Place sense to camera spec's!

C

chiefkojo

Hi guys!
I am at a point of looking into purchasing my first video camera. Being new in this industry of film making, a lot of the spec’s just drive me nuts at the moment. :huh: I would like to purchase a camera that is HD and also has 3-CCD’s. However, it should also be able to focus effortlessly in low light and capture fast action in low light. Any suggestions will be helpful – thanks in advance!
 
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Focus effortlessly in low light and capture fast action in low light? I suppose you could shoot infrared. Why can't you add some ambient light?

I know there are 0 lux cameras out there, and those usually mean they can capture the infrared spectrum (watch Ghost Hunters), but full color, low light and fast action is not going to be easy. I shot some footage with my Canon XL1s (rated at 2 lux) with a couple of candles, but I had to turn the gain up so high that it made the images grainy. The alternative is a slow shutter, but then you get a strobing, blur effect. Looks cool for a dream sequence.
 
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Infrared

LOL - :lol: Infrared could work!

I guess my "newbiness" has shown itself! I am looking into shooting a scene that will have
some ambient light, however; being indoors and not fully lit, I am looking for a camera that
would not have a hard time focusing.

As a photographer, you try and make sure you have the right ISO, aperture and shutter
speed - the less noise the better. Knowing that you need to have
a camera that has the capability of high ISO and an awesome lens with very low aperture. Also do
not forget a tripod to keep your camera as still as possible.

My question then is, what feature in a video camera would take care of a scene were it only has
ambient light and your subjects are moving? If there is more than one feature, feel free to share.
Hope this clarifies it... :D
 
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Now you are starting to understand why lighting is so important even when shooting on video. Since you are indoors, you have complete control over the light, so there's no excuse for not adding some, even if it's some cheap construction lights.

I picked up some paper lanterns at Ikea (6 bucks each). Not only do they make a nice fill light, but if I use lower wattage bulbs they could also do well to boost the overall ambient light of a room without casting hard shadows. The dynamic range of video is much smaller than film so you have to balance your light and dark areas to compensate, i.e. add some light to the shadowy areas or else all that detail is lost.

No matter how you look at it, to get what you're after you are probably going to need to add some light sources or else the resulting image won't be favorable. If you don't want light in the room, what about taking some 1000W construction lights and put them outside, aiming through a window? Add some sheers, and there's your diffused light. Add some blinds, and there's some texture to the light. But note the key word here: "Light". The camera can only see light reflecting from objects. If there isn't much light reflecting, the camera isn't going to see it very well without gain boost and slow shutter (more exposure time). And as you've noted from still photography, slow shutter and wide aperture requires a steady camera or else the image blurs. Same thing happens with video cameras (and film).

EDIT: as for focus, the entire reason I switched from an old Proscan Hi-8 to a Canon XL1s is the Proscan didn't have any manual focus ring and the autofocus was all over the place, especially in low light. It would focus on whatever was in the center of the frame, so if my subject was out of center or if I had any dramatic perspective, it would shift and "hunt" for focus and mess up the shot. With action scenes, by the time an autofocus finds the subject, you've probably missed the action. Blocking the actors in the scene and using manual focus is a better solution. Of course, my experience is still somewhat limited since I haven't used high definition cameras yet, but I suspect the principals are similar.
 
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It seems you will need a video camera that has manual iris,
shutter and focus. That way you control those aspects and
not the automatic features of the camera.

What is your budget range?
 
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The good news is all cameras in that range have the manual controls
you need.

The JVC GY-HD110 sets the standard in this price range. The stock
Fujinon ProHD lens is excellent and it has a standard 1/3-inch bayonet
mount. I like that it can record to tape and disk simultaneously.

Panasonic HVX200 is excellent. Nice 1/3 inch CCD’s, progressive
mode and almost professional controls. The Leica lens is only fair.

Sony HVR-Z7U uses three 1/3” CMOS Sensors. The Zeiss lens is
impressive and it’s a 1/3-inch bayonet mount. You can record to
a standard CompactFlash memory card which makes this camera
very versatile.

There are three Canon cameras in this range, the XL-2, XH-A1
and XH-G1. Only the XL-2 has a removable lens, but it’s only SD
so not really in the running any more.

Both the HX-A1 and the HX-G1 use Canon’s “Frame Mode” which
is inferior to true progressive scanning. The HX-G1 offers HD-SDI
output for uncompressed video.
 
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Save a chunk of that budget for some lights. ;) Spending several thousand dollars on a camera and not putting any money into lights just doesn't make sense. The light is what makes the image. But since it sounds like you have a photography background I would guess you already know that.
 
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