Make a video ?

Imr97 said:

Hi, I was just rummage through my cellar, and I found an old professional recording device. Philips DD35.
But it's a little bit complex for me.
I would to now if it's possible to connect this device with a Mac Book Pro.
How? an what kind of camera should I use with this machine.
Thank you

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How big is your cellar to find that?

That is a so-called production switcher and you probably have seen this brochure and these two auctions for it.
Such switchers are normally found in medium sized broadcast studios to switch between different sources like studio and ENG cameras, video playback devices, effects and so on.
It has its own keying capabilities, meaning you can use it for green screen effects and such in a live environment.
As for in and outputs, it uses SDI, a professional standard not found on consumer hardware, thus you need signal converters to connect at least two cameras and a monitor / recording device to it.
You can use one camera of course, but that somehow defeats its purpose.

Anyway, I have fond memories of it, it was a nice machine when using three/four cameras and some BetaSP and DigiBeta playback and fifteen or so monitors.

do you want your movie to be in sd or hd resolution? if it's sd, sell that old production switcher (you'll only need it if you want to operate a tv-station) and use the old professional cameras for your documentary.

if you want hd, try selling all of that old professional equipment to someone who still uses it (tv stations in countries that haven't switched to hd yet) and buy some new stuff from that and film the documentary with it.

i wouldn't want to film a whole documentary with a dslr but it's certainly possible, given the right accessoires (get at least a good tripod, external audio recording gear and some good lenses).

i assume you are familiar with the basics of photography, having a 60d. look at some documentaries you like and try to replicate their looks and the way they are done. maybe start with some short bits (say 5 minutes) to get the hang of it.

and think about where your movie will be shown before you start filming (for shooting in the right format - e.g. madagascar has been a SECAM country, so you'd probably shoot 25p with a shutter of 50 on the dslr if madagascar is your main market. 50i on professional equipment, if it's for local tv, ...)

Imr97 said:

I live in Madagascar wich is one oh the most beautiful place in the world. I also found some old professional cameras and I want to make some little movie (documentary) of the country. I want to now what is the best way to achieve my goal. Make the movie with a Canon 60D or use the old professional instruments I actually found.

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All that old video equipment only does the old SD format. It can't do HD. I would sell all of it if you can and use the SLR and edit with FCPX on the Mac.

Maybe if you look and are lucky you will find some professional AUDIO gear. Audio gear is still good and has not obsolete by HD video format. That video equipment likely headed for a recycle center.

The 60D will shoot very good looking images but the handling is not as good as a "real" video camera. So you shoot from a tripod. You are the director so you make the documentary using what the camera can do. controlled well planned shots. and not ENG style