$317 in Circuit City Gift cards.

[Anarchist86ed]

So I have exactly $317 in CC gift cards and I'm looking at getting a video camera for "low" Low buget film making.

I know basically nothing about modern video cameras so...... yeah.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Camcorders/sem/rpsm/c/1/catOid/-13063/N/20013061+20013063+313063001/link/ref/rpem/ccd/categorylist.do

I need good light pickup in low light situations, even though I'm well aware this is dependendent on lens size but eh, whatcha gonna do. And sound pickup is also of course vitally important. And something good for green screen purpouses.

[PJoseph]

Hmmm.....you want a lot of features and you don't have much money. I would say that any of those miniDV cameras would be fine for the price you have, but in the low lighting department they aren't going to be great. Stay away from the MPG cameras or DVD cameras - that will be a pain to capture or work with the video.

However, you got money to get one and it's a good place to start shooting stuff...

pJ

[Anarchist86ed]

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=144140#accessories

Looks promising to me.... but i dunno.

[Danny]

eh, im kinda iffy about minidvd as opposed to minidv or jsut dv filming, granted dv has to transfer in real time to a pc, but dvd just seems a bit too fragile for me, i wouldnt want to store an hour of great footage on something taht easy to scratch.

[Anarchist86ed]

Well, My options are limited. It's still gotta be better then VHSC or something.

I suppose MiniDV/DVD is a minor concideration based on quality/sound pickup/good for low budget film making needs... especially on my budget.

guess the one i was interested in sold out...

[MinionZombie]

I say go with miniDV, I don't like those DVD cameras, sure it's faster for uploading to your computer, but you'll have to watch it through anyway to make your footage log notes so you know what you have and where - I do this while uploading in real time.

Also, miniDV is a good standard that a lot of people use.

As for zoom, ignore "digital zoom", it's pointless because the image degradation is awful. "Optical zoom" is what counts, so get a decent amount of that, 10x or more I say for such a camera as you're after.

Indeed, as Pj said, they're not going to be great in low light - but if you set up some lights (could just be table lamps or those lights with bendy necks) when you can, this will help matters. Obviously, the image quality isn't going to match the likes of miniDV heavy weights like the DVX100B - but they never were anyway, what with the massive difference in cost. However, the quality you get from a cheap, low budget camera is still pretty decent - especially when starting off.

My first miniDV camera was the Canon MV700i, which was something like £300 at the time (got it Summer 2004), and that did me fine for my own filmmaking experiments and general larking about.

However, getting into 'the biz' as I'm currently doing, I went pro and splashed out the cash for the excellent DVX100B - but as yet that'd be unnecessary for you right now, as well as way out of the price band - was just explaining from my own experiences.

My point being is, you can't really go far wrong with a simple and cheap low budget miniDV camcorder, Google up what the general specs mean, and then find the best one you can get. Also Google up the names of particular cameras you're interested in to get reviews and see what the general consensus is - then you can certainly not go far wrong.

Hope this ramble of mine helps at least a bit. :)

[Danny]

My first miniDV camera was the Canon MV700i, which was something like £300 at the time (got it Summer 2004), and that did me fine for my own filmmaking experiments and general larking about.

aye i followed mz's advice a year back and got the canon mv900 fro £120 off ebay and its never done me wrong.

...cept the time i was out filming when it was -1 out, but still, it functioned below freezing ,just didnt record well so hey, thats quallity is that.:lol:

[PJoseph]

Yes, mini DV is the best.

And BTW, if you want a great cheap solution to some practical lighting - here is a way to get some good general lighting for dirt cheap...

1.) By the largest sized paper chinaball at Ikea ($6 US)

2.) Go to a photograhic store and by a 600 watt socket with a plug (don't get a larger sized socket because it the heat will burn the chinaball) - $12 US BTW - you will need an extension cable because the cords on the sockets are not long.

3.) Buy a few 250 or 500 watt tungsten and daylight balanced bulbs - this is the most pricey part - about $9 US a piece and they only last about 20 hours) BTW - only handle the bulbs with gloves WETHER THEY ARE HOT OR NOT - you don't want any of your nasty body oil on the bulbs, because it will get them hotter and burn faster...and break the bulb...

Put all together and hang in a room near the subject and you have really easy soflight that you can iris the lense up or down to get the mood. Get a few of these and you can have some backlight as well! I have a little kit with this and I tell you, it was a great way for fast cheap lighting that you DON'T have to focus or mess with.

NOW - it's not going to make your video/film look like a big bugdet extravganza because you can't really do too much to the light other than throw it on the subject - but it's very soft and easy to work with. if you get a decent stand with a sandbag, you can easily move it around the room. Also, it won't require you to pump up the gain on the video, which will only degrade the quality of the video and give you ****ty looking footage with streaks and grain (the not good looking grain either)..

Okay. There you go. They make expensive chinaball systems like this for 800 - 1000 bucks - and those are nice. But on the cheap, a hundred bucks can get you what you want and I like them better than buying crappy photofloods and putting them in cans because you have to mess with them too much.

pJ