Looking for an old camera
- Thread starter tonyman
- Start date
David W. Jones
Veteran
It's not the camera, but the person behind the camera, and the time you spend in preproduction the will lend a vintage 70's or 80's vibe to your film. Remember the camera is only going to capture the images you put in front of it.
All the best!
Dave
All the best!
Dave
Kind of blunt opinion statement I am going to throw out there:
If you don't have enough knowledge about cameras to assess which suit your needs, you might be jumping in over your head by trying to even shoot with film.
If you are just trying to get a style of film you can recreate a lot of the traditional 'film looks' in digital.
If you don't have enough knowledge about cameras to assess which suit your needs, you might be jumping in over your head by trying to even shoot with film.
If you are just trying to get a style of film you can recreate a lot of the traditional 'film looks' in digital.
David G. Smith
Steak Knife Member
If you are just starting in filmmaking. I would suggest getting a good prosumer HD video camera like the HMC150, or comparable camera and use it to learn the basics. If you want to learn about shooting film, then pick up a used Super 8mm camera and start there. There are a lot of good used Super 8mm cameras out. For anyone who thinks that Super 8mm is obsolete in the HD world would be wise to check this out.
or the Super 8 group on Vimeo. http://vimeo.com/groups/super8
or the Super 8 group on Vimeo. http://vimeo.com/groups/super8
David W. Jones
Veteran
Super 8 is still fairly limited by available film stock and high expense compared to digital.
Film is anywhere from $15 - $20 for 50 feet, which is only 2.5min @ 24fps, or 3.5min @ 18fps.
Say you were shooting a 30min short, and ordered 10 rolls, yes in reality you would likely need much more but lets pretend everything you shot was perfect on first take.
So in film stock you have a $200 expense, then to process and transfer the 10 rolls you have a $672 expense, hard drive docking fee and shipping costs say an estimated $75.
So you are at $1000 and have yet to purchase a Super 8 camera and an audio solution.
And if you think the film grain looks big on one of these little quicktime movies, wait till you see how big it gets when blown up to an HD size frame.
Good Luck!
Dave
Film is anywhere from $15 - $20 for 50 feet, which is only 2.5min @ 24fps, or 3.5min @ 18fps.
Say you were shooting a 30min short, and ordered 10 rolls, yes in reality you would likely need much more but lets pretend everything you shot was perfect on first take.
So in film stock you have a $200 expense, then to process and transfer the 10 rolls you have a $672 expense, hard drive docking fee and shipping costs say an estimated $75.
So you are at $1000 and have yet to purchase a Super 8 camera and an audio solution.
And if you think the film grain looks big on one of these little quicktime movies, wait till you see how big it gets when blown up to an HD size frame.
Good Luck!
Dave
xqzt
Well-known member
You'll be doing yourself a favor by starting out with film. It's a great way to start the learning process. Even better than a super8 would be a 16mm Bolex with the multiple lens'. or Super16 is killer, very nice footy. It can be expensive, but so is everything in life. Don't be discouraged, learn those raw tools and gain that valuable experience. Not to mention truly unique cadence.
@David J: Doesn't sound like something I can do overnight.
@xqzt: Cool. My favorite documentary was shot in 16mm. I hope it's easy to travel with though.
@xqzt: Cool. My favorite documentary was shot in 16mm. I hope it's easy to travel with though.
xqzt
Well-known member
Super8 would be easier to travel with because of the film cartridge(and they practicallly load themselves/plus most have internal light meters). with 16mm you just need to learn to thread the film blind in a blackbag. If you're travelling for an extended period you may need a fridge to store new film. Super16 is nice if you have extra film cans to load previous to a shoot, less threading onsite.