I'm brand spankin new to filmmaking and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. I'm looking for a camera to get started but I don't have a lot of money. $400 is my budget. I've been looking at the Canon Rebel SL1 and the Sony A3000. I want to start by making shorts and once I feel like I'm ready I'll be looking for a better camera to shoot features. Any suggestions would be amazing. Thank you so much.
What kind of camera do you suggest?
- Thread starter susan4sythe
- Start date
Do you have a smartphone?
If yes: go film something short and simple and edit it.
Have fun.
Do this a second time. Or even a third time.
This way you'll find out whether it is as much fun as you think it is, without spending anything on a camera that you might never touch again if it is not as cool as you imagined.
Otherwise: see if can you borrow a camera from a friend or relative. Get them on board of your little first project and it feels less like borrowing for them
In other words: get a taste of what it is like before spending a lot of money on gear. (Where 'a lot' is relative to what you can spend...)
If yes: go film something short and simple and edit it.
Have fun.
Do this a second time. Or even a third time.
This way you'll find out whether it is as much fun as you think it is, without spending anything on a camera that you might never touch again if it is not as cool as you imagined.
Otherwise: see if can you borrow a camera from a friend or relative. Get them on board of your little first project and it feels less like borrowing for them
In other words: get a taste of what it is like before spending a lot of money on gear. (Where 'a lot' is relative to what you can spend...)
I know for a fact this is what I want. I've worked on a few indie productions as an assistant and that's how I decided that I want to direct and produce films. I want to get experience on a real camera rather than an iPhone. I've looked into a lot of options and I've decided that getting a nice camera would be best for me. And I don't know anyone that owns a camera.
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With an iPhone you can still practise framing/composition, shooting in a way that helps creating a good edit. The best camera to use now, is the one you have access to.
And if you really want to be a filmmaker, you don't want to stop yourself from starting by searching for a camera while you have one in your pocket.
You can start NOW.
Shoot a little scene, edit and learn from it.
I know this sounds like being a smartass, but I've seen several people who knew 'for fact' that they wanted to be a filmmaker, but in the end their gear was just collecting dust, because the reality of filmmaking was a lot less glamourous than they imagined.
On the other side: my first project was shot on a crappy webcam in 2000. The resolution was extremely low, the image quality was bad, it was black and white and the computer could just handle 14 frames per second. I couldn't afford a camera and it didn't stop me.
And it was FUN
After that I made a short animation with pencil and paper and a scanner.
Only after I knew this is truly my passion I invested in gear.
So, since you made up your mind:
what kind of shorts would you like to make?
And if you really want to be a filmmaker, you don't want to stop yourself from starting by searching for a camera while you have one in your pocket.
You can start NOW.
Shoot a little scene, edit and learn from it.
I know this sounds like being a smartass, but I've seen several people who knew 'for fact' that they wanted to be a filmmaker, but in the end their gear was just collecting dust, because the reality of filmmaking was a lot less glamourous than they imagined.
On the other side: my first project was shot on a crappy webcam in 2000. The resolution was extremely low, the image quality was bad, it was black and white and the computer could just handle 14 frames per second. I couldn't afford a camera and it didn't stop me.
And it was FUN
After that I made a short animation with pencil and paper and a scanner.
Only after I knew this is truly my passion I invested in gear.
So, since you made up your mind:
what kind of shorts would you like to make?
$400 is not enough for a camera and a microphone.
Unfortunately I doubt anyone is going to want to watch videos where the sound is recorded with the camera's microphone.
Using a smartphone isn't a bad idea.. you can start off by investing your money in audio gear instead.
For example this is a pretty decent microphone for indoor use, used on ebay for $400.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Audix-SCX1-...627897?hash=item3f58047979:g:Wn0AAOSw42JWDy1h
Although that one is a hypercardioid. the one I have is just cardioid.
But then you'll still need an audio recorder.
And if you want to be a real prosumer you'll want a good preamp too, the sound devices mm-1 is about $400 on ebay used if you can find it. or $500 new.
You can install apps on your smartphone to give you a ton more control over your camera.
Don't just brush them aside. Hell the new iPhone is 4k!! And it shoots slow motion.
What you may not realize is that a good image is created through the use of lighting and color correction.
This is more important than what camera you use.
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Welcome to indietalk!
