Consumer cameras for documentary

[winright007]

With the quality of consumer cameras you can get today, is it possible to make a documentary and come close to the same quality as professional cameras?

I have to resort to cheaper methods these days. I have Sony Vegas Pro 9, and wondering if that will help with quality issues.

I'm not looking for the exact same quality as a professional camera, but I don't want it to look like a home movie either.

 

[majicpictures]

many documentary filmmakers shoot on digital. cinematic look is not necessary for such films, and often brings a much larger budget than a documentary filmmaker can afford - so video is an easy method to use, without sacrificing the quality of the storytelling.

a canon HG10,HV30/20 should work fine. i suggest you invest in a microphone with a boom pole, however.
all 3 of those cameras are **relatively** affordable, and offer superb image quality.

vegas pro isn't exactly the best to edit on, but it'll do the trick. much better for cutting that windows moviemaker. do yourself a favor, get final cut/avid

 

[Joker B]

A pro camera will let you work more quickly. A pro camera will survive more abuse. That said, there are some great consumer/prosumer cameras out there. If you watch your lighting you can achieve great things with them. A pro camera will also buy you more onlookers and security-guard interference, in some documentary situations.

Take a look at some clips from Vimeo:
http://www.vimeo.com/tag:hv20
http://www.vimeo.com/tag:hv40

I'm kind of fond of http://www.vimeo.com/6427323 today


Check out the April edition of American Cinematographer for a feature example ("Crank: HV"). Be aware that filmmkaers wanted that modern video "bite" for what they got. Their movie is like an extreme sports vid with big guns.