Currently I am shooting my footage* with a 1080i camera (Sony HDR-HC7).
Panning and faster & close-up movements give a jittery result.
I would like to "upgrade" to a 1080p camera.
Question: what 1080p models are available** and what is their approximate price level.
- 1080p 24/25/30
- 1080p 50/60
I do not intend to stirr up the "debate" about storage (compression) formats ... but do include info about storage (tape, HDD or card) and codec (HDV, AVCHD, XDCAM, etc).
Regards,
Coen Jeukens
(*) My work is consumer, my (equipment) aspirations are prosumer
.
(**) Have seen and drooled about
camera red. Unfortunately out of budget range.
A few more things to consider:
The "jitteriness" is likely the result of two factors, one codec related and the other related to the same issues every Hollywood 35/70mm medium-using cinematographer/DP learns about in film school.
Let's start with the first:
HDV is an
interframe compression method of getting HD content on a tiny MiniDV tape. That means each frame does not stand on its own but is dependent on the content on the frames before and after. For relatively stationary shots, this works fine, as things don't change much from frame to frame. In action sequences and fast camera moves, however, artifacts can arise as the difference between individual frames is too much for the codec to handle.
The benefit to HDV? Great look that fits on dirt-cheap media. Downside? Motion artifacts and other irritating issues resulting from interframe compression.
Okay, now the second:
In film school, every budding DP learns that there are charts that determine how fast you can do a whip-pan, radical tilts or dolly shots, or crazy fast zooms. Even with gorgeous 70mm film, jitters are the result if you violate these rules, and they were established several decades ago. It all pertains to the limits of "persistence of vision" in the human eye. Change things too much and your eye/brain loses the illusion of natural movement. Your eye now notices the film frame itself.
Recommendations:
The Red camera is fantastic, but still out of your "prosumer" range once you add all the capture HD systems necessary to record with the thing. Great indie platform, though.
A better compromise might be the Panasonic HVX200:
http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?displayTab=O&storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=93120&catGroupId=14571&surfModel=AG-HVX200
It uses the DVCPRO codec, which allows for INTRAFRAME compression at a crazy 1080p/24fps. Far less motion artifacts because each individual frame stands on its own--just like film. The 720p setting allows for cool variframe effects as well (speed-up and slow downs at HD resolution). Also, far greater color depth than HDV.
The disadvantage is that you cannot record to a MiniDV tape--the data rate is far too high. You must use the P2 card they ship with it, which only holds about 4 minutes of 1080p/24fps footage. New cards are like $900 and up.
Total rip-off, right? WRONG. The P2 card system is very much like real film, in that those big "mouse ear" 400 ft load film housings you see attached to a 35mm film camera only hold about 10 minutes of film. You NEVER need more than 30-40 seconds for the most stationary shot in any movie. With a P2 card, you do multiple takes, and you can dump the bad takes on the fly. Once you have 4-5 solid takes, you pop out the card and off-load all of the data to a nearby laptop, clear it out, and start again.
One P2 is supposed to last 100k+ rewrites before failing. That's probably several epic movie's worth of keeper shots.
MORE IMPORTANTLY THAN ANY OF THIS:
If you are using camera tele/zooms, your stuff will look like amateurish crap (unless you're going for that look, a la
Cloverfield or
Blair Witch Project).
Watch your favorite movie with a note pad and a pen. Write down every shot that uses a zoom. Also write down every unaccompanied pan and tilt.
Your page will be BLANK by the time the closing credits roll.
Hollywood films are about
camera movement. Dolly and crane shots. And, to contrast, perfectly framed, locked-off stationary shots. NEVER zooms/pan/tilts, unless you're going for a gimmick shot.
You should consider buying this:
http://www.hollywoodcamerawork.us/index.html
For $400, it's like a crash course in intelligent filmmaking.
Here is a fantastic book also:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0240805003/ref=s9_asin_title_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_r=0GW902RR57SVS4E6S9AW&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=278843701&pf_rd_i=507846
Camera movement/plotting, lighting, creative framing, continuity, and solid acting performances matter more than the film or video format you use.
