
1.go on amazon.com
2. go to camcorder section.
3. change the "sort" to "price: low to high".
4. scroll down until you see some cameras in the $100 dollar range.
5. copy paste the names of the cameras into youtube.
6. watch various videos taken with that camera by others.
7. form an opinion.
8. repeat steps 5 through 7 with other cameras on the list.
9. refine opinion.
10. make purchase.
11. don't loose hope when it's not nearly as cool as the images you have in your head.
12. keep making videos no matter how terrible they come out. <<<MOST IMPORTANT STEP!
13. get a little older
14. get a part time job after school (i'm assuming here...)
15. save up save up save up.
16. return to this forum.
17. see what amazing camera everyone here is talking about and must have.
18. purchase camera with newly earned small fortune
19. aaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnddddddddddd ACTION.
GOOD LUCK DUDE!
1.go on amazon.com
2. go to camcorder section.
3. change the "sort" to "price: low to high".
4. scroll down until you see some cameras in the $100 dollar range.
5. copy paste the names of the cameras into youtube.
6. watch various videos taken with that camera by others.
7. form an opinion.
8. repeat steps 5 through 7 with other cameras on the list.
9. refine opinion.
10. make purchase.
11. don't loose hope when it's not nearly as cool as the images you have in your head.
12. keep making videos no matter how terrible they come out. <<<MOST IMPORTANT STEP!
13. get a little older
14. get a part time job after school (i'm assuming here...)
15. save up save up save up.
16. return to this forum.
17. see what amazing camera everyone here is talking about and must have.
18. purchase camera with newly earned small fortune
19. aaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnddddddddddd ACTION.
GOOD LUCK DUDE!
For my price range, I am not at all expecting good camera audio. External looks like the way to go, I found a recorder and mic which together are under $100. I can find a creative way to sync without a clapboard.
You assume correctly. Also, I was thinking a better job during the summer... I was also thinking that I could do some free work on local indie projects.
The black magic cinema camera looks like it will probably be that camera.
And... I don't know. I just feel like 1080p is the standard, and it comes pretty cheap these days. Anyway, I know for certain that I'm getting a new camera, so I think there's no reason not to get a 1080p camera. Everyone's been telling me if it ain't broke don't fix it, well it's pretty broke. HOWEVER, if there is a camera where the money goes less toward the resolution and more toward other aspects, ISO, framerate, low light capability, audio, you name it, let me know.
Also, I have kicked FCPX from my wish list for now, so I have a bit more money to spend on the camera as well.
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