I need some advice

I

InspireYourSoul

Member
Hey Everyone

Unlike most of you guys here, I'm not a professional filmmaker or video editor.
My passion has always been expressing emotions on video. I also love photography for that but at the end, I prefer videos. I did video editing for years but wanted more so I started filming for the first time this summer and loved it, even made a few videos for friends, colleagues and family. After that the choice to buy a professional video camera followed.

So I ordered the Panasonic AF100 and it arrived a few days ago along with the two lenses that I had ordered:

Panasonic HF008E - Lumix Micro Four Thirds Lens - 8mm

&

Panasonic LUMIX Micro Four Thirds Lens - 14-45mm


I clearly misread/misunderstood the info about the HF008E lens cuz I can't use it for the footage I want to shoot so I emailed the store about it and they replied that I can trade the lens if I want to.

So here I am now, doubting if I've made the right choice buying this camera or not, it's not to late to trade it still, cuz it's brand new as it came from the box, I only made a few test shots, I haven't registered it yet either.

I already spend a lot of money on this so I can't go buy lots of new lenses.
So I'm wondering if I'm better off with a camera like the SONY PMW-EX1R?

My goal is to record footage like for example a pregnant mother, a mother with her baby, maybe a wedding, interviews & much more. I also love faceshots.
So it will be mainly used to record people.

I'd like the video quality to be very high & clear, like in this videos for example:

http://vimeo.com/2208194




If you have some advice for me or can help me with this I would appriciate it A LOT.
Thank you so much.
 
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Well, this camera is not ideal for ENG. Lens selection depends on the type of shots, locations, look you want, conditions etc. You can use any lens under the sun on it with the right adapter, which makes everything pretty much manual. So if you don't like working things manually then it may be a problem for you. If you practice you will get much better and just need to match the lens choice with any given situation and goal. But based on what you say, this camera can excel for most of what you want to do...you just have to remember its not auto everything. The 8mm would most likely not be very flattering to faces or people in general, better for landscapes and specialized shots. I'm picking up a Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 as my main go to lens, but also have the panny 14-140, a nikon 50 f/1.4, and can use my Minolta 80-200 f/2.8 G. Once I add the Nikon 24-70, then I'll probably add a nikon 14-24. Those lenses will pretty much cover most of what I could imagine.
 
I'd recommend you save a few bucks and go with something like a panasonic gh2. Very similar image to the af100 for much less money.
you'd of course be sacrificing some of the niceties of the af100 like built in nd, good audio built in, the list goes on, but if your not making money
from your af100, $5000+ is a lot to spend.

As for lenses, the 8mm fisheye is a pretty specialized lens with a unique look.
If you don't need that look then consider trading in the 8mm.
Perhaps the 14-45 with the 20mm pancake for low depth of field shots.

As far as video quality, you really can't go wrong these days.
Almost any video slr or prosumer camcorder is going to give you great image quality.
The rest is up to you.
when you are not making money and just doing it for the joy of it, try to worry less about what gear you
have and more about what gets your creative juices going. That's one of the beauties of not having to answer to a client :)
 
Thank you for your advice guys. I'll think about everything you said and adviced and make a desicion tomorrow cuz I can't wait to long anymore if I want to trade the camera.
 
I'm going to weigh in for the EX1. The AF is most likely overkill for your needs. If you're at all interested in recording dialog, then make your life easy and get the EX, which is an excellent camera. At your skill level, knowing that most often you'll be a one man band, let the technology get out of your way and allow you to focus on the imagery and the content. Not having to deal with all the workarounds DSLR's require in terms of dual recording and challenges in monitoring will allow you to put your energy into content creation. And by no means is the EX1 a compromise, it's an awesome camera that creates beautiful images. You'll be able to be quite creative with it. Good luck!
 
DrHST said:
I'm going to weigh in for the EX1. The AF is most likely overkill for your needs. If you're at all interested in recording dialog, then make your life easy and get the EX, which is an excellent camera. At your skill level, knowing that most often you'll be a one man band, let the technology get out of your way and allow you to focus on the imagery and the content. Not having to deal with all the workarounds DSLR's require in terms of dual recording and challenges in monitoring will allow you to put your energy into content creation. And by no means is the EX1 a compromise, it's an awesome camera that creates beautiful images. You'll be able to be quite creative with it. Good luck!
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Thank you for your help, you're actually right.

I'll go for sure for the EX1 or SONY Z1. I saw some footage of the Z1 earlier tonight and they're very impressive = http://vimeo.com/evasturm/videos
If anyone could explain me the difference between these two camera's, that would be great. I'll do some research on google myself aswell.

