[Matthew Jeschke]

Wow those are some nice cameras in my book.

The Canons look relatively affordable, I see used HV30’s on amazon for under $400. I’m curious what you think of the SLR setups. And have you played with the NEX-V20?

I’d like the ability to reuse my camera lenses for video. Currently when I get some $$ I’m going to spring for a t2i, but wish canon had a professional format video camera like the NEX-V20 that could accept my lenses from my SLR camera.

[Matthew Jeschke]

Great advice.

I have one friend who loaned me a pro SD camera. Which has best light performance by far. I also bought a color card to see how well I can touch up the cameras I have in post (should have done this a long time ago).

When I look at the consumer reviews the lower end cameras have similar color performance to high end ones. I think higher end cameras have much better optics though and collect better light.

I totally agree with you. I may just skip the $200 stuff, squeeze the performance I can out of my current camera and see what money I can make out of them yet. I’m working with a Sony VX2100, Sony HDR-SR5, and Go Pro HD Hero (really bad performance). None of the cameras are quite up to snuff, but with ample lighting they seem to perform OK.

Unfortunately, I’m a laid off engineer though just tinkering at home to make a few $$ right now. I REALLY REALLY enjoy this stuff though. My previous job sent me to school for editing. I should get a hold of my old professor and see if she cannot help out someway. She has GOBS of high end equipment.

And maybe I’ll have to make a program on how to make your own dollies, jibs, etc for cinematography next 🙂 I really like your ideas!

Curious what do you shoot with?

[Matthew Jeschke]

I guess let me rephrase my question here…

I’m totally with you and would love more than anything to use all this really nice equipment. My budget is VERY though. I have sales around $50 – $100 / month with my first mechanic tutorial. I want to create more at this point but don’t have much capital to do so.

Say I get the CANON HFM40… I’m wondering if the cheaper versions Cannon sells have very similar technology but not all the bells and whistles. All I need is to get a few more angles of the mechanic repairs I complete so the clients can tell how to do them as well. The camera need only provide a clear HD picture in ideal lighting (I setup my own lighting).

I’m just curious which lower end cameras are decent enough to fit my bill. Consumer reviews of some of these cheaper Cannon cameras are really good but they aren’t camera savvy so I asked on here.

Also, when I go to the store they have more $200 – $300 HD cameras from manufacturers like Sony, Cannon, Panasonic, etc than I can count. However, nobody seems to be able to answer a single questions about any of them beyond what’s on the tag.

I suppose another thing I should ask is there a store you know of that let’s a person test the equipment out… Kind of like a try before you buy?

Thanks for the advice. I’ve added some of the equipment you recommended to my dream list 🙂

[Matthew Jeschke]

I’ve got a Olympus LS10 recorder. I figure I’ll eventually need a couple more.

Nice camera but I’m not sure I want to budget that much for backups if I don’t have to. I see there’s lots of HD cameras on the market now that retail for around $200 – $300 each.

Here’s my feature list…

– USB plug on camera (not on a crappy dock station like my current camera)
– shoots in full 1080p @ 30fps and 720p @ 60fps
– wide angle lens (so I don’t have to backup 20 feet to get a picture like with my handycam).
– Mic plugin on camera
– Tripod screw on bottom (I’m sure most have this).
– And preferably it would have a hot shoe mount but not absolutely necessary.

I think if I end up spending around $500 / ea. I’ll just get SLR cameras for stationary video backups.

I had budgeted around $200 for each backup. And I’ll probably get 2 making a total of three backups and an SLR for primary.

[Matthew Jeschke]

Thanks… My current camera is HD. It’s a HDR-SR5 from Sony. It’s a nice enough camera but has a few nuances so I’d never get it again.

The film will be a full out production DVD for sale on my website. I’m sure the video won’t be of cinematic quality. The last program I shot my cameras were loaners including my HDR-SR5, a Go Pro Hero HD, and Sony VX2100 SD pro-sumer camera.

The picture from each was dramatically different so I dropped the saturation on them all to 0.65 and added a soft contrast. What is it you do to clean the cameras up in post? Do you do similar things?

Eventually I want a set of t2i cameras for stationary cameras and then a nice HD prosumer canon or the Sony NEX-VG10… Do you know is Cannon going to do a setup similar to the NEX-VG10? Ultimately I’m a cannon guy and I like the opportunity to reuse my lenses.

[Matthew Jeschke]

You’re a lifesaver! That was it. I didn’t even know you could do a global FX like that… That’s actually kind of handy now that I learned it 🙂

Thanks!!!

[Matthew Jeschke]

Awesome!

Thanks!!

[Matthew Jeschke]

I’ve never used one at all…

I’m curious if I want to move around a shot, and actually do want the camera to rotate, pan, tilt etc. Is that still possible at all with a steady cam?

Is it possible to lock up one axis to get shots like that or do they simply always cancel out everything with a 3-axis bearing?

Thanks!

[Matthew Jeschke]

That does look like a great steadycam…

Curious what features do you look for in these… do any have a clutching mechanism so you can rotate the camera, instead of always having it float?

Thanks!

[Matthew Jeschke]

Thanks for the info!

I JUST bought the Olumpus LS-10. It’s basically a digital tape deck with microphone built in.

I don’t believe it has XLR ports though 🙁 I’m not too savvy yet, I’m assuming XLR helps provide lower impedance and or powered mic?

The Olumpus was pretty cheap on ebay ($150) and seems to work GREAT for my little Youtube posts and simple DVD tutorials I create.

I wish I had gotten your note sooner though, that Zoom H4n looks like a better quality recorder yet but seems to retail at similar price to LS-10. I hadn’t even heard of it before 🙁

Ultimately once things start rolling I’ll need more than one recorder though so next time I’ll have to try that one 🙂

Thanks for the info!!!!