Spec me a camcorder and camera

Turtles · 16 Nov 2009 at 23:39

Heys,

Hoping to study film and television at uni next year and would like to get some of my own equipment. Looking at getting a camcorder but I've got hardly any knowledge on them. No real budget as such, don't really know what you'd pay for a decent one. A quick browse at prices range from £50 to £1k

Probably around £200 but can be negotiated.

Also what would I be looking at for a decent entry level camera & equipment - like some lenses for all round use, some with zoom some for close ups. Nothing specialised at the moment. Film & Photography might end up being one of my choices for uni and I hope to start photography as a hobby as well.

Any advice much appreciated

3dcandy · 17 Nov 2009 at 07:02

I've got a Canon at moment, and was looking at Canon camcorders on Saturday. FS19 was priced at £219 with Canon cashback, and seemed a fairly safe bet. 8gb of flash memory built in and takes sdhc cards....
If you have a Canon camcorder, why not a Canon camera, 1000D seems ideal...

Snapshot · 17 Nov 2009 at 07:12

I suggest you find out the requirements of the courses you're interesting in before spending any money. These days I'd expect most courses to use digital cameras but my niece used one of my old film cameras for her sixth-form college course only two years ago.

Turtles · 17 Nov 2009 at 17:34

Snapshot said:
I suggest you find out the requirements of the courses you're interesting in before spending any money. These days I'd expect most courses to use digital cameras but my niece used one of my old film cameras for her sixth-form college course only two years ago.

Yeah it'll be for personal use as well, not just specifically for my coursework.

Thanks 3dcandy, I'll check them out.

Turtles · 19 Nov 2009 at 19:19

bump? Idk is there any more info I can give you guys. I don't need something amazing just something good for short amateur films.

3dcandy · 19 Nov 2009 at 19:36

are you looking for a flash memory camcorder? or would you prfer hard drive or a different format?

Turtles · 19 Nov 2009 at 20:40

pffft... idk what would you recommend

Been using tape ones at school but wouldn't it just be easier to have one to just plug into the PC. So flash memory is probably a decent option.

sketch145 · 19 Nov 2009 at 20:57

I know 2 people doing a film degree, both of whom have Canon fs200s. It seems to be a favourite at this price as you can plug in an external mic and it has some options for limited manual control as well.

Alternatively you could kill two birds with one stone and get a DSLR which shoots video such as the nikon d90 or canon 500D (or a 5DmkII/7D if you're feeling flush

)

3dcandy · 19 Nov 2009 at 23:43

fs19 seems to be an updated fs200, with on board 8 gig flash memory, so about 4 hours+ shooting time straight away. also still has the mic in and audio/headphones out. £30 cashback from canon at moment...

Turtles · 19 Nov 2009 at 23:53

sketch145 said:
I know 2 people doing a film degree, both of whom have Canon fs200s. It seems to be a favourite at this price as you can plug in an external mic and it has some options for limited manual control as well.

Alternatively you could kill two birds with one stone and get a DSLR which shoots video such as the nikon d90 or canon 500D (or a 5DmkII/7D if you're feeling flush )

Thanks for that I'll definitely check them out. The nikon d90 or canon 500D sound good but I suppose the downside of them is that you can't plug in an external mic?

sketch145 · 20 Nov 2009 at 00:20

Turtles said:
I suppose the downside of them is that you can't plug in an external mic?

yeah that's true, I've also heard that the nikon locks its exposure for the duration of the video, meaning it won't react to changes in light

probably best going for a dedicated camcorder then in that case.

Turtles · 23 Nov 2009 at 17:19

hmm got it between Canon FS19 and the Panasonic HDC-SD10. I can't find many reviews for the FS19 but theres quite a few for the HDC-SD10 and they seem fairly positive. Any input on which to go for guys? I'd have to buy my own flash memory for the HDC-SD10 but the FS19 comes with 8gb internal memory and as I'll just be shooting short films it's looking quite an attractive choice but i can't decide D: