Sunday, August 18, 2013

Is there a camcorder you can buy for under £2000 that produces almost movie-quality videos?

canon digital camera 600d price on DSLR Camera Info: Canon Rebel Digital Camera Body
canon digital camera 600d price image



Lord Herpo


I know absolutely nothing about camcorders and have never owned one, however my brother is an avid youtuber (mostly producing videos of people outdoors) and would like to buy him a mid-range to high-end one for no more than £2000 for his 21st birthday. All good advice and recommendations appreciated.

p.s. please don't start yapping on about what price boundaries constitute 'high-end' and 'mid range', I couldn't care less, I really just want a decent camcorder.
p.p.s. Also, before anyone mentions it I already know that imax and other movie cameras can cost hundreds of thousands, so I'm not expecting that. But I'd like a camera that produces smooth, deep colour saturated and all round quality footage



Answer
You're absolutely right about the cost of cinema cameras, they cost far too much for most of us to buy. Before I go on, there is a key point to consider: Cinema cameras (even lower end ones) fall into two categories; film, and digital.

Film is mostly used in big budget productions, and even if it was affordable, it would be nigh-on useless for a YouTuber. So we can rule out any film camera.

Digital cameras are a lot cheaper and easier to use. However, most cinema ones record at a very high resolution (I am sure you are aware how resolution works as in a simple count of how many pixels make up the image). Most of our entertainment systems, including YouTube, are designed to cope with anything up to HD. This has a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. Digital cinema cameras record anywhere up to 8 times this. If you try uploading this to YouTube, it will fail dismally. For this reason, you should only shop for HD or 2K cameras. HD will be a lot cheaper.

The best image quality for price ratio comes when you look into a DSLR cameras. Primarily, they are designed for taking pictures. However, they are built very similarly to cinema cameras in the way that they are made up of modules: the lens, the video recorder, the audio recorder. Most modern DSLRs come with HD video recording. Although there are limitations, for your price range they are the best option. Because of the module-like system they use, they will also be a perfect way for your brother to learn about how cinema cameras work. I personally think learning is the best gift you can give someone. This way, when he moves into the industry, he will have learned the basics.

I've put a list below of the gear I would recommend for low budget filming. Most of the following items I personally own. Remember, audio is just as important as video, which is why I've listed some pricey audio gear. Another great thing about the audio gear is that it will last a lot longer than the video gear. Should, in a few years time, the actually camera body become out of date, that will be the only thing your bro will need to replace. All the other gear will still be perfect. I'll link to all the gear on Amazon.

Camera Body (part that records the video):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-600D-Digital-Camera-Body/dp/B004MPQXS2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360147601&sr=8-1

Lens (inputs light to camera body):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-EF-S-18-200mm-3-5-5-6-IS/dp/B001E97GIA/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1360147887&sr=1-1

Ref Mic (records audio into camera for reference audio when editing and viewing rushes):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/RODE-VideoMic-Directional-On-Camera-Microphone/dp/B004K8WPUQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1360147999&sr=1-1

Rig (Adds a focus system and mattebox which improves image quality):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/CamSmart-Follow-Camcorder-Cameras-DSR-PD198p/dp/B007QJ76H8/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pdT1_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=243WVOLRWPVHV&coliid=I1745IZKF8DUI6

Boom Mic (Gives high quality XLR audio for use in final edit):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/NTG2-MICROPHONE-KIT-WITH-BOOMPOLE/dp/B003RAJ0LK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pdT1_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=243WVOLRWPVHV&coliid=I1PP0PR0MQS4X7

Audio Recorder (plug boom mic into this and record audio to be synced in post using clapper):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zoom-H4n-H4N-Digital-Recorder/dp/B002WQFJII/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=243WVOLRWPVHV&coliid=I3HFQJPQ6EKW3J

Tripod (to mount camera rig):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Konig-Professional-Camera-Camcorder-Tripod/dp/B00158SB34/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360148248&sr=8-1

Clapper (sync audio to video in post, and to easily log shots):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B0085RVDIS/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all&qid=1360148295&sr=1-1-catcorr

High Speed Memory (for both camera and H4n to store video. Buy 4 - two for each device):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-3A114807-64GB-FFP/dp/B007PYBQKC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360148354&sr=8-1

There we are! A total of under £1950. It will give your brother great video and audio, plus a huge amount of learning to do. He is a lucky guy! Hope this help you. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

what is the cheapest canon dslr that has video option?




Joe P


what is the cheapest canon dslr that has video option?
I thought all canon dslr would have video in them, and they would have basic features like taking picture while looking at digital display. Apparently there is plenty of unfinished stuff going on with these dslr cameras.
Also is there a list of canon dslr cameras based on price and usability? like from simplest to more capable?



Answer
All the current dSLR's have a video feature.

Look at the Canon 1100D or 600D

What you need to know if you intend to shoot video using a dSLR

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/camcorders/cam-cam.shtml

After you read this, you will see that just owning a camera with a video feature, will require a lot of accessories, adding to the cost of your "cheap" camera

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/techniques/3_years_later_dslr_video_one_mans_perspective.shtml




Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Title Post: Is there a camcorder you can buy for under £2000 that produces almost movie-quality videos?
Rating: 94% based on 99768 ratings. 4,5 user reviews.
Author: Unknown

Thank FOr Coming TO My Blog

No comments:

Post a Comment