Greenhorn: HD or DV? What camera to buy?

T

TangoZulu

New member
I want to film some shorts and maybe documentaries. So I am looking to get a "first" camera. Is DV good enough or should I bite the bullet and do HD? Is DV on the verge of being as forgotten as vinyl? Or is DV still good enough? With $3000, what should I buy? Canon XL2? (Will I need interchangeable lenses?) Canon GL2? Sony DSR-PD170? or something else? Come one vets, help a virgin out.

And if this question has already been asked and answered. Please, let me know where.

Z
 
DV will be around for a long while.

For 3,000 A Pd170 or a Vx2100 would be a good choice. A DVX is a little more expensive. But gives your great flexibilty with 24P and a built in wide angle lense, and other professional features like XLR audio plugs.

as for the XL2, its an amazing machine, but its pretty expensive. ( $4,000) also You dont really need interchange lenses. Its great to have, but you dont NEED it. Any high end miniDV camera has enough telephoto and wideangle capability to be usefull. The interchangebale lenses are only really useful for special shots, and specific applications. The stock lense on the XL2 is great.

GL2, is good. Its very small, inexpensive and has a GREAT picture for the price. Plus you can use the money you save for the neccessary accesories, A tough case, Tripod with a Fluid head, Editing program etc.

About 1/3 of you budget should be allocated toward accesories. Cause good tripods are expensive (3-500$) an good NLE (non linear editor AKA Editing program) is about $500 and all the protective gear can be a hundred bucks. So if youre left wth 2,000 for a camera after the neccesary gear, a Gl2 or a vx2100 might be a good choice.

For actual filmmaking, as opposed to Docs, I would save more money and invest in a Panasonic DVX 100A. This is the Namesake of this site. It has 24P or 24 frames per second image capture. the same as a Film Camera. The 24 Frames per second image capture is critical to achieveing a film look. It really makes all the difference. The DVX is the cheapest camera available with 24P. Running about $3,450 at EVSonline.com Plus theres some discounts for being a DVXuser.com member and some factory rebates. Plus the DVx is capable of some amazing 60i (standard Video) footage. Should you be interested in using that for Documentaries.


Picking a Camera is very difficult. You should make a list of what you want the camera to do. Like Good low light performance that a pd170 would provide. Or small Size and low Price like a Gl2, or a Film like image you would get from a DVX100a. If youre not gonna use the 24P, you dont need a dvx or xl2, for example. it would be overkill. See which specifications are important to you, and choose accordingly.

good luck.
 
days of heaven was the first to pop in my head. I love how they crop the sky out of many shots so that the screen is all golden at magic hour.
 
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