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Fun Stuff => CLIKC => Topic started by: Norton Quintessential on 23 Jun 2008, 19:58
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I'm not sure if this fits this board entirely, but it seems to be the best place for it.
I'm going to SDCC and I hope to do some film interviews there. I've got about $2,300 dollars to spend on a new camera and equipment. I know I'll need an external mic, but can anyone recommend a good digital camera that has an external mic port?
Thanks in advance!
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What sort of things will you be doing with it, and what sort of post-production do you have planned ? This will determine if you should go with a MiniDV cam, or a Hard-drive-based cam. MiniDV is for those times when you plan to do all your editing back home after all is said and done, while hard drive cams are for those who plan to take a couple hours of video and go back to edit right away.
I, personally love the Canon XL2 for it's relative light weight (for a professional-style camera) and features by the bucket-full. I have gotten nothing but professional looking video from it, even when the 10-year old in the house gets his head behind the viewfinder. It is right in your price-range as well. The only issue I could forsee from what you have said, is that it isn't something you can "slip in your pocket" when you want to explore the con once you are done taping. You will have to make a special trip back to your car to drop it off. But these are the prices you pay for a DAMNED good end-product.
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Canon XL2, eh? Sounds pretty good (if a bit pricey), thanks! Mostly I'll be doing interviews with comic creators and random passerby,so a mic is a necessity.
That, or a digital audio recorder. If I go that route, I could just sync the audio up later, right? If that's the case, and professional image quality is the thing I need, what would you recommend?
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I have never had much luck syncing audio with video from a different source without putting more work into it than what was justified by the finished product. I am sure others are much better at it than I am, but it is just more of a pain that naything... I prefer just laying some ambience or music over the sound that is already in the video, or just muting the video all together and tossing music onto it.
Also, for any kind of Con where you will be doing interviews, I say you DEFINITELY need something like the XL2. The more professional the camera looks to the interviewee, the more serious they will take the interview. Less people simply shouting in the camera for no reason... and more people who otherwise wouldn't do the interview, will take you seriously... it is a sad but true fact, the look of the camera adds credibility to what you are trying to accomplish.
If you simply want something small and cheap that takes a nice steady shot, and has an external mic port, the Canon Vixia HF100 is a heck of a good camera, and is usually in the $700 range... but I can guarantee no one will think you are anything but a blogger if you shove it in their face... may as well use a cell phone :D
If he XL2 is what you want, but you can't afford it, you can usually find an XL1S on the used market for a fairly good price. It is basically the same camera, but you get less control over framerate, less optical zoom, and shorter battery life. Another thing I have heard, is the white balance and saturation is better on the XL2, but I know how subjective such claims can be, so until I see a professional review comparing the two with definitive results, I will just stick to the facts ;)
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On a related note, what's a good cheap camera for, say...making a zombie movie? I don't know how far off in the future I'll be doing that, but I was eyeing both the HF100 and the XL2. I like the XL2, but that's a pretty damn expensive camera.