Like Youtube videos? Or short film movies?

Well I'm working on a YouTube series and I like to make short films but my camera sucks.

I'm saving up for this: http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp...odel=AG-HPX170

You can often find freelancers who will bring their own rig. If you want the results - a well shot video - and are not personally fascinated by the process - choosing lenses, setting up angles, implementing lighting, color balancing, logging shots, editing to tell a story, etc. - then leave it to the pros. Hire someone who's been passionate for life about being a total master of their art and craft, but who couldn't find a hot-selling keyword with both hands and a flashlight. Team up.

Regards,
Allen

Anything with 3ccd chip or HD but make sure you get a deicent Mic as the ones on the camcorders pick up room ambience. Choose a lapel mic or a boom mic. Check out ebay.

I just got a Canon Vixia HF20 and IT IS AMAZING! I highly recommend this camera. I also bought Mass Control 2 and said to myself "I want to make videos as good a Frank's".

Now I'm sure Frank uses a "Pro-sumer" grade camera, but this Vixia HF20, even on it's middle settings, is indistinguishable (to my eyes at least) to Frank's videos.

Here... check out a video (yes, it's a "driving" video) I shot with this camera for my church. Especially look at the quality at the end where we are on the beach... about at 6 minutes or so. Make sure you're viewing it HQ in YouTube.

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HI Folks,

Which type video camera would you recommend in the Canon line --I would like to be able to use the Canon *camera* (dSLR) lenses on the video camera.

The videos are for a website and YouTube (HD) for mostly travel videos.

Thanks, Sam

It depends on the type of video you are planning to do. Video for Youtube you can use any webcam camera, it does NOT need to be a highend camera. Some use digital photo camera's (most have video capability).

I use a Sanyo Xacti HD 720P Video Camera, it uses SD Cards and saves in MP4 format.

For editing software I use Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 8.0 and I created my own green screens to use with the chroma key effect of the software.

You do NOT need highend capability to do web based video. A lot here talk about how you need studio quality video and sound. My testing shows otherwise.

Though if you are doing DVD quality video to ship out in a physical DVD then yes I would go with the more highend equipment and audio equalizer mixer with quality microphone.

You can get studio quality and build yourself a nice studio for under 10k, which includes everything you need.


- Terry

You know if I was just starting I would get something like the flip camera and try my skills first plus it will be a great addition later on.

Have a look at this video as it highlights the quality and also a few suggestions on the better equipment.

Multimedia | The Internet Marketers Club

Watch it on HD to see the real quality comparison.

Quentin

PS: By the way if you really want to get into video then watch some of these tutorials.

http://www.digitaljuice.com/dj_training/default.asp

PPS: and some more at Vimeo

http://vimeo.com/channels/theedit

Hi guys.

Freelance/indie filmmaker here. I apologize in advance if I sound a bit too "elitist" or "snobbish"

Honestly you need to first figure out just what level of principal photography you want. Obviously you're not looking to "film" anything, you're looking to "videotape" something. The majority of these IM "gurus" use simple consumer camcorders which get the job done well. Remember, you're not shooting some epic narrative feature or short film that's to be submitted to film festivals worldwide or within the country. You're not aiming for Sundance or Tribeca where your film will be screened and possibly purchased. All you're aiming to do here is make a few *videos* (note that the word used is not "film") on IM and get them out there. For that, your "Sony Handycam" MIGHT be fine, but it begs the question on what model it is.

I personally own one consumer cam, one prosumer cam, and one professional cam.

The consumer camcorder is used for just ordinary point-and-shoot ventures. Nothing big, nothing important. In fact, it's played a few parts as props in short films I've made. It's a Panasonic PV-GS85 that I purchased a few years ago. The camera shoots on DV.

My prosumer camera is quite a beauty. I purchased her for about $900 a year after I purchased the GS85. She's a Sony HandyCam HDR HC-1, the first in the line of HC camcorders you see today in stores. Of course, she was discontinued long before I purchased it and for a really good reason: Manual focus lens. There's a reason the newer HDR HC models lack a manual focus lens. Sony deemed it "too good" for the consumer/prosumer market to the point that their prosumer target audiences were buying it instead of the HVR-A1U, its higher-end counterpart that looks the same but contains two XLR ports (for boom microphones, obviously) and other extra features. It shoots on HDV.

My professional camera, on the other hand, has been mentioned in this thread. It is the Panasonic AG-HVX200b (well, it's the revision model) and shoots on P2 flash memory which I absolutely love. I hate to even think about dropping it

Now if you're shooting just IM promotional videos I would suggest just sticking to a consumer camera, hopefully on a tape-based format. Let me speak out vocally against DVD and hard drive recorders right now:

1. DVD-RW is a very fragile medium and extremely slow and tedious. You do not want to shoot on any sort of optical disc format, because you're going to be very frustrated at it. Consumers love it, I hate it.

2. Hard drives are unreliable compared to flash memory. If you must refuse a tape-based format such as MiniDV or HDV, I highly suggest flash memory over hard drives any day. The biggest downside to a hard drive-based camcorder is having to export all your footage once your hard drive is full and not being able to just swap it out with another tape or memory stick.

Isn't it just hot? I think so! I'm aiming for a RED next

I have two friends, one who owned an HV20 and one who currently owns an HV30 (the upgrade to the HV20). They love it, but for the same price you can pick up a new/slightly used HC1 which in my opinion is much more superior in that price range because of its manual focus lens

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Also:

When it comes to editing software, I swear by only two different programs. Those are Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro. I'm only not listing Avid Media Composer because I simply have not used it yet. I plan on doing so, but not at this time. For now, Premiere and Final Cut do exactly what is required.

I don't approve of any other editing programs such as iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, Sony Vegas, or anything else for that matter. I've tried a lot of editing software and have found flaws in them =P

That and I swear by a MacBook Pro as my primary system of work!

Mate, I have a Canon HV20 HD. Swear by it. Has "Cine" option which softens the contrasts right down to make it look like 24 fps film. Check this out -

Fear of Falling test shots on Vimeo

And this one is Full HD -

Fear of Falling: Episode One on Vimeo



(Can't work out how to embed them here???)