Requesting expert/pro opinions

A

ajcourtney

Active member
Hey everyone, I am requesting opinions from all of the experts and pro's on this forum. A little bit about my situation: I am a fairly successful powerlifter who had a couple of pretty good attempts last year, most notably an 830 lb. deadlift at 242.0 lb. bodyweight back in Aug. Actually, that was good for the 18th best pull worldwide in the 242 lb. weight class in history. Unfortunately, it was captured on a crummy Sony consumer Hi8 camera. If anyone's interested, you can check out the video here: http://www.irongame.com/videos/20051108/AaronCourtney2005August13th830lbDL@242lb3rdAttempt.wmv

Since this lift was published on the 'Net, I have received a ton of requests for personal advice and even an instructional DVD. Obviously, the cheesy Hi8 camera isn't going to cut it. But I'm not expecting to really make any money on this project because of the extremely limited market for such a product.

So, my question specifically is what camera should I get for this project? Is 24P even necessary for this type of work? I have seen work created on the DVX100 and it really is broadcast quality. Is it possible to get that quality from a lesser camera, like a DVC30? Besides using the camera for purely instructional work, I'd like to use it to chronicle my training leading up to a very significant meet scheduled for Aug. 12th of this year. I'm also open to buying used.

What would you guys recommend, remembering that I'm not a cinematographer, although I have quite a bit of photography experience - shooting, developing, enlarging, working with light meters, etc.; IOW I'm not afraid to shoot manually. Thanks a ton!
 
First off, I watched that clip and I now have a sports hernia.

I don't think 24p is necessary for this project but would add a nice element to it. I think any 3CCD camera will give you nice results. For instructional segments I might choose to shoot interlaced to give it that video look. But to chronicle your training the 24p option will give a nice documentary feel. The Canon GL2 can give you a less costly alternative with it's normal mode and it's frame mode, but the results will not be as dramatic as with the DVX.

I think if I were in your shoes I would look for a Sony VX2100, or a Canon GL2. Not the top of the line but just a notch below, can provide excellent results, and are pretty simple to operate for run and gun style shooting as well as controlled environment shooting. But if you have the money, the DVX will give the best results, as well as the most options.

As far as buying used or new. I don't have a problem with buying used, but it is risky. You never know if the previous owner put his camera in a ziplock bag and shot a cable access show called Toilet Time. Which would be crazy. By the way I'll be selling a used DVX with a slight stink and some minor water damage in a different post.
 
The sony vx2100 is great and is what I have used for all of my event filming. I would reccomend it very much. You can buy excellent consumer cameras now that should work for this type of thing though. As long as they are 3ccd, you should be fine. You should be able to find some cameras like my VX2100's for pretty cheap on ebay if they are used. If the person has awesome feedback, it should be pretty safe and give you a great camera for a lot less. Awesome lift by the way!
 
Sacksnack said:
I might choose to shoot interlaced to give it that video look. But to chronicle your training the 24p option will give a nice documentary feel.
Click to expand...

Makes perfect sense. About the VX2100, it looks like a nice camera, but people have complained about the robustness of the 1/8" mic jack, and the lack of XLR's & +48V. Any comments?
 
The Sony VX2100 is an excellent camera but the VX2000 provides the same quality since Sony did not really change much on the "eye wash" upgrade. You will appreciate the money you will save going the VX200) without sacrificing anything.


Do not worry about the microphone/line inputs, the audio feed could even be overdubbed at mix down during editing which could add a nice touch.

The key here in my opinion is the video quality (lighting iincluded and the Sony is a top performer aganist any competitive camera in low light, but you do not have to create low lighting so balance the lights for good video) and some good editing.

Best of luck!!
 
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