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Camcorder: Quality over Expense.?
My friends and I are looking to make an amateur, low-budget film. We’re only 16, and we need a new camcorder. The ones we’ve been using are generic ones that don’t look very good when the videos are posted. I’ve looked online, and professional camcorders seem to be $3,000+, which is obviously out of our league. Are there any professional camcorders in the lower price range? Or maybe some consumer camcorders that have good quality?
I was thinking a Canon HV30. It’s the price range I was thinking, and it seems pretty legit. Do you think it would serve my purpose as well as I am hoping, though? Is there another you could suggest? I’m trying to set $1000 as my limit.
The Canon HV30, HV40, or HV20 are all pretty similar, and will be pretty close to ideal for your purposes. I own an HV10, which has the same sensor as the HV20/HV30, and it’s really, really good… on par with my $3000-ish Sony HDV camcorder. I have seen HV20s selling for under $500 recently, though you have to shop around — that one’s discontinued, thus the low price. I found some here, refurbished models:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000MUV6BA/ref=dp_olp_refurbished?ie=UTF8&qid=1237964856&sr=1-1&condition=refurbished
http://www.refurbdepot.com/productdetails2.cfm?Product_ID=6878&refererid=Froogle&site=google_base
Going rate for the HV30 seems to be about $600:
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-HV30-Definition-Camcorder-Stabilized/dp/B00114PN1U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1237964856&sr=1-2
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/539289-REG/Canon_2680B001_VIXIA_HV30_HDV_High.html
As long as you’re ok with tape, this is probably the best option. The HV20 was on several “best of” lists when it came out in 2007… definitely one of the all-time best HDV camers for consumers.
The HV20/30 will let you shoot in 24p mode, which will give you a film-like look (with a little color adjustment, it can very film-like). You definitely want to add an external microphone, unless you’re planning to do sound outside the camera (that’s the pro-way… external gear, full time audio guys, overdubs in-studio if they can’t get good audio in the field).
I would definitely get a microphone. The HV30 has a “hot” accessory shoe, which couples to some of Canon’s shoe-mount mics. Alternately, you can get mics that mount in the shoe cold, and run to the camera via a 1/8″ photo plug.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/363083-REG/Rode_VIDEOMIC_VideoMic_Camera_Mounted.html#features
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/444022-REG/Azden_SMX_10_SMX_10_Stereo_Microphone.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/201377-REG/Canon_3176A002_DM_50_Directional_Stereo_Microphone.html
The big advantage of the Canon mic is that it couples to the “Advanced accessory shoe” electrically, so the camcorder battery powers the mic, and you don’t have to run a cable down to the 1/8″ jack. On the other hand, I use a Rode mic on my Sony, and it’s a really good camcorder mic… I expect this one would be pretty similar (mine’s a normal XLR-based 48V mic).
The main thing you’ll compromise, with the HV30, is low-light performance.. however, particularly in 24p mode, the HV30 is about as good as any consumer model gets in low-light.
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