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It’s time to enter the Full HD camcorder world from DVX100B
Hello,
It’s time to get out of the editing room and film a documentary but now I’m faced with a huge dilemma: which camera to buy? Of course, I’d love the best for the least money 🙂 I really loved the 24p cinema look of the dvx100B, and that’s one criteria. Sometimes I’ll be without a sound person, so I need XLR inputs. I have a nice Sennheiser mic and all the cables. Phew. Sound is solved. I don’t mind buying a used camera, if I could keep the cost around $2,000. Thanks so much for all and every advice and recommendation. Olga
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3 Replies
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You’re in luck- this is the year of affordable 4K. So you can just skip an entire generation and go right to full 4K which gets you HD and 4K conceivably covering the standards at play at least for another few years. I’d look into these for starters:
https://shop.panasonic.com/shop/model/DMC-GH4KBODY
and
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicproductioncamera4k
Noah
Call Box Training.
Featuring the Panasonic GH2 and Panasonic AC160/130. -
I agree with Noah that 4K is extremely affordable at this point and if you are going to make the jump to anything you might as well “future proof” yourself. That being said, to me, the real advantage of most of the 4K cameras is there ability to still shoot in beautifully sharp, downscaled, HD formats. This gives the flexibility for now and for whatever jobs you may get in the future.
Both cameras that Noah recommended are good choices. The GH4 is probably the lower cost of ownership and if you are looking for the most “professional” camera, the additional I/O base (AG-YAGHG) that Panasonic has made for the GH4K really can’t be beat. It gives you all of the professional connections and audio meters that you would require in a broadcast environment while still giving you the flexibility of shooting with a DSLR. Micro 4/3 lenses are also relatively inexpensive for high quality glass. Also many options.
The Blackmagic Production Camera gives a lot of cool options as it is a Super35 global shutter with the ability to record 4K or HD ProRes. However, the cost of ownership I believe is higher as you will need to invest in a full battery system, more expensive memory cards, and you are limited to Canon or Canon mount lenses while Micro 4/3 can be adapted to nearly any lens. The Blackmagic camera also does not have the professional I/O that is available in the GH4K’s base unit.
Co-President at fourB Productions, Inc.
Blackmagic Cinema Camera, RED Scarlet-X, Panasonic HPX170, Canon 7D
2011 Macbook Pro 17″, 2.3 Ghz Quad Core, 16GB RAM
2008 Mac Pro 2.6 Ghz 8 Core, 10GB RAM
AJA IoXT, Blackmagic Intensity Pro, Blackmagic Mini Monitor
Adobe Production Premium CC, Avid Media Composer 7, Final Cut Pro Studio 3 -
Hi Olga – I love the image quality from both the GH4 (just rented one) and the 4K BMPC – but, as I understand it you’re looking for a camcorder with XLR inputs for $2000. Neither of these cameras seems to be what you are looking for.
For a pro camcorder with XLRs in the $2000 price range, the choices are pretty much (in decreasing price order) Canon XA20
, Sony HXR-NX30
and Panasonic AG-AC90
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They’ll all give you great image quality, and any of them would be a significant upgrade over your DVX – but between the three of them, I would get the Sony for its amazing Optical Steady Shot – which is like having a stabilizer built into the camera. Here is what it can do:
Hope this is helpful!
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