Sounds like most of the options here are way over the top.
Get yourself a £140 Sanyo Xacti HD cam and just enjoy.
If you find you get really into taking movies then you can go on from there.
No point spending a small fortune.
HD video camcorders
- Thread starter IWC Doppel
- Start date
Sounds like most of the options here are way over the top.
Get yourself a £140 Sanyo Xacti HD cam and just enjoy.
If you find you get really into taking movies then you can go on from there.
No point spending a small fortune.
Fatmarley
"It appears my intelligence circuits have melted"
I was thinking along similar lines.
To be honest, I wish i'd taken your advice ages ago and bought the Sanyo Xacti instead of the Panasonic FZ38. I think portability and ease of use are far more important than ultimate quality.
I'd love a pro camera, but I know i'd hardly ever use it because of the size. I'd also feel a bit of a prat/show-off carrying one of those around.
Am I right in thinking it's very difficult to keep focus on moving objects with video on a DSLR? If so, I'm sure you'll find it a right pain in the arse to use.
IWC Doppel
pfm Member
I had a 1 1/2 hour session with apple looking through iMovie. most impressive, the guy talkig through iMovie awas also very knowledgeable on camcorders/camera's for use with film.
Seems that for fixed tripod mounted scenes, something like the 5D is way ahead. But for motion, practial hand held movies the features of a camcorder change this.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0031RG4...&tag=reevoocomtrue-21&creativeASIN=B0031RG4EU
He thinks with a good camcorder that records in 1080p with image stabilisation and a reasonable lense this will be all you need for very good movie making for what I need.
I think I have settled on this unit and then it's talent I need
Perhaps with time the micro 4/3 chipped units will be small have all the desired image stabilisation and be under the £1k. By then I will hopefully be a better operator worthy of the investment !
Seems that for fixed tripod mounted scenes, something like the 5D is way ahead. But for motion, practial hand held movies the features of a camcorder change this.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0031RG4...&tag=reevoocomtrue-21&creativeASIN=B0031RG4EU
He thinks with a good camcorder that records in 1080p with image stabilisation and a reasonable lense this will be all you need for very good movie making for what I need.
I think I have settled on this unit and then it's talent I need
Perhaps with time the micro 4/3 chipped units will be small have all the desired image stabilisation and be under the £1k. By then I will hopefully be a better operator worthy of the investment !
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Yes all this talk about using DSLRs for video is just gadget freaks with more money than sense getting a hard on.
Its not for normal folks that just want to take candid shots on holiday to watch back a few years later and have a giggle at.
Just forget it and get something simple that can take a knock or two, the kids can use it and fits in a pocket. Job done.
Remember that old cine camera your dad had? Took two minutes of film without sound for a whole two week holiday and those movies will mean far more and have more emotion than any 4 hour bloody semi-pro 1080p surround stereo bore fest.
Paul L
coffee lounge for me
That's what I was thinking too. A mate brought round his Samsung WB2000 last night and it's incredible what these little compacts will now achieve. I struggle to shake off DSLR fever for stills but expect I shall order a WB2000 this week. It is far better than my previous LX2. I would like to see some EOS 60D or D7000 video but they are hardly pocketable cameras.
Exactly.
In this day and age you want discrete, easy to use, spontaneous and convenient. Image stabilisation is the only real must have feature imo, does make a difference.
The kids and the wife or anything else wont sit around and let you 'set up shot' for your DSLR video son et lumiere project.
I have a load of video footage I took on a couple of holidays with a cheap plastic video camera that cost about £60 seven years ago! We still look at the clips and enjoy them. They are just there to bring back memories. Thats all.
In this day and age you want discrete, easy to use, spontaneous and convenient. Image stabilisation is the only real must have feature imo, does make a difference.
The kids and the wife or anything else wont sit around and let you 'set up shot' for your DSLR video son et lumiere project.
I have a load of video footage I took on a couple of holidays with a cheap plastic video camera that cost about £60 seven years ago! We still look at the clips and enjoy them. They are just there to bring back memories. Thats all.
IWC Doppel
pfm Member
Good point !
canonman
pfm Member
Same with audio really. Get rid of all that hi-fi crap and just buy an iPod with a Bose dock. Job done.
WOOAAAHH!
