where can i get a good video camera to film people skating like the big good ones?

Answer 1

I have a canon GL2, so I'll tell you a little about it. First of all, it's big, but it's small. What I mean is, it's bigger than an average consumer cam, but smaller than a shoulder mounted cam. Basically it's slightly bigger than a tissue box, if you were holding it. However, even though it's small, no one is gonna think you're an amateur. If you want to look like a "real pro," then this probably isn't good for you. Panasonic has a pro-looking camera, the ag-dvc20 (which my TV class uses, but is money not well spent, IMO). It looks like a "real pro" camera, but in terms of video performance, the GL2 blows it out of the water. The GL2 has a built-in ND filter, shutter speeds from 1/8 to 15,000, optical image stabilizer, a 20x optical zoom lens, and finally a frame mode recording option. All the above are very useful when making skating videos. As for the last one, the frame mode, it looks okay, but if you have a program like magic bullet, it's probably better to use that. It's got a 58mm lens thread, which makes it easy to find filters and lenses, and if you ever decide to shoot videos at night, the low light is great. Personally, if I were you, I'd get the GL2. It costs about $500 more than the ag-dvc20 (I got mine for $1500 on eBay), but it's worth it, and since you're recording skating videos, a shoulder-mounted cam probably won't provide the best performance or shots anyways, not to mention the ag-dvc20 sucks, in my opinion. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I have heard a lot of good reviews here (at Yahoo Answers) about the Canon GL2. It is reasonably priced and does a great job.
See here...
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/canon_gl2_camcorder_review.htm