£300 on video camera

Jordan97 · 11 Jan 2012 at 16:07

I'm getting into the hobby of home movies, and I want something to make my films look professional; is £300 enough?

What would you recommend as the best camera in this price range?

Dangerous · 11 Jan 2012 at 16:20

£300 on a video camera nope!

You'd be better getting DSLR for that range.

But it also depends on what you are filming?

Jordan97 · 11 Jan 2012 at 16:37

Ah, how much should I be looking at?

What is DSLR?

I'll mainly be filming head shots, but there will be a few long distance shots and some fast action scenes. Ideally it would be 60fps.

Dangerous · 11 Jan 2012 at 17:18

Canon 1100d will do 720p
Canon 550/600 will do 1080 (600 has the flip out screen making video recording easier)

At The Gates · 12 Jan 2012 at 07:02

You can get a Pansonic SD90 for almost £300 new if you use Panasonic's £50 rebate on offer at the moment (only on cameras bought up to the 14th). That's probably your best bet for an actual video camera.

ashatron · 13 Jan 2012 at 00:09

Might seem like an odd choice but the Sony hx9v compact camera does stunning video at 1920x1080 50p. I'm not a fan of the stills though, reddish white balance.

But the 1100d would give you the more typical depth of field.

shr3k_uk · 15 Jan 2012 at 01:39

I had one of this camcorders, and recently sold my SD90. Instead i bought Nikon D7000 camera, and that one much better.

eyyaz · 15 Jan 2012 at 04:58

i got a 600d for my college course and and for projects on the side. Works a treat and sits well on my flycam too.
Can film in 720p (60fps) and 1080p (30fps)

Columbo · 15 Jan 2012 at 10:50

Surely something like a Sony A35 which offers proper full time AF during video and stabilisation on all lenses would be more suitable?

I've tried shooting video on a 550d and the AF was nigh on useless for anything that moves faster than erosion and so it was manual focus only and thats very dependant on the operator being of some use (which I'm not)

ashatron · 15 Jan 2012 at 14:28

ManCuBuS said:
Surely something like a Sony A35 which offers proper full time AF during video and stabilisation on all lenses would be more suitable?

I've tried shooting video on a 550d and the AF was nigh on useless for anything that moves faster than erosion and so it was manual focus only and thats very dependant on the operator being of some use (which I'm not)

You're absolutely right mate, the video quality of the canon DSLR's are great, but given the traditional mirrored design they arent designed to focus and refocus during live view (the only mode available in movie mode).

The a35 video is great, about as good as the canon DSLRS (search youtube, there's an ace video comparing them), but the sony a35 & a55 lack completel manual video. But they do have a incredible autofocus performance during video and stills. If the a55 offered full manual video it would be one of my dream cameras, its very light.

But dont forget the sony a35 & a55 & a65 & a77 all use sonys SLT technology which means you lose 30% of light in any situation, so for low light shooters they arent great.

BaNksY IV · 15 Jan 2012 at 22:53

At The Gates said:
You can get a Pansonic SD90 for almost £300 new if you use Panasonic's £50 rebate on offer at the moment (only on cameras bought up to the 14th). That's probably your best bet for an actual video camera.

This

shr3k_uk said:
I had one of this camcorders, and recently sold my SD90. Instead i bought Nikon D7000 camera, and that one much better.

Yes a D7000 is great at video but is also about £1000 so no use to the OP

shr3k_uk · 16 Jan 2012 at 14:33

Camcorders stops you, when you want to develop yourself. Don't go for cheap and limited things- Waste of money. I spend about 600 pounds on SD90, and sold it for 350. Massive lost of money..