Fatmarley
"It appears my intelligence circuits have melted"
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0031RG4...&tag=reevoocomtrue-21&creativeASIN=B0031RG4EU
I think I have settled on this unit and then it's talent I need
I'd be very interested to hear how you get on with this camcorder, because i'm thinking of getting one myself (I'll probably go for the SD600 though)
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
Wrong comparison sorry. Doesnt apply here.
Doesnt take talent or skills to use a hifi to enjoy it, or an ipod for that matter.
Hey by all means you have your 7D and use it for videoing your family on holiday.
The novelty will soon wear off I bet. As its not designed for that.
"Daaad why do I have to carry this tripod everywhere????"
For the rest of us we'll just be getting on having fun and laughing at the funny candid spontaneous clips caught on lesser but more usable/accessible kit.
Unless you are Christopher Nolan stick to the cheap and cheerful. Dont push folks to buy over priced and technical kit that is way beyond what they need. Or as in the DSLR route, just not suitable/practical at all.
As long as the laughs and smiles are captured, ultimate picture and sound quality dont really matter.
Remember also that no one really wants to watch your holiday videos if truth be known. So keep them brief if shown outside of the wife and kids.
canonman
pfm Member
Some of us are actually talented enough to use these itemsWrong comparison sorry. Doesnt apply here.
Doesnt take talent or skills to use a hifi to enjoy it, or an ipod for that matter.
Hey by all means you have your 7D and use it for videoing your family on holiday.
The novelty will soon wear off I bet. As its not designed for that.
"Daaad why do I have to carry this tripod everywhere????"
For the rest of us we'll just be getting on having fun and laughing at the funny candid spontaneous clips caught on lesser but more usable/accessible kit.
Unless you are Christopher Nolan stick to the cheap and cheerful. Dont push folks to buy over priced and technical kit that is way beyond what they need. Or as in the DSLR route, just not suitable/practical at all.
As long as the laughs and smiles are captured, ultimate picture and sound quality dont really matter.
Remember also that no one really wants to watch your holiday videos if truth be known. So keep them brief if shown outside of the wife and kids.
and actually produce footage (and even more so stills) that are far beyond the laughs and smiles dross. It's a hobby that also produces good income which pays for the kit. For that sort of work, mainly sports and wildflife in my case, the better stuff is needed. I don't do holiday snaps so no need to bore anyone with them. God, I would be bored stupid too looking at sandcastles and yapping kids. If that's the limit of your use, then you don't need better.
Well as he stated -
"I will be using it for a number of things :
Holidays and groups of friends at Birthday's etc, I am also really interested in footage of things like our whippet running. Plus Jane, my partner wants footage of dog shows, Horse shows and her family.
I am also interested in 'in car' shots to show things like the 'ring', holiday drives across europe and the odd track day.
I really fancy building film's of events using iMovie etc. Christmas, Birthday,holiday, etc
"
I'd say the 5/7D is not the item required. Surprised no one else seems to have read that post but I guess they were all too excited.
If folks can use a 7D to near its potential then go for it. But for the other 98% of us £150 is all we need spend.
Know your limitations and set budget accordingly.
joel
Painter of Dragons, Maker of Mirrors
Depends on the DSLR. I have a bunch of Lumix cameras that I got partly to explore DSLR video for work. The Panasonic lenses are very good and have autofocus in movie mode. Obviously you can buy a lens adapter and stick an arri PL Zeiss or a Cook Cine Varotal on one, but it's not necessary. The kit zooms are more than fine for every day shooting and the little 20mm pancake lens will make you think you're Tarkovsky (without everyone think you're some kind of strange camera obsessive)...
A tripod is essential for any kind of serious or semi serious video work.
Shooting DSLR video is a little like going back to 35mm film making. It really requires that you think out a shot beforehand (unless you're someone called Gale Tattersall - google him ;-)). For off the cuff family, babies, holidays etc the Sanyo Xacti seems great, but pretty much any AVCHD lite compact camera + iMovie is more than capable of excellent results.
Mention of track days and in-car shots reminds me of this sort of gear, which I guess is one of the exciting things that modern digital tech brings to the game:
http://www.goprocamera.com/
The ease, quality and low cost of these options really does astonish me. If you also happen to want to get some shots of your skydiving, skiing or surfing, then this is just the ticket.
http://www.goprocamera.com/
The ease, quality and low cost of these options really does astonish me. If you also happen to want to get some shots of your skydiving, skiing or surfing, then this is just the ticket.