Getting a Camcorder

B

brewcrew

Hi everyone. I'm a 19 year old college student looking for a new camcorder to use for projects. I'll probably use it to make short movies, and a tv show. The show would be a simple talk show I'd put on youtube. I don't have a huge budget for this and I need money to get a good mic, and maybe some other things so I'm only looking to spend up to $300 on the camcorder. Does anyone have any recommendations?

I'm looking at this sony handycam.

Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks
 
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That's a perfectly acceptable camera. No frills, all automatic and will still get the job done.

There are three things that are VERY important when getting a camera:

Three CCD’s
Manual controls for the iris, shutter, focus and white balance.
A microphone input.

Unfortunately, there is nothing like that in the $300 range. In the
around $1,000 - $1,500 range there are currently only 5:

The JVC GR-X5 is a nice starter camera with manual controls and a
mic input. It can be found for under $800.

The Panasonic series (PV-GS300, PV-GS400, PV-GS500) are terrific
3CCD cameras. It seems the 400 is hard to find and that’s too bad.
It’s a great little camera. But the 500 is still an excellent starter
camera with the essentials.

Sony DCR-HC1000 is very similar to the Panasonic cameras. If you’re
more comfortable with Sony, this is the camera for you.

Several cameras are now moving from tape to hard drive. Called HDD
(hard disc drive) there are a few in this price range that should be
considered. The major downside is the MPEG-2 compression.

Sony DCR-SR300 has a 40GB non-removable hard drive. It holds
9.5 hours in HQ mode. As is all too common with Sony there is
no mic or headphone jack so this camera is not acceptable for
movie making - it’s stuck in the “vacation” level.

I like the new JVC GZ-HD7. I’ve seen these on line for as little
as $1,200. A really nice Fujinon lens makes a huge difference
and full manual controls is important. Three 1/5’ 16:9 progressive
scan CCD’s are pretty impressive for a camera in this price
range. It records directly to a built in 60GB hard drive.

Close is the Canon HV20. It records in HDV (1080i) and 24p (60i),
has a mic input and manual controls of white balance and focus
but it uses one 1/2.7” CMOS sensor rather than 3 CCD’s. For me
the jury is still out on the CMOS. And it’s so small the handling
is difficult.

Bottom line: any camera you can afford is the best one to buy. It's
much better to learn all the other, very important aspects of making
a movie now and get a better camera later, than to keep waiting
until you get a camera with all the essentials.
 
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If you're just starting out -- there's nothing wrong with grabbing a $300 camera to learn a few basics. At that price range, I'd guess they're all pretty similar in features, so I'd suggest picking a brand that you know/like or that has a good reputation. You're probably looking at a miniDV camera. The cheaper ones (like $300) aren't the most reliable, so don't expect it to last forever. Whatever you do, make sure you get a tape head cleaner and run it often.
 
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Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Are there mindv cameras that have mic input in my price range? I could probably spend over $300 if I had to but most likely not over $350. From everything I've read it seems like using the basic mic from the camera isn't a good idea and I should get something like a shotgun mic.
 
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I'm gonna have to agree... get SOMETHING with 3CCDs. 1/6" chips suck... in every way imaginable. The bigger the chip, the better. So, for $350, go on ebay and get the best 3 ccd camera you can. I'm sure the people on this site will help you with that :)
 
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brewcrew said:
Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Are there mindv cameras that have mic input in my price range? I could probably spend over $300 if I had to but most likely not over $350.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, there is nothing like that in the $300 range. In the
around $1,000 - $1,500 range there are currently only 5:

The JVC GR-X5 can be found for under $800.

The Panasonic series (PV-GS300, PV-GS400, PV-GS500)

Sony DCR-HC1000

The JVC GZ-HD7 - my fav.

The Canon HV20
From everything I've read it seems like using the basic mic from the camera isn't a good idea and I should get something like a shotgun mic.
Click to expand...
You're right.

But the main reason isn't the poor mic - it's the "signal to noise ratio".
You need to get the mic as close to the actor as you can - within a
few inches or feet. That way you pick up less ambient "noise" and
more of the dialogue - the signal. So you'll need a mic with a "lobar"
pick up pattern and a boom pole to get it close to the actors.

Frankly, if you put any on camera mic within a few inches of the
actor, you could get pretty good audio quality.
 
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I think I'm going to get a used camera. I've been looking on ebay and all the used CCD cameras are still out of my price range.

I put a bid in on two different cameras over the weekend but was outbid. I really want something with mic input. Any thoughts on what I should try to get on ebay in the $300 price range?
 
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Unfortunately there are no cameras in your price range
with a mic input. The camera you mentioned in your
first post - the DCR-HC28 - is fine. All name brand cameras
in that range are nearly identical - Sony, Panasonic, JVC,
Canon, Samsung, Sharp - you won't be able to tell the
difference.
 
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Using a DVD recorder is a poor choice for anyone who plans
on doing any editing.

The DCR-DVD810 isn't a good camera for making short action,
horror and thriller films - it doesn't have the three essentials
and it records to DVD so you can't do any editing.
 
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directorik said:
Using a DVD recorder is a poor choice for anyone who plans
on doing any editing.

The DCR-DVD810 isn't a good camera for making short action,
horror and thriller films - it doesn't have the three essentials
and it records to DVD so you can't do any editing.
Click to expand...

Well what would you suggest. I dont want to go over $450 and I would like to make my purchase at either best buy or circuit city, for convenience. What are the three essentials then?
 
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DRthunderMD said:
Well what would you suggest. I dont want to go over $450 and I would like to make my purchase at either best buy or circuit city, for convenience. What are the three essentials then?
Click to expand...
Please take a look at my post (the first reply here) where I listed
the essentials and the cameras I suggested.

My list of suggested cameras has changed in the year since I made
that post so you might want to check my other posts about cameras.
The more recent ones have more recent cameras and each post
contains the three essentials.
 
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I "test drive" a lot of cameras, but I've never tested cameras
in your price range so I can't speak from personal experience.
I don't know what the best possible camera in that range is.
In the $300-$500 range all cameras are exactly the same. A
Sony is like a Sharp is like a Canon is like a Panasonic is like
Samsung. You can go to any Best Buy, pick up a camera in that
price range and you won’t be able to tell the difference.

I did a quick on line check and it seems most of the cameras in
your price range are HHD cameras - the compression is poor
and makes editing difficult - so when you head over to Best Buy
check out cameras that record to miniDV. Your choices may be
limited. If there aren't any miniDV cameras available then any
HDD camera will be fine.

While you will be limited in your audio (the on camera mic's are
terrible) you can still learn all the important aspects of making a
movie - even with a $450 camera. Learn to light well, learn about
composing shots, learn how to tell your story visually, learn about
casting, working with actors and crew and scheduling the shoot.

All that can be done even with a $450 camera.

Let me know which camera you decided on, okay?
 
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Very nice used cameras can be found on Ebay for less than your budget.

For instance, a Sony TRV340 is a good intro. Sure, it's a Hi8, but also a digital 8, and has firewire for fast downloading into your computer. It has a shoe, ext mic jack, headphone jack, view finder, and a lcd panel.

Other MiniDV cameras can also be found on Ebay as well. Stay away from DVD cameras, and I don't like the hard disk kind either.

Look for the mic jack, headphone jack, and 3 CCD ( or at least the biggest single CCD you can)
 
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