Thanks for helping me out everyone.
 
InspireYourSoul said:
Thank you for your help, you're actually right.

I'll go for sure for the EX1 or SONY Z1. I saw some footage of the Z1 earlier tonight and they're very impressive = http://vimeo.com/evasturm/videos
If anyone could explain me the difference between these two camera's, that would be great. I'll do some research on google myself aswell.

Thanks for helping me out everyone.
Click to expand...

One more vote for the EX1,(or something like it) for what you intend to shoot....I think it's the way to go. If you had said "I want to make narrative films" - I would say to keep the Af100 and go for it. But it really sounds like the EX1 or Canon XF300 would fit your needs a lot better. When you're comparing, be sure to check out the Canon as well.

The Z1 is HDV, 1/3" chips, does not have 720P, and is not as fully featured as the EX1 or the XF300. IMO... for the money, I think you should pass on that one.
 
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2 questions to ask yourself. Do you need shallow depth of field? Do you need good low light sensitivity?

If those aren't priorities then get the ex1.

I also love faceshots.
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If you like the look of a portrait done with a dslr vs one done with a high quality point and shoot, then the ex1 isn't for you. To get the high quality portrait shot with a blurred background you really need a larger sensor camera.
 
pulpfiction007 said:
One more vote for the EX1,(or something like it) for what you intend to shoot....I think it's the way to go. If you had said "I want to make narrative films" - I would say to keep the Af100 and go for it. But it really sounds like the EX1 or Canon XF300 would fit your needs a lot better. When you're comparing, be sure to check out the Canon as well.

The Z1 is HDV, 1/3" chips, does not have 720P, and is not as fully featured as the EX1 or the XF300. IMO... for the money, I think you should pass on that one.
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Ok thanks, both camera's seem to be pretty amazing. I'll forget about the Z1.
 
astigmatic said:
2 questions to ask yourself. Do you need shallow depth of field? Do you need good low light sensitivity?

If those aren't priorities then get the ex1.



If you like the look of a portrait done with a dslr vs one done with a high quality point and shoot, then the ex1 isn't for you. To get the high quality portrait shot with a blurred background you really need a larger sensor camera.
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Good point there.
I talked to a friend about this and he advices me to buy this camera:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II




Because this camera has everything I want, it takes professional pics in amazing quality, records stunning video images, is great for faceshots, capturing emotions and so much more.

Does anyone know something about this camera?

Thanks again!

 
Have you thought of the HMC150? Half the cost of the XF300 or EX1. It has 1/3" chips instead of 1/2" chips that the EX1 has, so the DoF isn't as nice, but in framrates other than 1080i the low light is supposed to be about the same. The flip side is you don't have to worry about those issues associated with CMOS sensors. It also doesn't have HD-SDI, but at your level that's probably a non-issue.

About the 5D... it takes nice video, but it is ultimately a still camera. So form factor aside, you lose a lot, like the nice built in XLR's that a video camera would have. You're also limited to 12 minute clips then it stops recording I believe, so if you want to shoot weddings, you'll either need to get two, or hope the end of the clip doesn't happen at a critical point. If you're trying to learn video, I would recommend against it... but that's just me.
 
InspireYourSoul said:
Good point there.
I talked to a friend about this and he advices me to buy this camera:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II




Because this camera has everything I want, it takes professional pics in amazing quality, records stunning video images, is great for faceshots, capturing emotions and so much more.

Does anyone know something about this camera?

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

In the case of the 5dMK2....I'd say keep the Af100. The 5dMK2 can be incredibly capable with video....but it can fall flat, with aliasing issues and colored moire. Plus you'll be right where you started- searching for lenses for different needs, etc. Then you'll be searching for more that the Af100 already has - EVF, ND filters, capable audio recording, flip out monitor, the list could go on for miles.
The codec on the Af100 is also much better.... The 5dMK2 does take amazing stills.
If you want a great video camera for all around VIDEO purposes that's just ready to go....get something like you've already mentioned - The EX1 or in that vein....HVX200a, XF300, HMC150, (with the HMC150's price you could buy a great photo camera as well that does video...and use it for special shots only: for example -The T3i, 60D, Nikon D7000).
If you want great video with decent on board things to make it halfway easy AND some pretty darn good stills...GH2 all the way.
If you want great photos and good video (with tons of add ons to make it halfway easy) get the 5DMK2.

