looking for a new camcorder

[handsome pete]

I'm also on the hunt for a new video camera. From all of the people I've talked to, and from my experience, I am leaning toward the Canon Rebel t2i. The video quality is pretty stellar for under $1000, and you won't find much better video quality unless you go up to the Mark II. I found a pretty good bundle through amazon that gets you the body plus two lenses(18-55mm and 55-250mm).

Obviously you are going to want to get an external mic, but that shouldn't cost you more than $200(and that's on the high end)

What type of stuff do you plan on doing with the camera? I highly recommend doing some good research into what is involved with shooting video with a DSLR. Do you have any photography experience?

The lenses in that bundle aren't anything special. I'd look into getting some nice fast primes instead, which can be found fairly cheap used.

You're going to need more than just an external mic to get decent audio. The t2i software uses automatic gain control for the audio, which cripples the audio capturing ability. I believe there may be some software hacks to get around that, but most people get an adapter or external recorder.

You'll also likely need some support gear as well.

 

[pinyourwings22]

What type of stuff do you plan on doing with the camera? I highly recommend doing some good research into what is involved with shooting video with a DSLR. Do you have any photography experience?

The lenses in that bundle aren't anything special. I'd look into getting some nice fast primes instead, which can be found fairly cheap used.

You're going to need more than just an external mic to get decent audio. The t2i software uses automatic gain control for the audio, which cripples the audio capturing ability. I believe there may be some software hacks to get around that, but most people get an adapter or external recorder.

You'll also likely need some support gear as well.

I've had some recent experience shooting with the t2i, and have a couple of guys in the industry that I know who also use them. And my girlfriend is a photographer, so I'm not too worried about shooting with the DSLR.

I'm glad you mentioned the gain control for the audio though. The people I know using them also use an external device, and I was looking into getting one, but I don't have a huge budget, so I was hoping I could just plug and play. Any suggestions?

 

[handsome pete]

I've had some recent experience shooting with the t2i, and have a couple of guys in the industry that I know who also use them. And my girlfriend is a photographer, so I'm not too worried about shooting with the DSLR.

I'm glad you mentioned the gain control for the audio though. The people I know using them also use an external device, and I was looking into getting one, but I don't have a huge budget, so I was hoping I could just plug and play. Any suggestions?

What type of stuff do you plan on shooting? If you're going for short films or the like, then I'd recommend capturing audio with an external recorder and then syncing in post. I personally use the Zoom H4n. It's a great recorder for its price. There are even some cheaper ones out there as well, but I'd make sure it has at least 1 XLR input for external mics.

The biggest drawback I see to external recording is the extra time it takes to sync. This has gotten better with programs like pluraleyes, but it's still kind of a pain in the ass. I don't mind the extra work though because you're not confined to having audio at the camera source and you get more control over it.

It can certainly work for any type of shooting, but some situations it is just easier to have that ability to hit the record button on the camera and get shooting.

As for the adapters I've seen people using, they can be in the $300-$500 range. So that might not be an option. Beachtek seems to be the most popular.

You can also look into the firmware hacks going around for the t2i, and see what kind of success people have had with that. I'd google "Magic Lantern" for more info on that.

Audio is often the most overlooked aspect of video production. You can get away with a crappy image more than you can crappy audio. So while it may take more time and effort with a dedicated sound recorder, you'll often get better results.

 

[pinyourwings22]

What type of stuff do you plan on shooting? If you're going for short films or the like, then I'd recommend capturing audio with an external recorder and then syncing in post. I personally use the Zoom H4n. It's a great recorder for its price. There are even some cheaper ones out there as well, but I'd make sure it has at least 1 XLR input for external mics.

The biggest drawback I see to external recording is the extra time it takes to sync. This has gotten better with programs like pluraleyes, but it's still kind of a pain in the ass. I don't mind the extra work though because you're not confined to having audio at the camera source and you get more control over it.

It can certainly work for any type of shooting, but some situations it is just easier to have that ability to hit the record button on the camera and get shooting.

As for the adapters I've seen people using, they can be in the $300-$500 range. So that might not be an option. Beachtek seems to be the most popular.

You can also look into the firmware hacks going around for the t2i, and see what kind of success people have had with that. I'd google "Magic Lantern" for more info on that.

Audio is often the most overlooked aspect of video production. You can get away with a crappy image more than you can crappy audio. So while it may take more time and effort with a dedicated sound recorder, you'll often get better results.

Yeah if I was shooting short films or doing this kind of stuff as my primary gig, I would get the H4n. I'm actually getting this equipment for a student group on campus that I shoot all of the videos for, so the audio doesn't need to be professional quality, but I can't stand audio with hissing in the background. After looking around, it looks like people are either hoping that canon will release a firmware update that allows the ability to disable the AGC, or they are doing something like this video.

I am probably going to try that out with a borrowed t2i and see what kind of results I get. I don't really need stereo since I normally record with a mono mic anyways, and this way seems to work out pretty well.

And yes, I agree that audio is the most overlooked part of video production. That's why I'm really looking into this to try and find my best/cheapest solution. If I had my way and didn't have a budget, I would absolutely go for the external audio recorder.

 

[pinyourwings22]

sorry X1Lightning for sort of hijacking your thread. hopefully this info helps you too!