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student entry camera — another choice?
The University where I teach part time is about to move its film students over to 100% digital shooting through all the core film classes. (Students will have the option to follow a film track or a digital track for upper level classes.) So, no more Bolexes, no more 16mm film, etc.
I have been researching possible cameras students will have to buy (or be given in exchange for their lab fees) in a price range under $1,500. Requirements: able to manually control: exposure, focus, white balance. Strongly desired: have Zebras.
My first choice: the Canon HV40, but it has no Zebras. It records to tape which at present seems to me to be a plus for post.
Second choice, which is considerably more expensive: the relatively new Panasonic HDC-TM300K. This camera records to AVCHD, which looks to be a problem in post.(Strange that B&H does not carry it — is there a good reason?)
Is there a third choice out there (that I’m missing) for under $1,500 which includes all the manual requirements + zebras?
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6 Replies
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What will happen to the Bolexes? Can we buy them?
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Richard,
Way too early to tell. These changes will not take place before the spring session, and I suspect, more likely, not until the fall of 2010.
Rick Wise
director of photography
San Francisco Bay Area
and part-time instructor lighting and camera
grad school, SF Academy of Art University/Film and Video
https://www.RickWiseDP.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rwise
email: Rick@RickWiseDP.com -
I am totally incorrect about no zebras on the Canon HV40. It has both 70 and 100 settings. This will be the camera I recommend, unless one of you comes up with something better.
Rick Wise
director of photography
San Francisco Bay Area
and part-time instructor lighting and camera
grad school, SF Academy of Art University/Film and Video
https://www.RickWiseDP.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rwise
email: Rick@RickWiseDP.com -
I have to chime in here. My suggestion? Something big and bulky with as few features as possible. Something that is awkward to carry, that needs a tripod. Something with XLR and BNC connectors. A Bolex is a chunk of steel. It doesn’t have auto white balance or auto focus or image stabilization. Using that camera is a visceral experience. It’s finicky and noisy. You get what 2 or 3 minutes in a load. You can’t fake your way through it. You have to know what you are doing.
And yes, definitely something that records to tape. Not nearly as much work as film but at least maintains the idea of a physical piece of media. Something that needs to be handled and cataloged and not lost.
I say go with standard definition, DV or DVCam. HDV isn’t hardly HD anyway and using it isn’t going to teach anyone about what happens at a professional level. If you want to teach about formats and frame rates and post procedures, that’s a theory class. My recommended camera would be the JVC GY-DV500 (or its variants). Not a current model anymore but the used market is full of them (for cheap) and the closest you can get to a real manual experience without digging too far back.
Lets face it, three quarters of your students are going to show up with a laptop with editing software and a camcorder that is already as good or better than what you are looking to acquire. They don’t need to learn about using pro-sumer equipment. They need to learn fundamentals. They need to suffer and make mistakes.
And that’s my rant. thank you for listening.
need to purchase new? options.
DV:
Panasonic AG-DVC20
https://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?displayTab=O&storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=98187&catGroupId=14571&surfModel=AG-DVC20
or if you insist on HDV:
Sony HVRHD1000U
https://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/cat-broadcastcameras/cat-dvcam/product-HVRHD1000U/
Sony -
I don’t like either of those. These are students in a traditional film program? What are your objectives? Is audio completely immaterial? I could “maybe” see using these cameras in a visual journalism program, where the emphasis was on journalism, and not the pictures or the sound.
I’d go with the panasonic AG-HMC70. Full manual, XLR audio inputs, professional form factor. In fact it almost seems as it it was designed to be a school camera, sort of the Pentax K1000 of video. By the time you adopt it, and in the quantity pricing you’ll be able to get, it will quite possibly be under $1500.
I suppose I should be glad your school is doing this! Every time a film school does this, it makes it easier for us to recruit students. 😉
Steven Bradford
https://www.3dstereomedia.com 3D company I’ve worked with since 1990
https://www.seanet.com/~bradford/ my personal home page, find my greenscreen page there.
https://www.seattlefilminstitute.com the school I teach at. -
Thanks for all your input! All good notions.
Rick Wise
director of photography
San Francisco Bay Area
and part-time instructor lighting and camera
grad school, SF Academy of Art University/Film and Video
https://www.RickWiseDP.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rwise
email: Rick@RickWiseDP.com
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