Digital Video Camera

[Sariel]

Question for anyone who might have an interest in digital video/film making. I am looking to get into filmmaking, hoping to take the Vancouver Film School program at some point really soon.

Now, all my previous work has been in stage... scriptwriting, directing, etc... I unfortunaly don't have a whole lot of knowledge about the use of a digital video camera, or what things I should most definitely look for.

Now, in an effort to learn how to use it, I was looking into a few stores, and the Canon ZR90 was recommended to me. It's apparently more geared towards the high intensity usage that I would require (cause once I get it, it's going everywhere with me.)

I am still looking into things, but this camera definitely seems to fit my requirements from the outset.

So, can anyone who has knowledge/experience using one of these recommend anything I should speficially be looking into, or perhaps a couple alternative produts to check out? Advice would be much appreciated.

[Sammy Skillz]

dude...i don't mean to burst your bubble but don't go to VFS!! it's a waste of money!!!! you should check out film programs at community colleges...TRUST ME...they're no where near as expensive and you basically learn the same stuff. i'll ask my friends what schools they went to around here cuz i know none of them went to VFS

-s.

[kozmo_jr]

there is a Panasoinc miniDV cam which is about two years old, I ge thte modle number later but It was a pretty good camera which my team used to produce a few projects.., I personally have a Samsung miniDv cam it great for everyday use but not for intence type applications.

I would recomend on getting a camera from a camera company, canon, fuji, nikkon, pentex...that type deal, you may not get the features that you are looking for but really that is for the editing room, the optical and CCD senser is the heart of the cameram dun be sold on big LCD panals and such things.

hope that helps a lil

[Sariel]

Originally Posted by Sammy Skillz

dude...i don't mean to burst your bubble but don't go to VFS!! it's a waste of money!!!! you should check out film programs at community colleges...TRUST ME...they're no where near as expensive and you basically learn the same stuff. i'll ask my friends what schools they went to around here cuz i know none of them went to VFS

-s.

Hrmm.. I have heard a lot of amazing things about Vancouver Film school, although, admittedly more geared towards the acting program (which I also want to take actually)

But definitely would love any info on recommended film programs, I am not set in stone about the school I attend at this point. Kinda keeping it fluid at the moment, while I look into things, and get shit together

[Sariel]

Originally Posted by kozmo_jr

I would recomend on getting a camera from a camera company, canon, fuji, nikkon, pentex...that type deal, you may not get the features that you are looking for but really that is for the editing room, the optical and CCD senser is the heart of the cameram dun be sold on big LCD panals and such things.

hope that helps a lil

I was definitely planning on going for a good camera company when I get it, as I said, I am currently looking at the Canon ZR90. From what I got from chatting with the salesperson, it would definitely suit my needs as far as intensive usage, and I can get a 4 year warrenty that basically protects me against anything, including wear & tear from usage.

lol.. the guy even suggested that after about the third year, I might wanna cause something to go wrong, and get a whole new camera...

Basically just wondering if there is anything I should be looking for specifically when buying one of these cameras, ease of use, problems, extra's I might want to have in a camera, that might normally be overlooked for importance...

As I said, this is kind of a new field for me, and while I know a fair bit about digital photo camera's, and non-digital video cams, I have never really gotten to use a dig video cam, so looking for anything that I might overlook, perhaps that was not a factor in camcorder/photo camera devices...

[tvmann]

I've used a Canon ZR-60 (last year's model, owned by a friend) a fair bit. Check on epinions.com, cnet.com, and http://www.camcorderinfo.com/ before buying anything. I found those sites very good as users are quick to point out the flaws you will find for yourself after a few days or weeks of owning a specific camcorder.

Most DV camcorders are good in bright outdoor scenes but the low-end ones are not good in indoor situations which is probably where you will be trying the serious work. The ZR60 and other low-end Canons have this problem. Also the built-in microphone can pick up motor noise in some camcorders - an important factor in casual shooting but you should be using an external microphone for serious work. I found the ZR60 was generally an OK unit for the money, transferring the video into the computer worked flawlessly, good to learn the basics, but if you're wanting to get serious you'll want more capability.

I'd look for a camcorder which has a big CCD - 1/4" at least. You can get this on some Sonies that are about $1000. The low-end Canons including the ZR60 and ZR90 only have 1/6" which makes them no good in low-light (interior) shooting. A bigger CCD lets the camera take in more light. The really expensive pro models have 1/2" CCDs.

If I was buying today I'd look at the Panasonics for about $1200 which have 3-CCD optical systems that were previously available only on $3000+ camcorders. Also Panasonic has the excellent AG-DVX100 ($6000 aprox) that is good enough to do professional work, and some of that that technology is making its way into the $1200 cameras. Canon has the GL2 and XL1 cameras that are $3000-$6000 and you can rent these cameras and accessories in Vancouver for film projects. That movie 28 Days Later was done mostly with Canon XL1 camcorders. All 3 cameras are good enough to do real movies, music videos, pornos (LOL), weddings etc.

[Sariel]

Thank you for the info! Definitely gives me some things to look into.

I was looking at the Canon XL1S camera, which looked freaking amazing.
Detachable lenses, depending on if you want to take stills or video...

But unfort, I don't think I can quite afford 5 grand for a camera at this point in time... Something to work for though. :)