Topic: Camcorder/Videography Guide 101

[dxtreme]

Hey guys, Coming from years from the indie/film/video industry, these are some stuff that I can share with you fellow tapers.

1) Which camera to buy with XXX budget ??
The site below provides a huge amount of information regarding ALL cam
BRAND from the $260 canon ZR850 to $9000 Canon XL-H1.

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/ratings.php

2) Once you picked up a few cams in that you like or in your price range, Read the more concise reviews here before making your purchase

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/d/Reviews&level_b=Camcorder.htm

3) Get a decent shotgun mic, If your cam does not have XLR connector, then this very decent RODE video-mic. It is a very practical solution for people that do not want to get into the hassle of getting a XLR adapter. The price also wont forced you to take a second mortgage on your house.

Listen to the mic here
http://www.dvcreators.net/shotgun-shootout/

If you need stereo, you can get the new stereo mic for $100 more. It also comes with a free windshock cover for the mic. Watch the video review of the mic here (its near the bottom under 'Rode Stereo Video mic')

http://dvestore.com/theatre/index.html#

4) I know alot of us owns very nice XLR mics. If you want to use your XLR mics with the 35mm plug on most consumer cams, you need the beachtek adapter.

Watch for a movie preview of the Mic. It is somewhere in the middle here, look for Beachtek XLR adapter.
http://dvestore.com/theatre/index.html#
 
5) Get tips and tricks and perfect your cam skills by watching this weekly FREE podcast.

http://www.videomaker.com/vidcast

I try to update this as much as I can. Pm me for some ideas to put on this tread.

[dee-j]

The videouniversity forums can produce helpful insight from time to time. Not sure if that is in line with what you are trying to link help to or not.

[dxtreme]

HD or SD cam ??

Well, HD is definitely future proof. Even though your comp might not be able to handle HD editing now, sooner or later you WILL upgrade your comp. Also most HD cams can shoot in both HD and SD.

One of the biggest camcorder to hit the market this year is the Canon HV20 retailing at $1099.  This is a HD cam with HDV codec. One of the most desired feature of this camera is its ability to shoot at 24frame per seconds ala film camera.

Check out the footage provided here on canon's website. They have both indoor and outdoor shots in HD 720 p and 1080p as well as SD footage.

http://usa.canon.com/app/html/See_The_Difference/hd_cmos.shtml

Hope this helps the SD vs HD dilema 

[dxtreme]

One of the most common problem is people blowing out their firewire port, either on their camcorder or on their computer. The later being cheaper to fix with a new firewire card but it is a lot of hassle and expensive to fix the camcorder's firewire port.

There are 3 types of firewire port, 4 pin, 6 pin and 9 pin. The 4 and 6 pin are firewire 400 and the 9 pin is firewire 800. The 4 pins are more delicate than the 6 pins, these are usually found on laptops. The extra 2 pins on the 6 pin firewire are for DC powering of a unit. The 9 pin connection is the most sturdy and often can be seen on pro camera.

One other important point - always be EXTRA careful plugging in an removing the firewire on the camera and on the computer. An untold number of owners have damaged their firewire port connectors (physically and/or electrically) when either plugging in the cable, removing it, or stressing it while the cable is in the camera. I recommend right angle firewire cable for extra sturdier and secured connection.

A few manufactures have a certain order how they want things turned on (e.g Panasonic HVX200, firestore ...etc) - always READ THE "fine" MANUAL to be safe! Regardless, The SAFEST WAY TO ENSURE YOU DO NOT BLOW OUT YOUR FIREWIRE PORT IS

TO TURN OFF BOTH DEVICES (COMPUTER AND CAMERA) BEFORE CONNECTING AND REMOVING YOUR FIREWIRE CABLE CONNECTION. Do this REGADRLESS even if the instruction manual didnt specify this explicitly. ALSO MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT PLUG IN YOUR 6 PIN FIRE CABLE UPSIDE DOWN INTO A PORT.

Some people say, you can only blow out a 6 pin firewire port, not True. We have a panasonic gs500 with 4 pin firewire port that was short circuited. Thank godness, that camera has usb 2.0 connection port as an alternative.

[dxtreme]

A very good comparison done on the market's leading HD cam today. They professionally compared the Canon HV20, Sony HDR-HC7, Panasonic HDC-SD1 and the JVC-GZ-HD7.

If you are in the market for a HD cam, IT IS A MUST READ.

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/The-Great-HD-Shoot-Out---Canon-HV20-Sony-HDR-HC7-Panasonic-HDC-SD1-JVC-GZ-HD7.htm

[dxtreme]

Ok, so you got your shiny new HD camcorder. Now its time to get some blank tapes, so many different selections. Which tape stock should you buy ??

I am not a chemical engineer, so I am going to share just the basic idea of how to buy/choose tape stock.

a) All manufactures has to lube their tape or film, in order to make it move through the camcorder head to capture your picture and audio.

b) There are generally 2 types of lubes in the market, Wet and Dry (note: nowadays, not many companies use wet lubes anymore).

So why should you care ?

c) Because the lubes leaves chemical/gunk that will accumulate on your camcorder's recording head. This along with friction of moving the tape/film are the main cause of wear and tear on your camcorder recording head. This is also the reason for using video head cleaners to "clean" those lubes or gunk out.

Ok, so now what ?

d) You cannot avoid wear and tear on your camcorder's head unless you go with an external solution like www.firestore.com

e) To minimize wear and tear, most production houses only use with ONE BRAND OF TAPE with each camcorder. This will avoid the mixture of different chemicals being left over from the tape/film on your camcorder's head.

So, which tape is the best ?

f) 10 people will have 11 different answer for this question. I can only share my experience, most production houses and indie shooters around my area /that I know of use Panasonic tapes.

Tip: Next time when you buy a used camcorder, ask the person what kind of tapes they used with their camcorder. People that know much about their camcorders are likely to take care of their equipments better.

 

[dxtreme]

Is Longer Better ?

Normal DV tape film is 7 microns in thickness. These "extended" tapes are physically thinner than normal tapes and thus are more susceptible to tape jams, stretching or other undesired consequences.

Standard miniDV tapes have a 63 minute load and generally, extended" tapes have a 83minute run time.

[dxtreme]

When to clean your Head.

When you run a tape cleaner, do not run it for more than 5 seconds at a time, and certainly do not run it more than twice consecutively

Why? because Tape cleaners are very abrasive and any use longer than 10-15 seconds will surely lead to premature head wear.

If it takes longer than that to clean the heads, you probably have bigger problems than a clogged tape head.

If you have to switch tape brands, a very good advice is to run a tape cleaner before the switch.This will help "prep" the recording head for whatever lubricant the tape manufacturer uses.

[dxtreme]

A must have $10.78 Panasonic Cam Hack

Our Panasonic GS500 consumer camera is a great little B-Roll Cam. It takes great image with its 3cdd imager, is small and very stealth. Unfortunately one very important feature is missing from the cam, the ability to monitor audio via a headphone. Fortunately, there is a very easy $10.78 Radioshack hack that can be done to this little cam.

a) In order to monitor your audio, all you need to do is use the included I/O cable that came with the cam. Then you need to somehow get audio out from the cable's rca audio jack to your headphone.

b) Get the following 2 adapters from your local Radioshack or www.radioshack.com

    1) http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103710&cp
       

    2) http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102697&cp
       

c) Plug in the two RCA audio jack into the Y adapter.

d) Plug in the stereo phone coupler

e) Plug in your headphone and you done ! Now you can monitor and adjust your audio level accordingly during taping.



I hope you guys find this cheap little Hack useful