June 30, 2007 at 10:23 am
· Filed under Equipment
I was recently asked by someone about my position on what constitutes professional equipment. I’m going to blather a bit on my particular POV on this topic because it annoys me that the spin doctoring ad wizards love to manipulate the human psyche to consume and that is a serious issue as far as I’m concerned.
Now given the fact that certain sectors of commerce are driven by the consumption of the latest and greatest smack at a very core issue facing us today in the 21st century.
The Climate Crisis (Stay with me now - oogly boogly)
I’ll be honest - I’d love to own the latest and greatest in HD cameras to work as a Solo VJ. That isn’t a financially feasible option for me at the present time. Having said that - does that preclude me from becoming a good VJ and beginning to make a living from it?
Certainly not.
If we are to aspire to deliver our content either online or potentially for broadcast, we need to assess the tools of our trade and acquire them as needed. Those shooting strictly for web distributed content certainly doesn’t require shooting a $5000 HDV camera. BUT… A $300 camcorder isn’t worth purchasing either in my opinion.
Why the discrepancy???
It has to do with finding the balance point between features and price. Any camera worth seriously shooting with needs the following five qualities to be considered as a tool in the Solo VJ repertoire: Manual Exposure control, Manual audio level control, Manual Focus, Manual White Balance and Firewire Connectivity. That’s it.
“Edit - it was pointed out that there should be two other requirements - Headphone out and mic input - thanks to Cyndy Green for her input on this”
My pair of SONY TRV950’s are older, 3 chip cameras which fill those five requirements. In addition, they give me 16×9 and 4×3 aspect ratios. And they were less than $900 each second hand. “But, they’re standard definition you say? They aren’t HD cameras - and everybody knows you HAVE to have HD to be a professional shooter these days…”
Excuse me? Can you show me in the rule books that says I HAVE to have that requirement??? I don’t think there is one.
But, that doesn’t mean NOT having HDV cameras isn’t necessary. It all depends on the final end product - and your finances. If I distribute for online content delivery - even local and possibly national broadcast - if the work is high enough in caliber, it doesn’t matter one iota.
But the Solo VJ detractors beg to differ - I say whatever.
The tool is only a small part of the equation - it’s the operator that acquires those decisive moments - the tool is only the capture device.
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Carlos wrote @ July 5th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Can you please let me know what camcorders you would recommend buying if you had to buy a new one today? Naming a couple that are in the $1,000-$2,000 range would be helpful. Thanks so much!
There is a lot of talk about the Canon HV20 which I have seen for around $1000-$1200. The camera has the seven features that I feel are required for any serious VJ work.
The SONY HC7 might be one to consider as well - both of these cameras are HD so you do get more bang for your buck as compared to shooting an SD camera.
Cliff
Carlos wrote @ July 6th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
Thanks for the response. Are there any camcorders that are going to be coming up on the market later in the year that might be worth looking at too? (It seems like the newer models are always better than the older ones.) And, are tapeless camcorders worth considering, as well? Thanks again for the feedback.
Thanks for the mention. I agree with you about not needing hi-def. There is so much buzz about it, but at this point not a lot of folks have playback ability. Until that is resolved, it’s just another expensive toy…and one that will get less expensive as time goes by.
My advice to folks wanting to buy is to do the research within their budget and find the camera with features they want/need.
Very readable blog….
In response to Carlos much of the information you is available online for example cameras in $1000 - $2000 range include the small compact sony a1u a single chip HDV camcorder with XLR inputs containing the 7 features mentioned by cliff and cyndy. If you can track down the Sony HC1 second hand or as end of line you could of for that it is the consumer version of the A1U but with few features.
If by tapeless you mean hard drive based camcorders, remember if you manage to fill up the hard drive what is your back up or archive strategy. As you will have to offload the footage before using it again, unlike tape or dvd based options you simply replace with a new tape or disk, thus keeping all the recorded footage to hand to access later for editing and reviewing.
The downside with dvd based options especially consumer camcorder is the format is not always great due to compression and codecs and mxf file system does not readily import in most commonly used editing applications and you will need to use the software provided by the camera manufacturer. These tend to pc based options only at the moment as well.
If hard drive options still appeals have a look at the JVC gz-hd7 a 3 chip HD 1080i camera that records 1920 x 1080, 5 hour record time to drive. But have a look on line and see the reviews. Try some cameras out and see what you like, how are you planning on using it and whatever you do enjoy the experiences and stories you document.
Matt wrote @ January 5th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Hello, great site!
What might your recommendation be between a Sony PD-150 vs. the Canon HV-20? I’m shooting 3 documentaries that I want to enter into Sundance. (I’m persuaded I have excellent content!).
For me one drawback of the HV 20 is that I would need to buy an XLR adapter vs. the PD-150 has XLR sound built in. But the PD-150 is clearly more expensive and the Canon HV20 has many great features, (including being in HD which can be a real plus).
What are your thoughts? How would you analyze this?
I do think these are my final two choices and options… to me I think it’s going to be one or the other.
Additionally, I will be doing some one person filming; does either camera lend itself more readily to that genre of documentary filmmaking for film festivals? I have negligible interest at this time in producing to the web.
Thanks, I love your site!
Matt
Thanks Matt,
I think much of this depends on your perspective regarding future proofing your gear. The PD-150 is a great camera - but you are stuck with standard def 4:3 material. The HV20 is a different class of camera - it’s only a one chip consumer camera. But you do get HD, which can always be down converted to SD if needed - and it looks better than footage shot on an SD camera. The disadvantage is low light capabilities - the PD-150 is said to be the champ in this arena.
Having said that - Why are your choices limited to these 2 cameras? For the price of a PD-150, you can get into a SONY A1U which is HD and has XLR. The question I ask is are you going to be shooting completely solo or are you going to have a crew? Shooting Solo will dictate a different set of gear compared to shooting with a crew.
There are very few advantages to shooting with XLR - my understanding is that other than the duability of the plug, there are really no advantages except for more mics are available in that plug style.
There is a mic I came across from Ambiet Recordings called the TinyMic that fits mini-jack and is said to be as good if not better than many XLR based mics. And its name belies the sound quality.
Specifics will dictate your equipment choices. I shoot with a couple of HC7’s due to the fact that there is only one pro grade underwater housing - whereas the HC7 has several.
Unless I know more about your shooting style is, it’s hard to give an accurate answer about equipment recommendations.
HTH,
Cliff
