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Gear / Technical Help => Photo / Video Recording => Topic started by: NSL on March 16, 2011, 08:09:35 PM
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Looking at getting a video camera to record open taping bands (using a stand). Looking for an HD cam under $500, any recommendations? I am looking for one with a mic input to connect to my recorder/external mics to avoid post show editing (assuming that would be easier). Any help would be appreciated
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Would you prefer the videocamera to be tape based or hard drive/flash for storage?
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Would you prefer the videocamera to be tape based or hard drive/flash for storage?
hard drive/flash...forgot to include that
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Based on my experience you may want to stick with flash based for live music. I had a couple instances where hard drive based cams were shaken to the point of shutting down by the vibrations coming from the PA. Of course that would be dependent on cam positioning in relation to the sound source, SPL, etc... It was a hard lesson to learn at the time though.
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I would suggest this ,has 64gb internal flash memory and mic and headphone inputs.....instant 350 bucks off until end of march.You will still need a BIG battery though...
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/682488-REG/Canon_4060B001_VIXIA_HF21_Dual_Flash.html
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This one looks interesting for the price - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/671650-REG/Canon_4389B001_VIXIA_HF_R10_Dual.html
thanks for the link for the other camera, looks good as well. What other battery would I need for something like that? I don't plan on using this for more than around 3 hours at a time.
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This battery.....with supplied battery you wont get more than 30mins.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/516704-REG/Canon_2383B002_BP_2L24H_Battery_Pack_2400mAh.html
Also with that cameras built in 8gb memory you can get 3 hrs record time at the LOWEST quality....5mbps that is not worth using you need the fxp highest bitrate mode....so better to go with the camera i linked earlier and ALWAYS record video at the highest bitrate possible.
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Ah ok, thanks for the info and the links.
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I PMed you a link for a used Canon hv30 with alot of extras from reputable person....
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I PMed you a link for a used Canon hv30 with alot of extras from reputable person....
Thats what I have. Very Nice Cam.
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That one looks nice but might be a little out of my price range at the moment, i'll have to see here soon.
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I recently bought this one
http://hdcamcorders.art-speck.com/panasonic-hdc-sd600k-3mos-high-def-camcorder-2010/
Costed me about $450
I'm really happy with the image quality. It doesn't have mic input, but I tape audio separately these days so to me that doesn't matter...
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SD600 for a basically stripped down TM700.
HD2000 for a bit of an older one.
But I'm a fan of 60p, since syncing audio to it, is more possible if you have multiple camcorders without sync-ability. And you can tweak the frame rate to 30p or 20p for web content. And the 24p cadence isn't have bad either. frame, skip 1, frame, skip 2, repeat.
What sort of recording / battery life are you looking for? 60 minutes continuous? 120 minutes continuous? Or are most of your efforts < 20 minutes per clip?
I prefer an external audio recorder myself. The camcorder is going to compress it to AAC/MP3 or who knows what. And if you need to do some audio edits, only to turn around and compress it a second time, that is a bad thing.
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I agree with you Shadow_7
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SD600 for a basically stripped down TM700.
HD2000 for a bit of an older one.
But I'm a fan of 60p, since syncing audio to it, is more possible if you have multiple camcorders without sync-ability. And you can tweak the frame rate to 30p or 20p for web content. And the 24p cadence isn't have bad either. frame, skip 1, frame, skip 2, repeat.
What sort of recording / battery life are you looking for? 60 minutes continuous? 120 minutes continuous? Or are most of your efforts < 20 minutes per clip?
I prefer an external audio recorder myself. The camcorder is going to compress it to AAC/MP3 or who knows what. And if you need to do some audio edits, only to turn around and compress it a second time, that is a bad thing.
Looking to do entire shows, so probably around 3 hours tops. Good point on the camcorder compressing the sound, didn't think about that. Would just have to take some time to synch the audio to the video
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HD video with an external mic input...and only $69.99, while supplies last.
http://www.officemax.com/catalog/sku.jsp?skuId=22309592
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Most people getting into video think about the camera first but forget about the tripod. A marginally acceptable tripod will set you back a couple hundred. The key is to make sure you get one that has a fluid head. The head needs to allow you to set the drag with enough precision to allow pans and tilts to be very smooth and without any jerking. When you're zoomed in on your subject, any tiny jerkiness will be magnified and destroy the professionalism of your video.
Trust me on this next statement...don't do what 95% of everyone else does and buy a crappy tripod to start. Just do yourself a favor and save some money in the long run...buy a good tripod to begin with. The majority of people buy a cheap $75 model hoping to get by, then they realize that it's just not good enough, so they've wasted $75 and a brand new tripod never gets used 2 or 3 times until you realize that it's almost worthless to use a cheap tripod, and your brand new cheap tripod ends up in the basement never to be used again.
The most important features I'd want in a good video tripod are
a) a good fluid head for smooth pans and tilts...in my experience these generally cost about $150 to $200 just to start if they have multiple degree's of freedom (x-y-z) and
b) plenty of height to get above people's heads. I personally like my tripod to get up to 5 1/2 feet or so unextended, then another couple of feet extended. If you can get the camera up 7 feet, that's enough to get above people's heads.
To get the above features, you're probably looking at $200 up for a new one. I recently sold my low-end well used bogen with fluid head for $150 and it sold within hours after I listed it.
