HELP! lost filmmaker trying to reclaim ground please send help

which camear do you think

  • nx5u

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • hmc 150

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • other??

    Votes: 1 100.0%

  • Total voters
    1
**********NOT-SO-IMPORTANT-STUFF***************​


so, i have been around filming for many years now since my earlier days i have allowed filming to slip away on me, i know shame on me. i have registered at this website because i have seen the high-quality questions and answers going in and being stripped of personal time. i feel that this is the first place i should begin on my wild adventure before lunging into the cold camera world.

my camera days experience revolve around "best buy" cameras
2nd. my most highly prized camera I've ever owned thus far was a canon gl-1
i have done plenty of photography starting out with disposables and moved on to DSLR cameras.

I've spent my last 3 years in heavy research on a documentary that i really want to share with anyone interested enough to view it.

I've also been in constant production with my music side of life. producing beats and such for friends.
so they have also realized i have a battering talent or skill in editing and filming I've just fell off my horse and need to get back on. so now that you know me a bit better and know that I've been out of the camera world since the gl1 (which wasn't the xl2 or the xl1 for that matter)
if my choices were as they were back then the answer would be a hands down obvious.

so i am stuck in this boat trying to mass research in hopes to find the true camera of my dreams
so far i have narrowed it down to two.

now that I'm done kissing some ass



********* IMPORTANT**********

Panasonic hmc 150
Sony nx5u​


i have realized that there are some differences between these cameras such as the 13x vs the 20x lens
i also get that there is no condenser mic for the hmc150 so i would have to spend some money on my quality of sound.

Sony has the hard drive which does sound nice and the massive battery right out of the box.. which from what i have read the hmc 150 doesn't and just comes with a puny minor battery which would force me to buy an additional battery right off the bat.


***BOILING DOWN, IMPORTANT *****​


either between these cameras or the camera of your choice for creating music videos, documentary work, and a possible movie like film/show with in a budget of say $5,000 or less would you have an opinion.


my goal for this thread is to help shed some light and make my choice much easier at the moment i almost feel the best price is in the nx5 but I'm starting to have cold feet after being out for so long.



i hope this topic helped someone as well.
thank you for all your time i really appreciate it
 
i forgot to mention that i would need a few accessories to be budgeted in with this equation
tripod/warranty ( 5yr if i could)/bag/mem sd or anything that fits the requirements/ shotgun mic ( if needed)/ extra battery would be nice/ and anything else you might think of that i dont at the moment


i priced everything i would roughly need in my "kit"


and with the mic/bat/memory/bag/warranty/tripod - i'm looking around 4900
with the hmc 150


with the sony i'm looking aroung 5100?
getting the warranty/mem/bag/tripod
 
That GL1 is a really nice camera (at standard definition) as it has all the same "guts" as the Xl1.

That said, I have very little experience with the cameras you're asking about, but can give you some advice based on having to hop from camera to camera.

Make sure that the controls make sense to you before you buy them and look at plenty of sample footage taken with them (youtube and vimeo are your friends). You'll be living those controls, so they have to be accessible and in the places you want them to be based on what you're used to. Buried in menus isn't something that will be helpful on set, so if you can get real live tactile external wheels and knobbies and whatnot, it'll be better when you're actually shooting.
 
I don't think I could ever go back to shooting standard-def, and you can have my 35mm L-series lenses when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers.
 
I appreciate your swift responses.

Thank you for the advice too. I have looked at hours of footage from both cameras. Haha I would like to think I've carefully watched every video on each camera at least once. I will for surely take your thoughts to heart.


As far as "cool kids " I think I completely would like a camcorder. Haha nothing personal to you just a personal thing for me. I realize the camera world has switched it seems but I firmly believe there is a tool for the job and dslr cameras just don't seem like they would survive the abuse. They,in my opinion are noted for short use which the idea of lens and filters seems very appealing but the last thing I would want is to be a year or less perhaps into shooting the footage of my life and I burn it out.

Not that I don't appreciate your input it allows me to know people are caring

So thank you
 
Thank you for the advice too. I have looked at hours of footage from both cameras. Haha I would like to think I've carefully watched every video on each camera at least once.
You can look at all the footage you want and that won't make a bit
of difference. The camera is a tool. If you do not use it well you will
not make a good movie. You can buy a $100,000 camera and still get
poor quality.

I know that falls on deaf ears, but I still feel compelled to say it. So...

***************skip this part****************

The difference between a 13x zoom and a 20x zoom is nothing - completely
irrelevant.

The battery life is close to irrelevant. So you have to own two batteries. You
should own two no matter what.

And when it comes to audio no matter what camera you use you MUST
buy and use a good mic so the on board mic is completely irrelevant.

I have personally used both the cameras you mention. You are going to
hate this next part:

Both are fine cameras and if you toss a coin and choose that way you
will love the camera that you get by pure chance. No need to watch hours
of footage, no need to check all the specs. They way YOU use the camera
will determine how good the footage looks. All the cameras by the major
manufacturers in your price range are great for creating music videos,
documentary work, and a possible movie like film/show.


*************start reading here*************

Get the Sony HXR-NX5U and a good shotgun mic.
 
I was firmly on the no-DSLR train... until I used one on my last shoot. After 8 days and 12+ hours of usable footage, I'm looking at them as where I want to go now. DONATIONS ACCEPTED ;)
 
I get what your saying about the limit to the user I look at the footage of a camera to see what creative capabilities a talented camera user has with that specific camera Now I have a goal .

I understand the battery thing the main thing to this post is should I go a bit extra and buy the newer of the technology is it worth it ? Or should I but the older one the bunch


But again I appreciate your input I understand your time is valued so again thank you
 
I would say that regardless of what camera you use, you should at the very least be shooting in 16:9 HD. Standard def just looks bad in comparison.
 
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