Yup! Grant needs help ... please ...

[Grant]

Grant knows nothing about making movies and what type of video cameras there are out there. I have never owned a movie camera so I don't even have an idea of what is what. I was thinking of being able to control exposure and focus and then maybe stop frame ... is this all reasonable?


If anyone knows of a site for the Video digital dummy in me I would appreciate it.

_

[NMarti]

Grant
Here is a site with several digital camcorder reviews. Hope it helps.
http://www.steves-digicams.com/digvideo.html

Also - at the bottom of the page are numerous links to help you out too.

[Grant]

Nancy

Much thanks.

_

[CarolLHB]

Grant-
We just picked up a very nice Panasonic with optical image stabilization at mid-price range (around $600US) for the band. I'll get you the model number-it's a sweet little camera. Aren't you glad you have the iMac for editing??

[Grant]

Carol

I would appreciate that.

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[CarolLHB]

Grant-

This is from the Panasonic website. We got it at BestBuy for about $100 less on sale. Takes excellent videos-

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=96240&catGroupId=25003&modelNo=PV-GS300&surfModel=PV-GS300&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702

[bwolford]

Grant, you are going to love this question. What's your budget? My son has a Canon GL-2 that is almost near HD quality. It is TV quality and you will see this camera used for independent films quite often. It's a prosumer camera. Consider it the 5D of video cameras.

Brice

[Grant]

Consider it the 5D of video cameras.


Brice

That does look like a great camera ... for a dedicated videographer ... unfortunately my desires are a lot less. At this point I know nothing about video and quite simply just want to explore it. To draw a parallel to the old photography world I want an entry level piece of equipment similar to the Nikon FM10 or an EOS Rebel K2.

At this time I do have one expensive hobby and a wife and I don't want to give up on either. :)

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[LindaRose]

At this time I do have one expensive hobby and a wife and I don't want to give up on either. :)

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I can relate to that:D
We have a Sony Digital Video Camera, and we have had nothing but trouble with it. If you want I could ask advise from a classmate of mine that is just finishing up with the visual communications program, his specialty is Video. He might know of some good web sites to go to also.

LindaRose

[Grant]

LindaRose

I would and do appreciate all the help I can get one this project.

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[PaulH]

As one who has "played" with it - in lieu of film for a few years.
I'd look at one of the new ones with a hard drive.

I edit almost everything I do. Tape is not needed with the 10 hour or so hard drives. A combination of stills and video makes a neat show.

Being a mac user you have firewire....

I tried editing 3 years ago with Premiere and was lost - now having learned enough PSE interface it might make sense - but I'm not going to try :)

I have a few years old JVS - 26x zeiss made glass that does pretty well considering. There are a LOT of decent ones now - much smaller size (and price) I mainly shoot wildlife.

[Byron Gale]

Grant,

What do you want to do with the video after you tape it?

If you want to edit/compose your own masterpiece, and then burn to DVD for display purposes - you should probably shop for a camera that fits well with the application you will use to edit.

Using Adobe Premiere Elements as an example - that app is designed around a DV-AVI workflow, which essentially requires that you have camera which records onto MiniDV tapes.

If you select a camcorder which records onto little DVDs, or onto an internal hard drive, you will likely need to select an editing app which has a MPEG workflow at heart.

To my understanding, the MiniDV-based DV-AVI files are the least-compressed images, resulting in higher-quality end-products. (WOW, a five-hyphen sentence!! (six if you count the parenthetical remarks...))

Another consideration might be if the camera can be used as a pass-through digitizer, allowing you capture analog sources like a VHS deck, or something similar.

THIS (http://www.chuckengels.com/articles/whatsoftware.html) article on chuckengels.com gives a good rundown on various editor apps. THIS (http://www.videoinasnap.com/source/steve/steve_tips_12-05.htm) article on videoinasnap.com talks about how to shop for a camcorder.

I can recommend the content on both of the sites, beyond those two links.

You will also pick up a wealth of information if you peruse the Adobe Premiere Elements U-2-U forum.

HTH,

Byron

[ME100FINN]

Grant, a few years back I purchased a Sony TRV-30 at roughly $1000. It records on the mini-DV tapes. It is hard to grasp the concept that a tape is digital, but it is!! I prefer this version of recording for several reasons. One, the quality is great and from what I read about the future of video recording and such, the DVD and other formats dont capture the same quality. Now if you want to go into the new "HD" recorders, that's a different story I suppose. Second, I feel safe about hitting fast forward and rewind to find what I want and not worry about re-recording over data. I have done that before, but only because the kids grabbed the camera to watch a game recording and didnt play it to the end (and I didnt check it before I used it again). Third, I like the small compact tapes and they usually last for more than enough time for me (60-90min) to record any given event. That makes filing and finding things easy. I simply attach the camera via firewire to my PC and can download what I want. The camera itself has oogles of features too, in additon to recording still images ON TAPE that can be captured. This camera is out of production now I am sure, replaced with a much cheaper, newer version. I have been extremely pleased with Sony video cameras. I did my research on the Steve's Digicam site and it helped seal the deal for me. Very informative site.

