Camcorders?

Question

ok I'm trying to look up the cameras that are used to film movies but noting but like hand held camcorders comes up, is there a special name for them?

Answer 1

Even with digital, a majority of big budget filmmakers still prefer celluloid film--that's right, the old school analog stuff. Most shoot on 35mm film cameras, but some shoot in 65mm, which is even higher quality--for Imax productions and such.

These film cameras used in movies cannot be bought; you must rent them at insanely high rates. They are worth approximately $500,000 in many cases. They are usually made by Panavision or Arri.http://panavision.com/

http://www.arri.de/

There are several reasons most filmmakers prefer film: (1) aesthetics of film (DOF, contrast, grain, etc) (2) 35mm film is actually higher quality than the finest HD camera

However, film is much more expensive. Putting the cost of the camera aside, the film itself is also very expensive, not to mention the cost of film processing in film labs, and if you are digitizing film, it costs quite a bit to get it re-printed to film for viewing in theaters.

   16mm is also a popular format among lower budget filmmakers, though it is still pretty expensive.

You can actually buy some lower-end 35mm and 16mm film cameras here: http://visualproducts.com/

   Although film continues to dominate the industry, more and more movies are shot digitally. Here are the digital cinema cameras you'd see on big budget films:

1) RED One    http://www.red.com/

2) Dalsa Origin    http://www.dalsa.com/dc/4k_products/orig...

3) Vision Research Phantom65   http://www.visionresearch.com/index.cfm?...

4) Panavision Genesis    http://panavision.com/product_detail.php...

5) Arri D-21  http://www.arri.de/entry/products.htm

6) Silicon Imaging SI-2K   http://www.siliconimaging.com/DigitalCin...

7) Thompson Viper FilmStream  http://www.thomsongrassvalley.com/produc...

8) Sony F35  http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/product-F35...

These cameras are much better than your average HD camera. Some shoot in even higher resolutions like the RED One, Dalsa Origin and Phantom65, which shoot in 4K--approx 4X the resolution of HD. Again, these cameras are not for sale, except for the RED One and Sony F35.

However, these cameras are still a bit pricy for a lot of filmmakers, so many indie filmmakers, as well as filmmakers for documentaries, and news broadcasters use Professional Panasonic Varicams or Sony CineAlta cameras:

http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs...

http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/cat-broadca...

Still too expensive, a lot of low budget filmmakers use prosumer cameras like:

1) Sony PMW-EX1

2) Panasonic HVX200

3) JVC GY-HD110U

A few films were shot on the Canon XL2 as well as the Panasonic DVX100B

hope that helps.

Answer 2

the  Canon XL1 CAMCORDER was used to make the Movie  28 DAYS later, if you ever heard or SEEN IT,  so thats the Camrecorder you need,  i listed a  Picture below and websites where to buy one. if you want a real Directors Camcorder.