Digital Video Camera Suggestions
Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 7:25 pmI would like some suggestions on a video camera that would be good for recording picking videos. I plan on spending between 500-1000 USD.
Warder wrote:I would like some suggestions on a video camera that would be good for recording picking videos. I plan on spending between 500-1000 USD.
Warder, if you have a $1K budget then all I can say is WOW!. You're going to get serious about making vids.
Here's a suggestion - Find something from the Big 3 - Sony, Canon or Panasonic in the $500 to $700 range, with beau coup magnification power.
Be sure and get something with HD and a hard drive built in - that way you can take hours of videos and load them directly to your computer - or even YouTube. Memory card only cameras don't have a lot of recording capacity.
With the remaining $300 to $400, get (i) a good mini tripod that you can set up on a table top, (ii) a good, compact lighting set-up with LED's or fluorescent lighting, and (iii) a good video editing program.
If you have a newer Windows pc, you may already have a decent program such as Windows MovieMaker. It's not a super fancy program - but to start with and start learning, it's not bad. If so, use the extra cash towards camera accessories.
The most important thing in the whole process is lighting - and a good angle to get an "overhand" shot looking down into the keyway. Too many times you'll see videos that are shaky, darkly lit, and a poor shot angle.
Consequently, you end up watching some middle aged guy with grizzly bear hands and dirty fingernails sweatily pawing his old Master No. 3 from his junior high gym locker in some seedy opium den.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, BTW.
FYI - Try this site:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=4449&name=Record-to-Hard-Disk-Camcorder&
i want for x-mas 
