Cameras..

Ki-Ki

Ki-Ki

Veteran
Well I have a small budget to spend on 'camcorders', or cameras.

For filming, i'm just wondering.

Is it best spending the money on one brilliant camera, or two good HD cameras..

I've seen people celebrating that they've just got the new RED or the hottest camera here and there.. and it makes me think. Is it fine to shoot everything on one camera. Apart from taking twice, three times as long..

There'd be issues with shooting a conversation from one angle, then trying to film it from another - where there lips are out of sync. Without just the casual 'back of the head' or close ups on facial feature shots.

Just wanted to know what you guys think..

One camera?
Or two..
:beer:
 
This is a question you should talk to your DP and producer, discuss it in detail in terms of improved quality vs. cost. I choose to shoot 1 camera for pretty much everything other than TV. On the few shorts that I have had multiple cameras they were all from generally the same direction with different lenses, you do get more coverage. I have never had a problem with the person with their back to the camera having out of sync voices, you can't see their lips when their back is to the camera. If you can see their lips they should be mic'd to catch good audio from them.
 
As a DP I would would say one great camera. 2 cameras are a luxury. The camera will not make the movie good but if you have the option of 2 HVX's or a RED (example you can put into proportion for your budget) then I would go with the RED. Still spend most of the budget on crew and talent. I would personally invest in a talented DP with his or her own gear. And I am talking at least a $100 day rate. That way you get the whole kit. And by the way most movies using shot reverse shot use only one camera. You shoot one persons CU MS and then the other persons CU and MS and then a WS of both of them. Then you can cut around in post. Using 2 cameras doesn't always work so well because it requires more crew and setup time. Also editing could get a little more confusing.

my 2 cents
 
Editing isn't confusing if you slate correctly. If you A/B mark everything, you might have issues if you don't have a script super. But if you slate each camera independently, then everything would work out just fine.

I DP frequently. I don't necessarily like doing it, but people think I make things look pretty (most of the time), so I help out.

But I (personally) frequently use two cameras. I use it to grab the OTS on both. I use it for additional coverage. I use it to get scenes that would be a PITA to continue running back and forth.

But I use single camera as well. It depends on the scene. One show I used one camera for some stuff, and two for the rest.

You might need to be more precise with lighting on the production end, and color grading on the post end. But it does speed things up significantly. If you have a crew and capable operator(s).

PS> 100 dollars a day is extremely low budget stuff. I've been paid 150 a day to PA.
 
This is a good read, thank's for the replies & opinions.

I have to be honest though, I don't know what a 'CU MS' and 'WS' is/are.
The only idea i could grasp was that MS and WS were reflective..
If there abbreviations, then that's probably why.

Right now i'm deciding to go with the Canon E0S 500D or stay with getting a couple of HF20's (Canon)
It's quite nan important decision to, won't have this type of money for a while, and of course i'll be using them for Quest-Fest. Though I was told that the E0S 500D ''is/looks like a RED'', found it hard to beleive at first but if that's the case. I'd shoot with that then over two camera's i guess.
 
CU = Close Up, MS = Medium Shot, WS = Wide Shot

And I would probably vote one camera...based mostly on my experience using two.

Although it can be helpful to have additional coverage, especially when shooting multiple takes of a conversation...I invariably ended up going with an A camera for most of my intended edits and using the second as a B cam for pickup and added options in post.

Which is definitely helpful...the best way to decide may be to try and guess what best suits your individual style.

Do you imagine yourself really zoning in on exactly what you need, and working to perfect that single shot - and/or are you the type of director that goes in with a clear and definite idea of how you are going to shoot a particular scene and why (shooting your edit)? Or do you think you prefer to go in with a general idea of what you're looking for, with the intention of "finding" your shot, maybe leaving a second cameraman (or the DP) to provide coverage, or experiment?

I have had success (I think) using two cameras and mixing both philosophies...which are also not the only ones out there.

So I guess my suggestion is to work a little backwards and see if that helps. Start brainstorming on your production planning...and see if that reveals a preference for one over the other. What you do with the camera(s), in pursuit of the story, will always take the production further than any amount of tallied-up quantitative or qualitative factors. Tracing the decision backwards in this way, though, may help you understand which of those factors (still relevant, from a production value standpoint) are most important to you.

Just some ideas!
 
Ki-Ki said:
This is a good read, thank's for the replies & opinions.