My final vote is with Mike Harvey - HMC150 (less than $2800) and add a T2i, T3i, 60D, Nikon D7000 for your photo work (and some specialty video)
 
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Mike Harvey said:
Have you thought of the HMC150? Half the cost of the XF300 or EX1. It has 1/3" chips instead of 1/2" chips that the EX1 has, so the DoF isn't as nice, but in framrates other than 1080i the low light is supposed to be about the same. The flip side is you don't have to worry about those issues associated with CMOS sensors. It also doesn't have HD-SDI, but at your level that's probably a non-issue.

About the 5D... it takes nice video, but it is ultimately a still camera. So form factor aside, you lose a lot, like the nice built in XLR's that a video camera would have. You're also limited to 12 minute clips then it stops recording I believe, so if you want to shoot weddings, you'll either need to get two, or hope the end of the clip doesn't happen at a critical point. If you're trying to learn video, I would recommend against it... but that's just me.
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+1 You beat me to it Mike
 
Yes I have the EOS 5D Mk11 (Photography ONLY) and it is fraught with problems (Moire etc) if you want to produce video, personally you should stick with your AF100 it's a great camera, fantastic in low light and great for interviews, professional sound inputs, you would be making a major step backwards by getting the Canon for video. PS FYI you cant get a new Sony EX1 as they are now discontinued but you can get the EX1R or the EX-3.
 
InspireYourSoul said:
Good point there.
I talked to a friend about this and he advices me to buy this camera:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II




Because this camera has everything I want, it takes professional pics in amazing quality, records stunning video images, is great for faceshots, capturing emotions and so much more.

Does anyone know something about this camera?

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Your friend is correct. It does however have some down sides in the video department people have already mentioned. The canon 7d dslr and panasonic GH2 dslr are 2 other options you might want to look at.

For what you want I'm going against what most people here suggest. You just won't get as good people shots with the smaller sensor camcorders like the hmc or ex1 unless you stage and light your subject matter nicely. I don't think you will be happy with the result. You will get really good nature and landscape shots with those cameras though because of the deep depth of field and great built in zoom lenses...but you state you want to shoot mostly people..and from what I gather more intimate shots of people. For that, I highly suggest the dslr or af100.
 
Another thought, if you're absolutely deadset on getting shallow depth of field. Olympus makes a 14-54mm and a 50-200mm lens that combined should have you covered for a lot of stuff, and are only a couple hundred dollars more than your existing lenses combined. They're both also a bit faster than the lenses you bought.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/590390-REG/Olympus_261060_14_54mm_f_2_8_3_5_II_Zuiko.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/527566-REG/Olympus_261015_50_200mm_f_2_8_3_5_ED_SWD.html


And if nothing else, there is the Panasonic 14-140 Lumix lens

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/630572-REG/Panasonic_H_VS014140_Lumix_G_Vario_HD.html
 
astigmatic said:
Your friend is correct. It does however have some down sides in the video department people have already mentioned. The canon 7d dslr and panasonic GH2 dslr are 2 other options you might want to look at.

For what you want I'm going against what most people here suggest. You just won't get as good people shots with the smaller sensor camcorders like the hmc or ex1 unless you stage and light your subject matter nicely. I don't think you will be happy with the result. You will get really good nature and landscape shots with those cameras though because of the deep depth of field and great built in zoom lenses...but you state you want to shoot mostly people..and from what I gather more intimate shots of people. For that, I highly suggest the dslr or af100.
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Actually, I agree with you- for the intimate shallow dof (and photos) go DLSR - but for the ease of use and all around video work ...HMC150. For the money, he could have both.
HMC 150 $2795 T2i or t3i, $699 or $799 Another $1000 for lenses and you still haven't hit the price of the AF100 body only.
If he wasn't interested in photos...I'd say keep the AF100 and just figure out what lenses to best suit the work he intends to do.
 
If you don't have the money to get a few lenses I'd return it and get a GH2 like a lot of others here suggest. It's a similar image, uses the same lenses, uses the same SD cards, and a lot less expensive (which will allow you to buy more lenses). There are of course compromises but this is what I would get if I was in you position. Another option would be an HMC150, which uses the same batteries, and SD cards, is about the same price (maybe a little less), but has a built in lens. The HMC150 is a smaller sensor so the depth of field will be different tho. I feel these 2 options are the most bang for your buck. The EX1, HPX170, and the Canon XF300 are in fact for the most part nicer cameras, but the price might be a little more than what you're willing to pay. GH2 or HMC150 are both solid choices.
 
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