camera/equipment recommendations for round-the-world documentary

G

greyhavens

Member
I have been given a grant to travel the world and make a documentary video. I have done quite a bit of research into what would be the best camera (and microphone) to buy for this journey, but I would love dvxuser input. My camera budget is <$2500. My dilemma is: prosumer miniDV (Panasonic DVX100, Sony PD170) and have to deal with hauling 100+ miniDV tapes across three continents, or go with an HDD camera (Canon HG10, Sony HDR-SR7) and have less quality control but easy digital storage? An external mic jack is a necessity and 24P would be preferable, but at this point I'm open to anything. What camera would you recommend for a non-stop 1-year trip through Scotland, Tunisia, India, and Hong Kong? Thanks everyone.
 
If you travel with a consumer HD hard-drive based camera, you'll end up having to carry hard drives with you -- which could be more unwieldy than carrying all the miniDV tapes. I would probably have a master and a backup hard drive at any given time -- and depending on how much footage you're planning to film, you could be buying more and more hard drives as your trip progresses.

The HG10 would probably be my preferred choice of small consumer cameras, as opposed to the flash card cameras, since you most likely won't want to be offloading the cards at every stop along the way.

Good luck, and enjoy the trip!

-- Andrew
 
or you could hire me and i'll take care of it. Hell, I'll work for free! haha j/k

have you ever thought about just FedEXing the tapes back home along the way. I have heard of people doing this from the middle of africa with hard drives even.
 
The trusty HV30 would be nice. That way you get a nice picture and it won't look out of place when you film on the streets (won't have people looking at the camera setup with funny looks on their faces ruining your shots).

There's the new canon camera too that records to flash and HDD I think, but again I think it's AVCHD or somehting funky.
 
yes the HV 20 or 30 are incredible for their size/prize !! I would seriously consider those and lug mini DV cassettes around ( and make sure I back them up and keep them in a safe place)
Actually I would ponder a solution where you plan to buy cassettes on your trip, so you dont have to lug many around. Western countries still sell DV tapes. AND !! think about a solution to send them safely home every 20 tapes ! fedex or ups them ....in many countries big cameras raise eyebrows and permits are needed. If you play the tourist with a HV 30 youll be much easier off !!!! Careful in India and other Asian countries!!!!!
good luck ( and yes I envy you too )
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top