My wife is interested in experimenting with filming in the hopes of eventually working on feature films. She's currently in grad school, and will be heading back to China (where she's from) this summer for a few months off. She hopes to use that time to experiment with filming (probably not anything with actors yet—just getting used to the camera, etc.).
After reading a lot of posts on this forum (this place is great, by the way), we're thinking of getting her a JVC GZ-HD7 (we're hoping to keep all equipment costs together to around $1500-$2000). I found it at B&H Photo for $1000. Can someone tell me the difference between this and the Canon GL2 (which we were also thinking about)?
In addition, what else would you recommend we get so that she can spend the summer learning the technical side of filming? I think so far she's hoping for things that she can use all by herself (e.g. nothing like a boom mic that would require another person to hold it). For reference, she has a MacBook (not Pro) with iMovie '08 on it.
Here's what we're thinking in addition:
1. On-camera mic. Any suggestions? I saw good reviews of the Azden SGM-2X at B&H Photo.
2. Beachtek DXA-2S so she can use an XLR mic.
3. Tripod (does it matter what kind we get?)
4. Something for storage/backup of her films. What do you all use as storage/backup systems? We're planning on getting her a portable hard drive (WD My Passport 320 GB). In addition, we're debating between buying her another external drive (probably 1 TB) or just having her burn things to DVD occasionally. Her hard drive failed once and we lost some data, so we're very nervous about something like that happening again.
Well, I guess that's it. We would appreciate any suggestions for what to buy (without loading down her suitcase too much).
After reading a lot of posts on this forum (this place is great, by the way), we're thinking of getting her a JVC GZ-HD7 (we're hoping to keep all equipment costs together to around $1500-$2000). I found it at B&H Photo for $1000. Can someone tell me the difference between this and the Canon GL2 (which we were also thinking about)?
In addition, what else would you recommend we get so that she can spend the summer learning the technical side of filming? I think so far she's hoping for things that she can use all by herself (e.g. nothing like a boom mic that would require another person to hold it). For reference, she has a MacBook (not Pro) with iMovie '08 on it.
Here's what we're thinking in addition:
1. On-camera mic. Any suggestions? I saw good reviews of the Azden SGM-2X at B&H Photo.
2. Beachtek DXA-2S so she can use an XLR mic.
3. Tripod (does it matter what kind we get?)
4. Something for storage/backup of her films. What do you all use as storage/backup systems? We're planning on getting her a portable hard drive (WD My Passport 320 GB). In addition, we're debating between buying her another external drive (probably 1 TB) or just having her burn things to DVD occasionally. Her hard drive failed once and we lost some data, so we're very nervous about something like that happening again.
Well, I guess that's it. We would appreciate any suggestions for what to buy (without loading down her suitcase too much).