Suggest any good budget camera for making feature film
- Thread starter lenniecg
- Start date
Steve Laramie
Veteran
$4,000
thisisapocalypse
Well-known member
What kind of film are you making and what sort of visual style are you going for, I think this would be important to know when making this decision. In some circumstances getting a couple of HDSLRs might be the best choice, in others, an HVX or renting something even better. Since this is a feature I'm assuming you're going to run dual-system sound. If you are not, then a DSLR probably won't cut it for you, but you could get one or two Panasonic GH1s + some good manual prime lenses and get awesome results if you aren't shooting, say, an action movie (could be done for sure, but that's not the strong suit of this camera and you'd probably spend more time working around it than you have to spare), but anything straightforward and locked down, I would think could be very well accomplished with a GH1 (or two of them, which would be in your budget).
Patryk_Rebisz
Veteran
For $4000-6000 you can get a junior DP to shoot for you that will come with his own camera, or hook you up with a dirt cheap one.
Lenniecg,
Considering this is your first post, you might want to look around, do some searches and a little research on your own. Judging from your question, or the simplicity of it, I am going to assume you are new to video. The first and most important thing for you to consider is that there is much more to this than raw resolution. Think lighting, audio, editing, quality content, etc.
By the way, none of those cams you mentioned will deliver 1980x1080. The Panasonic HMC40 and 150 will and both of those can be got for under 4k. But to fill out a production kit for real, the cam is maybe 30% of the total. Resolution is great, but is only a tiny part of producing something wonderful. And you certainly can create great work with any of those cams you mentioned, if you know how to use it.
Apologies if I have taken your first post out of context.
Welcome to DVX User
Grant
Considering this is your first post, you might want to look around, do some searches and a little research on your own. Judging from your question, or the simplicity of it, I am going to assume you are new to video. The first and most important thing for you to consider is that there is much more to this than raw resolution. Think lighting, audio, editing, quality content, etc.
By the way, none of those cams you mentioned will deliver 1980x1080. The Panasonic HMC40 and 150 will and both of those can be got for under 4k. But to fill out a production kit for real, the cam is maybe 30% of the total. Resolution is great, but is only a tiny part of producing something wonderful. And you certainly can create great work with any of those cams you mentioned, if you know how to use it.
Apologies if I have taken your first post out of context.
Welcome to DVX User
Grant
Steve Laramie
Veteran
Are you the producer, director, or DP? This is for your DP to figure out. Resolution is 25% what I think about when selecting a camera package.I would rather have an HVX with adapter, follow focus, fast primes, and matte box then a bare bones RED.
Patryk_Rebisz
Veteran
Steve, let's not spread miss information. I'm sure that HVX200 delivers great images with adapter, etc... but it's no match for RED in light sensitivity and sharpness (and i'm a RED hater!) and even portability.
Finnegan
Well-known member
Whoa whoa whoa. The RED is NOT light sensitive. The company may rate the camera at 320 ASA, but anyone who has actually done a grey card test knows its far less than that, and I rate it around 160 ASA (though its been a while since I've done a test for it). By contrast, the HVX200/HPX170/XH-A1 are confirmed 320 ASA cams (without an adapter). Now of course, RED footage even at 2k resolution will look far better than adapter + prosumer cam packages given proper lighting and composition, but the author of this thread seems to be pretty new so recommending RED probably isn't going to be something that is beneficial to him.
Patryk_Rebisz
Veteran
i rate RED at around 200. Whic is not light sensitive at all but in comparison... Bare HVX200 is 320, after the adapter it's 160, after 2 stops of the lens... 80 then 40.
Any way you look at it RED is superior in light sensitivity to you adapter set-up.
Any way you look at it RED is superior in light sensitivity to you adapter set-up.
Steve Laramie
Veteran
I am not saying the HVX is better then the RED at all. I have used both cameras HVX religiously and RED on one feature. What I was saying is that if you only have 4 grand its better to have a complete package rather then a nicer camera (RED one) without a follow focus, monitor or matte box. I guess a better example would be (having nothing to do with light sensitivity) choosing an HVX + G/E rentals or RED one + 2 lowel Totas.
dvxhutch
Well-known member
IMO, the Canon 7d is currently the best value camera in the world. Add a 50mm 1.4 lens and you have insanely shallow DOF and better low light sensitivity than super 35.
You'll need a good tripod and dolly to overcome the rolling shutter (evident on any DSLR) but if you can overcome not having a lot of handheld it's a great option.
