i need to get a camcorder to record my son's hs basket ball games to make a hilite reel - any tips?

Answer 1

Get a minidv cam. Dont go for dvd cams because you wont be able to edit them (well you can, but theyre hard to), and since youre making a highlight reel you want to edit your videos. Get one with a fairly high optical zoom, since youll probably be sitting far away in the stands, 15x-20x should be enough, although more wouldnt hurt, but dont go looking for ginormous amounts of optical zoom. Of course, dont look at digital zoom at all. Optical stabilizer would help, but digital is okay if the camera has more MPs on its sensor. No idea? then just get optical. also some manual functions are a plus, but you might not get a chance to use them, so if you cant get them its okay as well. Panasonic has some 3ccd minidv cameras in their pv-gs series, and they are all very cheap.

As for editing, its pretty simple and straightfoward, so as long as you have a program such as windows movie maker you should be fine. You could do it or your son could do it. If I were you, Id let your son do it, its his games, and he can choose his highlights while letting him be a little bit creative. However, if its a gift for him , then obviously do it yourself. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

A few words of advice.
It's easier to shoot well than to edit. Move the camera as little as possible. Let the action go in and out of the frame. Don't "trombone" (fast zoom in and out). Go easy on the eyes of the viewer --- hold each scene for a few seconds so your eye can adjust to the new image. Perhaps you could speak to the coach or athletic director and tell them what you are doing and you might be able to get a end court spot to shoot. If you sit in the stands you'll have unavoidable camera movement caused by the people around you. If you have, or can get, a camera support, use it! The quality of your work will also jump significantly. As for the editing, well, that's another story. Good luck!