I did a little search and I think there's no topic about this yet (or at least it refused to be found by me).
I'd like to buy myself a camera for filming my sessions
1. for analysing/improving my style
2. because my runs are getting too long to remember by heart
I'm thinking of a really basic kinda thing. Not too many high-tech options, basically the only requirements are: it has to FILM and it must be possible to UPLOAD the footage onto my comp (software?).
As I know many of you have been in my position before, I was wondering if any of you has an idea of the prices. Also, are there general things I may wanna take into account when buying a cam; some good advice...? (Consider me a technical semi-noob)
Muchas gracias, tak for det, merci beaucoup, dank u wel, mille grazie, vielen dank,...
Are you looking for a digital camcorder or a digital camera? Both take video now! Of course the quality on the cameras is not as good, but its cool nonetheless.
My name: Jeremy Mirken, AKA Chocolatey Shatner, AKA jerk enemy rim.
I kick it with trunk chef elf and liz luck key my.
Senor Grommet wrote:Are you looking for a digital camcorder or a digital camera? Both take video now! Of course the quality on the cameras is not as good, but its cool nonetheless.
Yeah from the 2 reasons you want to film, a digital camera will do you fine. If you want to make good longer length videos for film making etc you will want a camcorder (even if you dont, you might want to later on).
If you go the digital camera root just make sure you get a camera which is limited in length only by your memory card/stick so you can film as much as you need. If you go for sony get a memory stick pro so you can film in higher quality than with a normal mem stick.
I guess I was thinking more along the lines of a digital camcorder, as I intend to film my kick-alone sessions with it (which can take up to two hours).
I checked out those links. It seems those cams work with memory sticks. Are these similar to the regular standardised USB type of things you use on comps? Or are the mem sticks integrated in the cam (and brand-specific, so to speak)? Am I making sense?
EDIT: Never mind. From the descriptions it seems both are used.
Also how much footage (in length that is) can a mem stick of - say - 128MB contain (in average filming quality)? Those retailer sites cover the technical aspect, but suck when it comes to giving practical information.
Wim wrote:
Also how much footage (in length that is) can a mem stick of - say - 128MB contain (in average filming quality)? Those retailer sites cover the technical aspect, but suck when it comes to giving practical information.
Around 1 and ½ minutes on 640x480 resolution I think.
Memory sticks are more for storing Digital photos than anything else. If you want a camera that is useful for filming yourself, making video productions, filming at events and just for videoing everyday stuff, buy a Digital Video camera (DV Cam).
It will connect to your computer via a Firewire port (you need a Firewire card in your computer for this) and you can capture using Adobe Premiere or similar software. At highest resolution you are looking at around 4.5 gb per hour of footage or something ridiculous like that, it could be more (i dont have my computer with me), so you need a big ass harddrive too (look at 80gb at least!).
When buying the camera, ignore anything about 'Digital Zoom' because its useless. What you want is higher Optical Zoom, the greater the number the better. Also consider how many CCDs the camera has. Most lower end cameras are less than 1 CCD but still give really good picture. The more CCDs, the greater the quality and colour of the image will be.
If you already own a digital still camera, then dont buy a video camera with digital still function, as it will cost quite a bit more and the quality of the images will not really compare to a stand-alone digital camera in most cases.
If faced with a choice between a camera with 'Night Mode' and a camera with 'Night shot', and you can afford either, the Night Mode is better. Night shot merely slows the capture rate of the film, so more light is allowed into the shot to brighten it, but it therefore makes the film sluggish and blurred. Night Mode on the other hand gives a green 'night-vision' type thing like in many action movies, allowing full speed capture i think, and the image is much clearer (albeit GREEN lol)
Yeh i cant really compare prices in Australian dollars but computer stuff is crazy cheap these days, especially if you install it yourself. Or you could take your computer back to the shop you bought it and perhaps they will install it for you for a bit cheaper (and this way you dont risk voiding your warranty).
Firewire cards are also very cheap.
