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OT: When did Consumer Cameras Become Awesome?
Very O.T. but I thought I’d share…
I’ve been doing pro video for about 10 years now, so 1998 is probably the last time I touched a consumer-grade camcorder. Why would I? I have an old VX-2000 that I use for all my home movies and it works great. I’ve even been shooting HD movies around the house on my V1U recently. Why would I need something else?
Well, we did the whole Disney thing this year and I decided I needed something smaller to take with me. So I borrowed my cousin’s little HD Cannon camera (whatever the last version of the VIXIA HF-10 is called.)
I got the footage home and was shocked. This stuff looks great! It’s true 24p HD and once I put it on DVD it honestly looks very similar to my V1U footage. (In sunlight anyway, this stuff still has its limits.)
But for a tiny little flash-card camera I was super impressed. Here’s a quick sample. (Compressed for the web, but trust me, the original looks fantastic.)
https://redfeathervideo.com/preview
Anyway, I’m probably behind the times and you all know this already, but I thought I’d share in case you didn’t…consumer cameras are pretty great these days!
(I even managed to remove the pull-down using Cinema Tools to get a true 23.98 progressive file out of it. There was no documentation on that, of course, so I spent an hour just guessing patterns…eventually I hit the right one.)
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8 Replies
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Nice footage…
If you only knew how much TV uses equipment like this, it would blow you mind. Technology is absolutely amazing!
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Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions
https://web.mac.com/schazamproductions
schazamproductions@mac.com -
Hi Jeff,
I had the same reaction when a friend showed me a clip from a Canon HV20.
By the way – Apple has documentation on the process for the removal of the pull down:
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT2410?viewlocale=en_US
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Yeah, that’s exactly why I sold my vx2000 and bought an HV20 for home use.
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In a pinch, I have used my personal Canon HG10 to shoot a spot for a client that uses the Panasonic HVX200s.
No one has mentioned anything about quality differences and the spot has been broadcast on 2 different international networks.
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It shows that if you put a camera in the “right” hands, your results can look good.
Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Board of Directors
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group -
I think that if you look at the major motion pictures today and some of the TV programs that are currently airing… You’ll see that its not what you have, but its how you use it.
Yes… Anyone can purchase this stuff but most don’t know how to use it properly.
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Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions
https://web.mac.com/schazamproductions
schazamproductions@mac.com -
hi jeff
yeah very nice on first glance, but the edges… did you have a soft filter on the edges, or is that what the lens on that camera does? If its the camera, hmmm im not sure i would be too chuffed with that… unless it cost $100 or something.
samantha’s soo cute.
mark. -
Yep, that’s a filter. I made this to be the DVD intro and I was trying to differentiate it from the “real” video that followed. So “dream look” is what I decided on.
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