I have to be honest though, I don't know what a 'CU MS' and 'WS' is/are.
The only idea i could grasp was that MS and WS were reflective..
If there abbreviations, then that's probably why.

Right now i'm deciding to go with the Canon E0S 500D or stay with getting a couple of HF20's (Canon)
It's quite nan important decision to, won't have this type of money for a while, and of course i'll be using them for Quest-Fest. Though I was told that the E0S 500D ''is/looks like a RED'', found it hard to beleive at first but if that's the case. I'd shoot with that then over two camera's i guess.
Click to expand...


On the Canon EOS 500D... a review gives the following on 1080p mode...

1080p video

So what about that much-vaunted HD video? While the 500D isn't quite as accomplished as the £2000 5D Mark II in this area, it can still record impressive 1080p video at 20fps. And like the 5D Mark II you can record about half an hour of video (4Gb maximum file size).

----------------

That's 20 FPS ... not quite even 24 fps... so, only the 720p mode works at the usual frame rates for modern film making... On the other hand... make the film Black and White, get a funny little character in a bowler hat... and give a bit of nostalgia for 15 fps silent film making...

However, in the same class, there are:

Nikon D90
and (soon, if not now...)

Panasonic Lumix GH-1
The Panasonic DMC-GH1 interchangeable lens camera will retail for ¥150,000 (about US$1,530) when it comes out on April 24 in Japan. The price includes a 45-200-millimeter lens which in the GH1’s Micro Four Thirds format will translate to an equivalent 90-400mm zoom.

Panasonic likes to call the GH1 a CREATIVE HD HYBRID because it records not only high-quality photos but also high definition 1080/24p or smooth 720/60p HD (High Definition) movies in AVCHD format.

And get this: unlike the Nikon D90, Canon EOS 5D MkII and the just-announced Canon EOS 500D DSLRs, the GH1 does have continuous autofocus in movie mode. The new GH1 has a 12.1-megapixel high-speed Live MOS sensor and the Venus Engine HD image processor with two CPUs for speed.

The GH1 follows its older sibling DMC-G1 in the Micro Four Thirds stable of Panasonic interchangeable lens cameras. They function like DSLRs, without the bulky pentaprism/pentamirror mechanism.
 
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The thing is the Mark II and GH1 are about double the prize of my budget. I'm looking for something a little less wallet melting. Of course, thing's come at a price..

The thing's i've read though is that british/european - PAL models have different settings.

24 for the USA, we get 30 & 50fps on average, and i think a lot of people buy camera's based on that 24fps.

Spotted a new HD one yesterday, it had a Manual Ring. I drooled.
 
I think it comes down to style. As someone who favors mobile framing and long takes, I very rarely shoot with two cams simply because the use of mobile framing/long takes frequently causes continuity issues when you go into post. You realize that your actor, or worse, only one of your actors performed an action in one take but not the next, and that becomes exponentially more difficult to deal with in long takes. Stylistically, if I shot mostly stuck on a tripod then I'd have no issue with two cams, because as other people said - it makes dialogue scenes where you have a two shot, and OTS angles from both actors, much more easy to deal with when you head into post.

To reiterate what someone else said above me, talk to your DP and producer about how you want to shoot it (DP) and what kind of budget options you have with each cam (producer). You should be able to come to a good decision after some discussion with them.
 
Depends on what your shooting too.

Action shots that need to be lined up right and may only be able to be done in one take would need a lot of coverage. For less precise scenes and general conversation i've always used one camera. I guess a lack of availability on more than one camera has been an issue, but I like one camera. Plus, I have yet to find someone who can produce a style similar to mine when it comes to taping so I normally just film myself with one camera.
 
Wait a minute... you're talking about a Canon $500 camera and a $40,000 Red camera in the same breathe?? And wondering if you should use one or two cameras?? I think you need to keep things in the same class and devulge your budget before one goes off talking about the Red... not to mention the terabytes and terabytes of storage you'll be needing in the edit suite.
 
The camera isn't $500, and yes. I've been told it has the same quality, or very much close to the same outcome of footage as a RED ONE does. There's no discussion of myself getting a Red, I probably never will.

I'm just debating which camera to get, and whether to get one or lease or not. If i get one on lease, i can aim for a higher end camera. If i don't, i'll be down the HV30, HF20, E0S 500D end of the board. :)
 
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