Cheap Backup Camera ?

[Danny Grizzle]

Canon EOS auto focus lenses can’t be used on anything except Canon, as a practical matter.

The 10 Canon FD lenses I plan to use on the Sony NEX-7 are my old breach mount manual focus lenses. They were all purchased in the 1970’s. Even though they are old, they are in perfect condition. I’ve spent decades with them, and I’m more sentimentally attached to them than any of my newer gear – although my set of EOS Tilt-Shift lenses come close. Something about auto focus I deeply distrust.

There is a fine line between speed / convenience and laziness / working sloppy. It is too easy, even for pros, to shoot some stuff in Program mode. Some of the stuff I shot in 1973, when I was a teenager with my first good camera (Canon TL-QL with a 50mm f/1.8 and a 135mm f/2.5) are better than what I was shooting 20 years later. I’ve been scanning my early chromes made at family reunions, for instance, and because I was deliberately working that 135mm wide open, they look great. Later on, I set the camera to Program mode when shooting “snapshots” of family — and looking back, I regret not working harder on the pictures that matter the most to me.

[Matthew Jeschke]

Yeah I have the same difficulty with my Handy Cam. I’m quickly out growing the equipment. It also overexposes just about everything I shoot.

Eventually I hope to go for some sort of prosumer setup that accepts Canon L-Series lenses.

Do you have a website or anything? I assume from your level of expertise you run a production studio or have a camera shop?

[Dave Fisher]

Hey I know I’m late to the party, but I recommend using ONE camera- your best camera, and edit the video! That way all your shots will match. Of course you’ll have to plan out every step of the process…

good luck
dave fisher

[Matthew Jeschke]

Yeah, sound like a plan. I bought the HV9X and LOVE IT! It’s AWESOME… This is the first video I cut with it for my Real Estate Business.

I have a Handycam SR5 which is literally a POS but selling used for more than I paid for the HV9x so I’m thinking of selling the Handycam and getting a second HV9x although ultimately I want a Canon T2i.

The HV9x could do a tad better on landscapes which are turning out grainy (maybe I set it up wrong?). Most of my shots will be indoors though and it’s worked AMAZINGLY well there!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/f7gXQOkLGzE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Matthew Jeschke]

It didn’t like my embed…

My first production with the HV9x

I’m trying it again…

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[Al Bergstein]

I think you did well with the gear you had to use, but the story doesn’t do it for me. My dad has/had a house in Tucson, which I am currently selling as the estate executor, so I know something about the Tucson market. I didn’t get any sense of why this place is any better or different than any of the other places in Tucson. Your clips do not do it justice, and I could not care less (pardon my bluntness here), about driving into the place.

Remember, you have 5 to 10 seconds to show me why I should care about this place. The opening needs to be something cool to grab me. Some questions for you to ponder: Who is your audience? Are they young buyers or retirees? What is the price range of these homes? What does the facility really look like? I have no sense of what this place is like by seeing your video. Where exactly is it? You just say, south of Tucson. That could mean the dumps out near the airport, or Green Valley, or someplace in between. Be specific. If I wanted to live in Tucson, I would want way more specifics than this.

Marketing is about really knowing your audience, and appealing to them. I don’t sense you have any knowledge of who your audience is here. Or how your are really going to get them excited about buying a home there.

Best of luck.

Al

[Matthew Jeschke]

I have an update to make. I like the HX9v but have been hitting it’s limitations. The biggest of which is how long the battery can hold a charge. When shooting video it’s only 20-30 minutes. And lovely Sony was nice enough to make the power plug RIGHT next to the tripod mount so I cannot hookup external power while using a tripod.

Despite this camera is AMAZING, that has completely messed up some of my shots. I’ve had to constantly film for a while then run back, recharge the battery, and come back to filming.

Another interesting pitfall is the video files are HUGE. It doesn’t have a mode to dumb down the quality much. Pretty much always films in 1920x1080p at 60fps. I think I can dumb it down to 60fps interlaced but that’s it. Making it really cumbersome to do simple little video blog posts on Youtube.

I’m now in the market for another cheap camera. Ultimately, the quality should be good enough but doesn’t have to match the HX9v which is completely JAW DROPPING btw.

All I really need it for is a fairly decent wide angle camera to shoot mechanic videos I make.

MUST have a battery that lasts at least a couple hours.
MUST do 1080p (preferably 60fps but not necessary as long as can do 720p at 60fps for slow motion shots).
MUST use a USB plug to download
MUST have a tripod mount.
MUST have a plug for an external microphone.

I have been quite keen of the pocket cameras (Creative & Kodak). Their motion jitter / shake is appalling though. But I probably would have this on a tripod most all the time so might not be an issue.

Curious of any other cheap cameras anybody’s had experience with?

Ultimately, I’m saving some dough for the 5d Mark III. Mainly for still photography but I think it has a pretty awesome video capabilities too. Just don’t have the money for it quite yet.

These cheap cameras are starting to earn me my keep though. I’m making a few bucks here and there off of Youtube and other informational products I sell created with them 🙂 Despite you have to tweak / work them a bit harder to get the job done.

I’m learning the ropes of online publishing. Mostly as an excuse to play with more cameras.

Here’s several of my latest ventures,
https://www.keystoaz.com
https://www.fitlish.com
https://www.corvettemedic.com