Which video camera for film making?

Question

Hi! I just finished my degree and I want to buy a video camera (DV) in order to make short films and possibly become a freelance camerawoman. The thing is, I'm not quite sure which camera to buy. It would have to be a second hand one as I only have a budget of £800-900.
Could someone give me some reviews, tips, names of places where they sell second hand ones (apart from eBay), recommendations on which make to get and which model, etc...
Many thanks!

Answer 1

im a filmmaker myself so i guess you could say we're peers. first of all, it is extremely difficult to get a used camera in fair or good condition for a reasonable price (considering its used). the best place id say is froogle, search for them there. there are several good quality cams that are above your price range new, but could possibly be dropped down to 800-900 pounds if bought used. the canon xl2 and xl1, panasonic ag-dvx100a or b, sony vx-2100 (this is considered more of a news than film camera) and hdr fx1. im getting a canon gl2 soon, and it is around $1200-1700, which is around 800-900 pounds (i think) it has an msrp of $2799, but it came out several years ago, yet it is still a very good camera. basically, xl2 and xl1 are the bigger badder cousins of the gl2 the features are similar, but they offer removable lenses and a few other options such as progressive scan, etc. the thing that makes the ag-dvx100 stand out is its in-camera adjustable film look, but software on editing systems can also duplicate the look (although probably not as conveniently).

and before i close, remember to save as much of your money as you can, and that what you put in your film is just as important as what you film it with (although you probably know of all of this). so get something in the price range you have now, but dont get something too much over the limit, or too much under.

so this was just a brief look at some possible cameras. if you would like in-depth reviews, go to www.camcorderinfo.com
hope all of this helps!

Answer 2

You know, if you want it to be future proof and get a longer life out of it (and more professional work) then you'd be better going for a HD camera. My boyfriend uses a Sony HVR-Z1E, but that costs about £3000 even now (he's had it 18 months). We recently bought a Sony HVR-A1E for £1500 which might be good for your needs as it is small and lightweight, but we think it underperforms a bit as auto focus etc is slow to kick in, which isn't good for us when filming weddings in realtime, but isn't a problem with films as you take more time setting up shots, whilst wedding films are documentaries where every shot could be vital - you can't miss a single shot!

With more and more channels beginning to broadcast in HD you'd be wiser to invest in it now and be ahead of the game than waste almost a grand on a camera now which will be obsolete pretty soon in terms of filmmaking. You can get the Sony HD Cameras on credit, which is the only reason we were able to afford the Z1, but having the Z1 meant we generated the income to buy the A1 outright. The added bonus is that the HD cameras can film both DV and HDV, so you get the best of both worlds.

Answer 3

Ideally for low budget film making you'd want a DV camera with 3 CCD and the ability to shoot in 576/25P (progressive scan) for that pseudo-film look. Second hand you might be able to pick up a used Sony VX1000 or VX2000, maybe a Canon XL1. If thinking about new you'd need around 1.5/2k to get a Panasonic AG-DVX100AE or Sony HDR-FX1E (the latter capable of HD filming) or settling for the 1CCD version of the Sony to reduce your budget.
The only tip I can give for buying new is to hire before you buy if you can possibly stretch to it.

Answer 4

DVD is the worst, it has a datarate of in basic terms 6mbps. HDD and miniDV have datarate of 25 mbps. The miniDV makes use of inter-physique compression making it a noticeably good format for enhancing. HDD makes use of mpeg2 or comparable keyframe variety compression schemes, requiring a lot extra costly enhancing utility, yet can produce a product with extra pixels (ie 1080x1920) for clearer projection on the great exhibit. If the top product is for domicile movie distribution on DVD then miniDV is the better determination. As to 30 or 24 fps, maximum television instruments can not run at 24 fps, so which you will desire to come to a determination, DVD for the masses, or 24 fps which will in basic terms run in a pair of darkish theatrical flop properties.

Answer 5

1ST OF ALL, DO NOT PURCHASE A HD CAMCORDER UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PROPER EQUIPMENT TO EDIT IT.
PUT IN A GOOGLE ALERT...SONY VX2100
BE CAREFUL OF ALL GRAY GOODS ( THEY ARE USUALLY PRICED VERY LOW.) & ARE MISSING MOST OF THE EQUIPMENT YOU WILL HAVE TO BUY YOURSELF.
BEST PLACE TO BUY USED IS HBPHOTOVIDEO.COM GO TO THE USED EQUIPMENT. GO TO SONY'S WEBSITE FOR EQUIPMENT OR PUT IN YOUR GOOGLE ALERT : USED SONY VX2100. OF COURSE THERE IS ALWAYS EBAY AND WWW.IPROPAL.COM THEY HAVE A GOOD SELECTION OF USED CAMCORDERS AS WELL. OR, JUST ENTER SONY VX 2100 IN GOOGLE...GOOD LUCK !

Answer 6

one with DV operation