The Video Animal’s Cave

This week we are talking about camcorders. Specifically HD camcorders.

Why go HD?

The real question here is… why not. In order to get a quality digital video picture from any camcorder you will need to buy a decent broadcast or prosumer camcorder. That’s gonna cost you at least $3k. You can now get consumer quality HD camcorders… that have a nicer picture quality than the DV ones for under $1500. Almost all computer video editing software is HD compatible, and the increased space the footage takes up on your hard drive is no longer an issue. (hard drives are CHEAP) ‘

Also, in the end it comes down to being upward compatible. HD is the way that television is going. You will someday replace the tv you mom gave you to take to college… when you do… I bet you buy an high definition television. Watching DV footage on that TV will show just how horrible the image quality is. You will notice right away that your film looks amateurish compared to a deep crystal clear HD image.

This is just an opinion. Feel free to argue.

Ok, fine. HD is the way to go. What do I buy?

We talked last week about your budget. Take the money from the budget you laid out for yourself and plan on spending at least a 1/4 of that cash on your camera. Although camcorders are getting cheap, it is going to be your first line, your ground troops, your artillery… so make sure you don’t cheap out on this part.

Consumer Camcorders

Small hand held camcorders are nice. They come with some simple features and they won’t break the bank. Something to keep in mind is; the smaller the camcorder the shakier the footage. It will be hard to keep something that light and small stable. Image stabilizers are good, but not good enough.

Something most pro’s don’t tell low level consumers. A steady image is the key to looking professional. Big camcorders have an advantage of being easier to keep stable. Shoulder mounts and pure weight help steady the hand. This is one of the key differences between dad’s home movie and a professional wedding video. So if you go with a small camera, buy a decent tripod and USE IT.

The only other thing I can tell you at this stage is test, test, test. There are a lot of consumer HD camcorders out there. Read the reviews, go to your local mom and pop shop and test the bejeezus out of them. Find one with all the options you want, then search for the best price. Don’t jump at the cheapest one… there is a reason it is cheap. Jump at the one that makes you warm and fuzzy inside. For reviews on current camcorders go to Camcorderinfo.com. They are great and very informative.

Prosumer Camcorders

For the prosumer, you should be spending somewhere in the range of $5000-$10000 bucks. I recommend in the lower range. Sony, Panasonic and Canon all have amazing low range prosumer camcorders. I recommend Sony. I have used all three and in the end I keep marching back and buying another Sony camera. Here’s why.

1. Sony generally costs less
2. Most models can record HD video to a DV tape
3. For outdoor video I find the image superior.
4. They worked hard for my business and gave me all the options I wanted. (Sony may be the black sheep of electronics right now, but their pro camcorder division is still top notch)
5. Sony makes inexpensive underwater camcorder rigs specifically for their small camcorders. (more on this in a few weeks)

Cost is a huge factor. In outdoor video, camera’s are going to get wet, dropped, and eventually broken. It needs to be reasonable to replace. You don’t want your life destroyed because your 20 thousand dollar camera fell in the drink and you need 4 contracts to replace it. Options are also very important. It makes sense to be able to do the things you want when you are in the feild — but nothing is as important as DV tape.

I harp on this. People will find me annoying I am sure. But If you take anything from this, remember the Animal’s Law; MiniDV TAPE IS KING.

It is cheap- at 5 bucks a tape. It is re-usable. You can get it at the corner store. It is small and portable. It is tough… you can drop it off a cliff and it usually won’t get destroyed, and best of all you get 60 minutes of quality HD footage per unit.

Last time I used a Canon HD camcorder, it couldn’t record HD to the dv tape. It used a DV tape, but could only record standard DV video to that tape. Panasonic wants you to buy specal ‘P2′ flash drives. They are overpriced and don’t hold a lot of footage (and not super durable like a tape… trust me). So although, I love the features on Panasonics, and I love the look and lenses on a Canon, I have to warn people off buying them. Sony’s only flaw is that you can’t swap out lenses and the image err’s on the blue side, but for filming lakes and water, this is great. These factors may change in the future, and at that time I will sing a different song.

There is one other factor to take in to account when looking at camcorders is sound input. If image stability is the first sign of an crappy film, sound is definitely the second (Some even argue the other way around). Look for a camera with one or 2 “XLR” inputs. We will talk about sound at length in a few weeks, and having XLR direct input will be a HUGE advantage. If you really can’t find one in your price range, just double check and make sure that it has a mic jack. Many consumer camcorders don’t come with one. You will need it. The on board mic won’t be good enough for film making and you will be bummed out if you buy a camera and can’t hook up better sound to it.

These are my opinions and it is important that you form your own. Do the research. Your camcorder is your first line of defense, and if you hate it, you are going to hate your film. Once you buy it, spend time learning the options and how to quickly switch them up.

So.. quick review:

1. Spend at least 1/4 of your budget on your camcorder… don’t cheap out here.
2. Make sure it can record the HD video to miniDV tape
3. Make sure you have some sort of microphone jack. XLR input is preferable, two XLR inputs are great. ( this will generally only be available on the bigger camcorders)
4. Take your time and research the options. If you hate your camcorder, you will hate your film.
5. Small camcorders will be shakier. Buy a tripod and use it.

Now down to brass tacks.

What camcorder do you recommend?

Currently, Heliconia Productions uses a Sony HVR-V1U. I simply love it. It has proven rugged (dropped on day one of shooting… no damage) It was relatively inexpensive at around $5k Canadian at the time. It has two XLR input jacks, films in 24, 30 and 60 frames per second (which is really great) and it even came with a decent shotgun style mic. Last but not least, it records an excellent image to a miniDV tape (bet you knew I was gonna say that).

We also have a small hand-held Sony HCR-HC5 camcorder. Specifically because sony makes a waterproof sport case for it for around $200. This is invaluable. We went with a second sony camcorder to keep image about the same. The quality is lower on the smaller camcorder, but that was to be expected. So far it has served us well, and I was really impressed that the batteries recharge in about 15 minutes.

That’s it for this week. Next week we will be talking computers. Stay tuned

The Animal