Newbie Needs Help With Camera Selection

R

randbcreations

New member
Hi Guys,

I'm fairly new to the video production game. I am a photographer and graphic designer whom has come across a few video projects lately. One of them being creating a yoga instructional video for my friend's wife's business. I have done a fair amount of research on the Panasonic, Canon and Sony lines of cameras.

My budget is about $4,000.00 - 5,000.00. My problem is that I have limited time behind a video camera. I am looking for objective input on what camera I should be looking for (understanding that this forum is geared towards DVX & HVX users). Most of my future video work (hopefully) will be commercials for local small businesses, web commercials and training videos - not to mention more yoga videos.

Here are the cameras I am fairly confident about: DVX100B, HVX200 (stretches the budget, but I'm willing), Canon XH A1, Sony HDR FX1 or HDR FX7 or used JVC GY HD100.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance as you are helping me BIG TIME!

-Ryan
 
With that budget a dvx would probably be best because you probably won't be needing hd content for what you're doing and with the money you save you can buy a very good quality tripod/head and a bunch of accessories. I don't know how much footage you've seen with the dvx but it really is a great camera for the price.
 
Here are the cameras I am fairly confident about: DVX100B, HVX200 (stretches the budget, but I'm willing), Canon XH A1, Sony HDR FX1 or HDR FX7 or used JVC GY HD100.
Click to expand...

Is there really any comparison ?
 
I second Alexg in thinking about the rest of your equipment. I am assuming you already know about lighting equipment (photography background), but you might need to learn more about audio and what equipment you need (shotgun, handhelds, lav, etc).

I can't make the camera choice for you, but I went with the DVX 100, but at the time there is no way I could have afforded an HVX.
 
The only reason why you shouldn't buy a dvx100b is if your going to buy
a HVX-200. If you know that your gonna wanna shoot HD then get the HVX,
but really it cost more than the price you see on your screen. you need p2 cards and
more.


The dvx is probably the easiet camera to get a really good looking picture out of, with
out knowning a whole lot about it.
 
Thanks Guys,

I am also a musician, so I am hoping I will have the sound requirements down ok (I'm thinking about picking up a Rode or Sennheiser shotgun - I use a Sennheisers at my home studio for mic'ing guitar cabs and bass drums). But, I do not know how well my "live" sound will be until I try. I am leaning towards renting a DVX100B for the initial yoga video shoot (since I am doing it as a courtesy for a friend, he is aware it may be a little "raw"). That way I can get a feel for the camera and see if this whole gig is for me or not (I think I will fall in love though).

I hope I can set my lighting properly, I am basically self taught in the photo arena, but luckily I have not had any complaints so far. I think I will rent or purchase a starter Lowel kit for lighting (I can always use it for photos too). I have scrims, gobos and reflectors, so I think I am fairly set in that department. I just realized how much I have to learn. I appreciate everyones help and I am sure I will be posting more in the future as I start my journey on this learning curve. Does anyone have a good book I might be able to check out that can help me with some of these technical issues such as lighting, mic'ing, etc.?

Thanks guys and have a great evening!

-Ryan
 
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