Make sure you also get a mic and use a boom. Audio is just as
important as video. Most who are brand spankin new to filmmaking
don't even consider audio. Don't be that filmmaker.
Get the Canon. A fine camera to start with.
Make sure you also get a mic and use a boom. Audio is just as
important as video. Most who are brand spankin new to filmmaking
don't even consider audio. Don't be that filmmaker.
Thank you, 'rik.
Your project will only look as good as it sounds, because
Sound is half of the experience.
Hi Susan - sadly, the A3000 doesn't have a mic input and the SL1 has a viewfinder that is blocked by the mirror when you shoot video. Neither camera can record a live performance that lasts for more than 30 minutes (because they shut down and have to be restarted).
With a $400 budget, you might want to consider a $214 used Panasonic G6 body, with a $14.69 Canon FD to MFT adapter and a relatively inexpensive Canon FD manual zoom lens. That will leave you just about enough for a simple external mic and boom.
This camera has a mic jack, manual audio gain control, a viewfinder that keeps working when you shoot video, the ability record for hours continuously (like a camcorder) - plus it can record 1080/60p for smooth slow motion (something the A3000 and Canon DSLRs in your price range cannot do).
Here are some examples of the image quality this camera can produce:
Narrative
http://vimeo.com/78037118
http://vimeo.com/81339712
*Music Video*
http://vimeo.com/88584840
http://vimeo.com/84436275
Documentary
http://vimeo.com/97274302
http://vimeo.com/73561266
http://vimeo.com/87978429
http://vimeo.com/78507820
Slow Motion/Sport
http://vimeo.com/100512839
http://vimeo.com/106572210
http://vimeo.com/76503135
Wedding
http://vimeo.com/107366816
http://vimeo.com/104542323
Travel Video
http://vimeo.com/88543042
http://vimeo.com/86145944
It's a pretty good still camera too: https://www.flickr.com/groups/lumix-g6/pool/
Hope this is helpful, good luck with your filmmaking career and best of the holidays!
Bill
With a $400 budget, you might want to consider a $214 used Panasonic G6 body, with a $14.69 Canon FD to MFT adapter and a relatively inexpensive Canon FD manual zoom lens. That will leave you just about enough for a simple external mic and boom.
This camera has a mic jack, manual audio gain control, a viewfinder that keeps working when you shoot video, the ability record for hours continuously (like a camcorder) - plus it can record 1080/60p for smooth slow motion (something the A3000 and Canon DSLRs in your price range cannot do).
Here are some examples of the image quality this camera can produce:
Narrative
http://vimeo.com/78037118
http://vimeo.com/81339712
*Music Video*
http://vimeo.com/88584840
http://vimeo.com/84436275
Documentary
http://vimeo.com/97274302
http://vimeo.com/73561266
http://vimeo.com/87978429
http://vimeo.com/78507820
Slow Motion/Sport
http://vimeo.com/100512839
http://vimeo.com/106572210
http://vimeo.com/76503135
Wedding
http://vimeo.com/107366816
http://vimeo.com/104542323
Travel Video
http://vimeo.com/88543042
http://vimeo.com/86145944
It's a pretty good still camera too: https://www.flickr.com/groups/lumix-g6/pool/
Hope this is helpful, good luck with your filmmaking career and best of the holidays!
Bill
I know I'm going to get flack for this, but I say go for the camera and forget the mic- for now. Do a few "silent" films that are music driven. Then, when you're ready to do a talkie, look into ADR. It's work, but it'll sound good and if you don't have many people to help you out (ie hold a boom), it's a great way to go. You edit using the camera audio as your scratch track, then bring your actors back and re-record every line of dialouge with a nice USB mic (a Blue Snowball or Yeti will work). IS THIS THE RIGHT WAY? NO. But your movie will still sound good- not as good as the right way, but still good and much better than just the camera mic. I've done for a bunch of shorts and three features that screened in a few theaters.
Why would you think that?
Define "good" and "better". Good and better from a purely technical audio fidelity standpoint but NOT from any other standpoint (aesthetically for example), even relative to a camera mic! This is not an absolute rule, there are some rare and specific exceptions. However, these rare exceptions are almost certainly not applicable to the OP. A point which you consistently fail to mention when peddling this advice to others!
G
I'm going to do this for an upcoming short. Just music, foley and no dialogue - I'd described this as a 'silent' film. I think something outstanding can be done in post and saves the cost of a boom swinger.