You'll need a good tripod and dolly to overcome the rolling shutter (evident on any DSLR) but if you can overcome not having a lot of handheld it's a great option.
The OP seems to be long gone after the previous posts that ignored what he asked about in his first post to DVXUser:
1920 x 1080 @ < $4000.
Can you get a Red up and running for $4000? You can barely buy a used HVX and memory for that, and it isn't 1920x1080.
Can anyone blame him for not coming back?
Regards,
Grant
1920 x 1080 @ < $4000.
Can you get a Red up and running for $4000? You can barely buy a used HVX and memory for that, and it isn't 1920x1080.
Can anyone blame him for not coming back?
Regards,
Grant
Frankly he hasn't given enough info for anybody to give a reasonable recommendation anyway. If all he wants is a 1920 x 1080 camera for under 4k, there's a ton of cameras that'll do that, from the HMC40 to the HF200 handicam. The other generic condition is that it be "good", which really gives us no idea of what he considered "good." Is XLR input important? Manual control? Size, form factor? Low light performance etc.?
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Finnegan
Well-known member
This is exactly the issue. There are many, many things that make a camera a strong camera outside of the resolution its capable of capturing. Most of the people who posted in this thread knew that, and worked to address that issue. Without more information from the OP it was useless.
chrismagicc
Well-known member
lets just see if he replies haha
thank you..
now i am taking a test with canon 7d, it give pretty nice picture quality, good for low lighting, FULL HD(1920x1080) and nice DOF
but still taking more test with canon 7d
Sorry for delay and thank for every one.. i heard canon 7d the picture quality look very nice.
(Reference : http://hdirawworks.blogspot.com)
actually, i want to convert my project in to 35mm film and i want the camera which gives very good DOF also in FULL HD(1920x1080) i am satisfied with canon 7d but still on testing..
please share your thoughts about this
Thank you
(Reference : http://hdirawworks.blogspot.com)
actually, i want to convert my project in to 35mm film and i want the camera which gives very good DOF also in FULL HD(1920x1080) i am satisfied with canon 7d but still on testing..
please share your thoughts about this
Thank you
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visugeek
Well-known member
Honestly, you are going to need to talk with your DP and do a test with a lab of your pipeline, from camera to DI to print. It's the only way to really know. There is no magic bullet.
Depending on the story you are trying to tell, a 7D might work well, or renting a Red or hvx-200 with adapter might work better. They all have posatives and negatives.
Depending on the story you are trying to tell, a 7D might work well, or renting a Red or hvx-200 with adapter might work better. They all have posatives and negatives.
It just seems to me that if you have to budget to do a 35mm film-out, it might be better to spend your money on a professional camera instead of a 7D. Too many people make their choices in anticipation of a film-out down the line, but it's incredibly rare that a low budget production actually get pick up for that kind treatment.
Btw the 7D doesn't give you Full HD. Just because it outputs the image as 1920 x 1080 doesn't mean the camera itself resolves that much detail.
Btw the 7D doesn't give you Full HD. Just because it outputs the image as 1920 x 1080 doesn't mean the camera itself resolves that much detail.
Joe Calabrese
Well-known member
1080p is great for blowup to 35mm, but 720 will do just fine. Many movies have been filmed with the tape Varicam (720p) and looked just fine blown up to 35mm for projection.
A 7d is great because if the sensor size, which results in shallower depth of field and better low-light sensitivity, but the compression isn't as great as something like the HPX170, which is almost 720p resolution sensor, and DVCPRO HD: intra-frame 100mbps compression. Plus, an HPX170 or HVX200A would look fine.
As someone suggested, hiring a DP would be great, because he can either bring his/her own lights and camera and camera grip, or he might be able to hook you up with a cheap rental. That's your best option because it would leave you free to worry about the acting, direction, and getting the actors to perform their best, and leave capturing the image to someone else.
A 7d is great because if the sensor size, which results in shallower depth of field and better low-light sensitivity, but the compression isn't as great as something like the HPX170, which is almost 720p resolution sensor, and DVCPRO HD: intra-frame 100mbps compression. Plus, an HPX170 or HVX200A would look fine.
As someone suggested, hiring a DP would be great, because he can either bring his/her own lights and camera and camera grip, or he might be able to hook you up with a cheap rental. That's your best option because it would leave you free to worry about the acting, direction, and getting the actors to perform their best, and leave capturing the image to someone else.