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acearchie

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2006
3,264
104
I am looking for a HD Camcorder after testing the canon HG10 I have decided that I want an HD camera of my own.

The only positives I want over the HG10 are possibly better lower light filming as whilst testing I found the low lighting to be very grainy.

I would also like a higher frame rate possible maybe a 60 frames 720p mode or something. Again it may be nice to be able to change the recording size (1080p/720p) which is something you are unable to do on the HG10.

I am also a student and currently quite into making a lot of videos with friends so a sort of all in one camera would be great with a strong microphone, zoom, and recording functions.

Any input is much appreciated!

Thanks

Archie
 
Isnt this a little over the top. I mean there is one going for £10,000 on eBay...

That really is a pro camera not consumer camera!
 
Isnt this a little over the top. I mean there is one going for £10,000 on eBay...

That really is a pro camera not consumer camera!

Take a look at real pro camera and what they cost: $100 000+++ easily. The Red I linked is actually considered dirt cheap for what you're getting.

The cameras you're looking at are prosumer, and cameras like them are very popular with independent filmmakers.

It's difficult to say what's good without knowing you're price range, though. The Canon XH-A1 is a very good HD camera, and comes in around $4000 USD. It has a whole range of features and XLR in, so it's a good choice. Sony, JVC, and Panasonic have nice offerings at similar price points, too.

One thing I will say is whatever you buy, never depend on the onboard microphone. For any filmmaker, a high-quality external mic is a necessity. Onboard sound is a poor, poor substitute.
 
Sorry, I realise now that I was not clear on the pricing. I was hoping to find a camera similarily priced to teh canon i.e. Under $1000. By no means is this for professional filming just films for school made for fun really. (examples can be seen at my Youtube Page)

I thought for the microphone situation I would like to get a camera with a 'hot shoe' connector enabaling the use of microphones such as these.

Thanks for the help so far!
 
Sorry, I realise now that I was not clear on the pricing. I was hoping to find a camera similarily priced to teh canon i.e. Under $1000. By no means is this for professional filming just films for school made for fun really. (examples can be seen at my Youtube Page)

I thought for the microphone situation I would like to get a camera with a 'hot shoe' connector enabaling the use of microphones such as these.

Thanks for the help so far!


You may look for the two new Sanyo Xacti models with real 1080p for some 800 USD. Check here: http://www.camcorderinfo.com/conten...corder-Review-36280/Compression-amp-Media.htm

If you consider yourself as an amateur film maker you may shoot for Nikon D90 (yes a photo camera) which makes true 720p on a large 0.5" chip. Surf the internet for D90 movie capabilities.

Joe-Hamburg
 
I thought for the microphone situation I would like to get a camera with a 'hot shoe' connector enabaling the use of microphones such as these.

Thanks for the help so far!

Hot shoe mics are a great idea. Nearly anything is better than onboard sound, really. If you ever get really into filmmaking, you can invest in a Beacktek adapter and give yourself XLR in. But that's probably way in the future at this point. :)

I haven't followed consumer camcorders in a while, so I'm hideously out of date on what's available. :( Look for something with 3CCDs, though, as they'll produce a way better picture than a 1CCD camera. Panasonic used to have some very nice, reasonably priced 3CCD cams... I'm sure they still make some derivative thereof. :)
 
Thanks for the feedback Demosthenes X. Ill make sure I get a nice quality Mic.

At slipper isn't the HF10 simply the HG10 but without the hard drive therefore having the same hardware and the same issues that I don't want in the HG10...

Thanks
 
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