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I agree on the pro quality tripod and head. But for what I'm wanting $1K for just the legs and $500 for the head. I've bought the cheap things first. If you ever take pictures of your good rig, i.e. tutorial, you do sometimes use that cheap stuff. And some folks record in rather shady places with a motto of never record with anything that you couldn't just walk away from and live to record another day.
I've mainly focused on handheld type rigs, shoulder mount. PVC can do wonders for that thing. For the price of a hot shoe and mic clip, you can build an entire double layered T frame. Which I'm starting to prefer. Comfortable and custom fit hand placement. If you drop it, your camcorder is NOT going to be the first thing to hit the ground. Or if you just set it down, you're not going to be setting it on the lens or LCD. And the upper level gives a mounting point for a stereo pair of microphones and beefy (DIY) shockmounts. Or just hang it from the top part to let gravity determine level. And various sub rigs if you don't glue anything. Comes completely apart and packs away / stores nicely. If something breaks, hardware stores are still more common than guitar centers / video rental stores. And since I'm currently using 1" PVC, I can run mic cables through it, string it together with rope for extra peace of mind, and other special purpose configurations. I've actually had to notch the pipes so I can take it apart, or even put it together. But for $50-ish, including the $20-ish pipe cutter.
Had I just started with the PVC route I might not have $300+ in *pods and clamps and braces. Even though I still use $150 of those, while the rest collect dust. Monopod as a 4th brace point / weight bearer. Mini tripod for semi-stealth, but still stabilized. Table top clamp for other I feel lazy or am cramped for space endeavors. About the only time that I use a tripod now is when I'm outdoors and recording a several hour concert (once a year). Hardly worth $1.5K for that even if my peeps deserve that. But most of my endeavors are stadium seating so a tripod need not apply. But something like the clip below, the sky's the limit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZtlSVgG1h8
My version looks more like this:
(http://home.earthlink.net/~shadow_7/pvc_rig_concept.gif)
Not pictured are two stems/handles down from the front. Plus a longer stem down the center with my usual monopod ace bandaged to it. Comfort is king if you're doing anything of duration. I chose 1" PVC because I'd figured that it'd be a more comfortable (old man) grip. Being able to slide a mic stand boom arm down the shaft or mic cables was just a bonus. Actually I wasn't really decided until the HW store had 9x crosses ONLY in 1" PVC. Plus the bolt was best fitted with a 1" T joint, plus cap. Yes I rendered it in povray first to get a feel for the parts needed / wanted. And when all was said and done I only had like a 2" stub of PVC pipe left over. Out of 2x 4' segments. Was 8', but the my car isn't that big. Most of my segments are 6"-ish in length (before going into the crosses).
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I think my HFS200 might be around $500 if you look enough. Very much love that cam. I upgraded from the HF200 because of a better sensor.
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I have the Canon R10. It's a nice camcorder for the price, but it does have some weaknesses. Low light recording is pretty poor and the auto focus is noisy in quiet scenes. Lastly it's not full hi def. It does have an external mic input, which few others in this price range have. And the audio sounds very good with external mics. With good lighting it looks great. It's also very easy to use.
Like any purchase, it depends what your going to use it for and how much your willing to pay.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZtlSVgG1h8
Hey ~ very cool vid!
I shoot stealthh 95% of the time, so I'd have to modify this a lot. But that's the beauty of it - it's so cheap - even if your idea is a complete flop - you're only out $5.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZtlSVgG1h8
Hey ~ very cool vid!
I shoot stealthh 95% of the time, so I'd have to modify this a lot. But that's the beauty of it - it's so cheap - even if your idea is a complete flop - you're only out $5.
I've got about $100 in flops at the moment. But the hardware store only had 1" pieces in sufficient quantity for my needs. Which is the expensive type. Plus other prototypes. For stealth, I find that just having the camcorder on the T joint is sufficient. It gives a traditional camcorder form factor a pistol grip factor. And you can handle it is such a way that you're not putting your finger(s) on the lens when trying to depress a button. I don't do stealth so my current incarnation looks a bit like the picture below. What I really like is that with a couple of T's and framing, you can run multiple cameras from a single platform. So if you're recording a group and every member of the group has a camcorder (iPhone), you can plug them in and let the go (with enough T's).
I really need to redo it in 1/2" PVC. It's a weight thing. Picture(s) taken with the camcorder on just the T. My other T.
(http://home.earthlink.net/~shadow_7/current_camcorder_rig.gif)
And some video that I shot with said rig. Or at least a variant of it. (sans mics / sans monopod).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EItP6ecKlZQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EItP6ecKlZQ)
And my flop(s) make up the parts of that "other" rig. 1" PVC has it's nice-ity's though. There's enough contact surface to not need any glue. Although if the joints get loose and you flex it, you'll get that PVC squeak of sorts. And it's large enough to run the XLR cables through the tube (one at a time and only in a straight line). Perhaps some rope through it and hang it on one of those T like back packs. Versus the monopod stub I've got pictured that (in theory) goes in the bottom and center T. But if you don't have a hefty monopod, or don't get that ace bandage really tight, it's sort of wet noodle-ish. Until I remake it in 1/2" PVC so it's (in theory) 1/PI the weight.