opinion on beginner buying older equipment

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ncmaineac

New member
like i read someone else say "i have been doing this for about 30 seconds" and would like some opinions on my strategy.

i would like to buy a canon gl2, and accessories (getting good deal), and an old mac g5 with 4mb ddr ram and dual processors, final cut and some other editing software.

so that will be the meat and potatoes of my first semi-pro system. I really want to learn how to use a partially manual camera, xlr audio, final cut.

thanks in advance for your opinions...

ncmaineac
 
What kind of deal on the GL2? It does not have XLRs on board the camera without an adapter. I would look for a good deal on a DVX100B personally....XLRs,highly adjustable picture profiles, 24P shooting....the list goes on and on. Lonesome Jim with Casey Affleck and Liv Tyler was shot on a DVX, as were seasons of Sunny in Philadelphia, November with Courtney Cox. Anyway...might be worth looking into. Good luck! There are some DVXs in the marketplace here, some at Adorama,and other good online sellers.
 
Yeah, they pop up all the time...page 5 of the marketplace right now....user rideohio has one for 900 dollars. They truly are amazing cameras with a full feature set....as far as SD recording goes, I don't think anything come close. You get ND filters, XLR inputs , true progressive 24P recording, fantastic color that can be infinitely tweaked, all the manual controls....it is a professional camera and also....I have seen uprezzes of DVX footage that look great.
 
At work we bought a DVX100 from eBay last Fall for $700. Works perfectly.

I would also be very careful about buying old Macs, especially if they are using Motorola CPUs, as these are pretty much antiques by todays standards. ( new OS and software won't run, they might look pretty, but that's about it )
 
hi ncmaineac

funny... people's opinions. depends i guess on your experience. if i understand correctly, you are beginning with a small budget.

i'll add my 2 cents. been on mac since '85. had a G5 dual for years. great machine. can run FCP studio and a host of plug ins just fine. it's true that mac is no longer supporting motorola and you would be better off with an intel, but if the price is right, nothing wrong with the G5. especially since it is so easily configured and upgraded with drives and video cards etc. space is the premium for digital video and audio. the G5 has firewire 400 (and 800 if i remember correctly) and usb 2 so no problems there with bandwidth. if you have a couple of fast drives (7200 rpm and up) internally you'll be fine for starters. make sure you have a good video card.
as far as the the GL2 is concerned, i've had one for the past 7 years. lovingly cared for (and BTW for sale with a beach tek add on that gives you 2 pro XLR inputs. PM me if you are interested...) the camera is great. i've shot everything from corporate interviews to weddings to concert videos to journalist docus with it. the GL2 simply shoots great video it has an excellent lens, great zoom and just works. it's been all over the world with me. i particularly like it because it allows manual focus and stuff but doesn't necessarily bog you down with too many parameters to control if you don't want. i personally am just interested in a camera i don't have to fuss with and can get the shots i need without too much aggravation. i've shot a lot in africa and so need something that basically is point and shoot. and this camera does that.
so if i love it so much why am i selling it? because i need to move up to HD for the work i am now doing. and so, i just purchased the canon XF-100, which i suspect will become,like the GL2, the documentary makers camera of the future. though sadly it's zoom is not as good as the one on the GL2.

have fun...
 
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