HD on a budget?

R

rca

Hi All

Looking to start moving my screen plays forward. (Shane Meadows, Nil by Mouth type stuff)

Looking for the film look and I have a bunch of prime Canon L Series SLR lenses as Iam photographer. I have looked at the:

Sony HVR-A1E £1702
Canon XHA1 £2573

and various 35mm adaptors (even the home made type).

Problem is I only I have £1000 budget for a camera so Iam not sure HD can be done...

So have considered a SD camera but these appear to be a DES at the moment. Cheap but soon to be in the loft along with the BetaMax, CD Player...

Regards
RCA
 
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Hey, Welcome!

I'll start by saying that the best way to look like film is to shoot on film... the grayscale of digital cameras isn't as big as the grayscale on film. You CAN make a it look similar to film but you won't get close.

For a $1000 budget, you can rent a HD camera but you can't buy one... even HDV cameras cost upwards of $4000.

I think the Panasonic HVX200 is only $2500 but I may be wrong.. that might be the DVX100.
 
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You can get an HV20 or HV30 for under $1000, they're pretty much the little siblings of the XHA1. While they don't offer quite the same control of settings as the XHA1 does, they are very usable, and shutter speeds/frame rates can be locked...

Also, being much smaller in size it'd be more convenient if you're planning to use 35mm adapters and whatnot.

Of course, as has been discussed endlessly, there is MUCH more to achieving a "film look" than a 24p image with shallow depth of field.. Art direction, lighting, sound, and a solid script will put you miles ahead, even without shooting 24p or using shallow focus...

Looking to get high production value at minimal cost? I can highly recommend you pick up a copy of the DV Rebel's Guide... it's all about maximizing production value with minimal expenditure, and how best to utilize what you've already got, etc..
 
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apologies I have around £1000-1500, Iam in England, so around

$3000

I have considered buying a PAL camera in the USA as they are way cheaper than here in the UK. I have a friend who lives in Florida who travels back regular so he would bring it over with him.

Lots of indie film makers here I have spoken with swear by the Canon XHA1.
 
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3000 US dollars [:O]


thats great. i think you can easily by a great JVC CAM.. which costs 1999 US DOLLARS just check out the JVC AMERICA site..i visited there many times and the CAM i loved most was of 1999US dollars..........HD cam

though im bot aprofessional but i believe no one here will disagree me that they are the BEST cams under US 2k.....
 
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I Love My Panasonic hdc sd9

Only thing i do different { same as most cams tho}
the on board mic is kind of crappy with wind and low
so boom mic or wireless running thru a board sound awesome =]

Video from that camera blows me away
i spent 700 on it but im sure you might be able to find it cheaper
 
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How much are you planning to spend on lenses and what not and are you including that in your final estimation of your budget? To get a really film-ish look, an SGPro will run you at least another 300GBP. http://www.sgpro.co.uk/, but looking at videos of it in action on vimeo.com, it seems worthwhile.

According to eBay right now, you can get a Canon XH-A1 for about $2800 used. However, two other really good prosumer HD camcorders that haven't been mentioned in this thread yet are the Sony HDR-FX7 or the earlier Sony HDR-FX1. It's a possibility that they can be had under $2500. The exchange rate right now is 1 GBP = 1.76 US, so you can do the math on that.

Hope that helps.
 
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I bought my Sony HVR-A1E for just over a grand on ebay. It took a little while and a few failed bids and a couple of people trying to scam me on gumtree before i got it but it happened in the end

now looking to spend any money i have on additional sound recording equipment etc
 
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Have you thought about Panasonic's AGHMC-150?

Stores the video on SD media. Right now, you apparently have to perform a workaround for editing i.e., convert the AVCHD to files you can actually edit but this could be resolved by the time you finish shooting your film.

I've shot some stuff with one recently...

Amazing. As good as the HVX to my eye.

filmy
 
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A few things that Will spoke about definitely are key to your issue. The HV20/30/40 are within your budget range for 1080 HD. Also, that DV Rebel's Guide is also priceless! GREAT information!

I've always been partial to Canon myself, so I'd second the HV20/30/40. The only issues you would have to be concerned with are some lack of manual controls that you find on the big boys like the XH-A1, not as good low-light performance, and perhaps not as rich color (I don't know if the HV's use 4:2:0 or 4:1:1, or what)
 
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