[Carbone]

I will step in for a few seconds...

1st, with Canon DVD based camcorders, direct video transfer to a Mac isn't supported :

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=OSCompatibilityAct&fcategoryid=102&keycode=macdr

And the same thing appear to be the case with DVD based Sony camcorders. One could probably extract the content with such application as Roxio Popcorn BUT THIS IS NOT TESTED. On the PC, you need Roxio MyDVD or something similar to extract the video. I have not researched the reasons for this.

That, however, is not an issue with Hard Drive based camcorders. Many models offer Macintosh connectivity through USB 2.0 interface for fast download of content (if not all).

Finally, JVC has had bad ratings on picture quality, by the way, for their HDD models. I'd avoid them, unless quality is less important then features.

2nd, Adobe Premiere ceased to be a Mac application some years ago. On the Mac, there's iMovie for beginners and hobbyist. Final Cut Express HD for advanced amateur and DV pro. Final Cut Pro for profesionals (film maker). ALL OF THESE ARE UNIVERSAL APPLICATIONS.

Ray

[mom to 4]

I have a sony Digital video camera we bought about 7 or 8 years ago and it is wonderful. I guess we paid about $800. way back then, but it has been great. Our first video camera was purchased in 1989 and it was a Canon. It was just awful! Nothing but trouble which was why I was so hesitant to buy a Canon Rebel, but after being on here I did and I love it. But our Sony is great!

[mom to 4]

I just check, my sounded a lot like Beatrice's so I checked......mine is a Handicam TRV-103. Very happy with it, and of course, I am sure they no longer make it.:D

[LindaRose]

Grant,
I'll ask him tomorrow night in class. He is in a general ed class with me. I didn't even know he was in the same program as me until we were assigned a group project and he volunteered to do the video editing for our presentation. The groups are getting together after the BIG test. That reminds me, I should be studying instead of playing on this forum :D

Linda

[Grant]

I would like to thank everyone for their efforts. With all your help I think I have a good idea about what type of camera I would need.

The one think I have found amusing is the less expensive the camcorders are the wider the zoom range. At $500 I can easily find 30X zoom, at $1000 seems that 10x is what they offer and at $5,000 some of the camcorders come with no lens.

[Carbone]

I got this note earlier today from Canon :

Canon's DC camcorders would not utilize firewire connections. With the
exception of the DC100 camcorder, they would transfer video via USB 2.0
connection and any video capturing program that supports USB 2.0.
Finalized video can be played on any DVD-Rom or DVD player as a movie.

This would indicate that using USB 2.0 instead of the usual FireWire, Canon DVD based camcorder would be able to transfer video over to a Mac.

Later found this in iMovie HD help :

Some camcorders may not have a FireWire port. For example, some cameras that produce MPEG-4 video use USB ports as video connections. Although you cannot import the video directly into iMovie HD, you can use the USB port to transfer your footage onto your hard disk, and then drag and drop your video clips into your iMovie HD projects.

Ray

[Grant]

Thanks for the info on the Canons.

From what I have been reading the DVD camcorders are not as desirable as the MiniDV for quality and the HD and HDD are a bit out of my price ranges for a hobby that is untried.

The Canon MiniDV Don't seem to have the same problem with transferring data as there DVD have.

While the Canon and Sony camcorders do seem very nice the Panasonic three CCD cameras grab the engineer in me. To get all the features I think I want I do have to leave my spending comfort zone. After all this may be my first Camcorder and I am not to sure if this art form is for me.

Software is not a problem because in the beginning easy is good. What I am finding is that to get great results I may have to get use to story boarding and the like. I am not to sure if my way of thinking will work with this. So now the problem is not the equipment but maybe in my creative limitations, therefore the resistance to spending lots of money.

[Carbone]

Just found this on the Apple discussion board :
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1500342�

Basically, you can extract the mpeg movie from the mini-dvd, but you have to make up for the lost of time codes, etc. MiniDV is the best, and DV is the only reliable format for iMovie and Final Cut Express.

Ray

[bwolford]

Grant I was a touch tongue in cheek about the GL-2... 3-CCD is the way to go, as you already know. Mini-DVD recorders are a bit ahead of their time. I would stick with mini-DV.

HD is, as you've discovered, not for the budget conscious. I've had Canon, JVC, and Sony cameras. I've found the Sony has bells and whistles I never used. Canon was very nice, but your compatibility concerns are legit. I think the Canon is my favorite (I have a consumer Mini-DV, it's my son who has the GL-2 that I can't touch).

Brice