I need an experienced opinion on what video camera to get...?

Question

I work for a martial arts studio that has been offered a high end video camera...we just have to find one. We film a lot of tricking, which is martial arts mixed with gymnastics...so lots of really fast action. We will also be filming in house commercials, videos of demonstrations and testing for the website and tons of other things. I've read reviews and how-tos, but i just need an opinion from someone that has experience with multiple companies/types of cameras.

Answer 1

This might be of some help:

Which Digital Video Camera Should You Buy?

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...

Good luck!

Answer 2

I'm not sure what you're budget is, but I will give you my recommendations (I hope you don't mind if I don't use complete sentences. I have so much to say :)

___________________  

1) RED Scarlet. $3,000. The best camera under $17,499. Why such an odd number? Well I'd say a lot higher, except RED has another camera that's $17,500, the RED One. And that's cheap beyond belief for what it can do. Back to the SCARLET: Shoots in "Ultra High Definition". Shoots RAW, uncompressed 3K footage (that's about 90% more than typical HD--don't trust my math; just a rough estimate). The Scarlet has considerably more pixels that Sony's Premiere camera, the F35, which goes for $250,000 (that's no estimate). So, in short, its a $3,000 camera better than a $250,000 Sony. It's not available yet, but its worth the wait!!! Coming in 2009.  

____________

SONY EX1 . $6,000. Best camera under $10,000 right now (cause Scarlet's not out yet)  

PROS: True HD. Full 1920x1080. No other camera does that yet. Yet. How? The EX1 doesn't use miniDV tapes, it uses solid state memory, which is far less compressed than miniDV. Better resolution than its competition, even the Panasonic HVX200, which is also solid state. Excellent defintion. Professional tools with a professional quality lens and iris control.

Larger image sensor= narrow depth of field= really cool for artsy filmmakers cause it looks like film

CONS: Solid state media is expensive. And it doesn't hold much video. A Sony SxS media card is like $800 each. It's also not a RED camera.

_________

Panasonic HVX200A.  $5,200

PROS: Solid state media= tapeless= better than miniDV, though not as good as the EX1.

   A favorite for indie filmmakers. Great manual controls!

CONS: Not as good as the EX1:

     It uses P2 cards to hold its media, which dont shoot true HD. It actually uppresses its footage to achieve the 1920x1080. Can you distinguish it from true HD side by side? Probably not. Still, in some cases, its more problematic.

   Smaller Image sensor. It has 1/3" CCDs as opposed to the EX1's 1/2" ones= larger depth of field.

________________

JVC HD110 $4000

PROS: It was used on several indie features.

           It has interchangeable lenses, which is kinda nice.

          pretty good picture for an HDV camera (HD miniDV)

CONS: It is an HDV camera (miniDV)=more compression than tapeless cameras.

    Has no 1080i or 1080p mode, which is the highest output of HD. It does have the lower resolution 720p mode. Though lower resolution, I find I use 720p more often then 1080i.

__________________

Canon XH-A1 $3,300

PROS: Well rounded. Excellent choice for formal shooting like for wedding videography, news broadcast, etc, though not the best for fictional productions

Pro tools. Great interlaced video.

CONS: no 24p (24p makes your video look like film)= not good for movies, short stories, etc. Also, only shoots Interlaced. No Progressive Mode at 60 frames per second, which filmmakers really like.

_____________

Canon HV30 $770

NOT A PRO CAMERA, but a very good consumer camera. For a consumer camera, it has great:

-resolution

-color saturation        .....in general, it has good picture quality

CONS: Lacks decent manual controls. All controls are hidden in the menu. There is a manual focus dial, but it's pretty useless.

no Pro audio connections. Well afterall, its a consumer camera.... it does have a mini-stereo imput for some microphones, which is decent.  

If you want a pro camera, but don't care if it's HD or not, you can get a good deal on standard definition camears:

_____________

Panasonic DVX100B $2,500

Great great camera! It used to be an indie filmmaker favorite. Very similar to the HVX200, without HD of course. Great manual controls. Excellent 24p mode....

____________

Canon XL2           $3,000

A great standard def pro camera with 24p too. It also has interchangeable lenses.

Well, I think I covered all price ranges. In conclusion, if you have the money, and the time to wait for its release in early 2009, go for the Scarlet...It will change digital cinema, forever... (sounded kinda cheesy...). The Scarlet, however, does require a bit more camera know-how, and it utilizes an entirely different codec that may be more difficult to edit, not to mention the file sizes. If you have a Mac with Final Cut Pro, you are in excellent shape. If you have a powerful PC with a powerful program like Avid, you are still in good shape. But keep in mind that the Scarlet has one catch: It's a pro camera, therefore will have professional post production demands. If you can't wait, the Sony EX1 is a fine camera in its own right, arguably the top in its class. If you don't care about the benefits of a pro camera, the Canon HV30 is a great inexpensive option for those on a budget. Or, if you don't care about seeing every pimple on your subjects' faces, you can get an awesome pro standard definition camera for an awesome price-- I love the DVX100B!!!!I apologize if you don't like my use of incomplete sentences.....

Well, good luck!!!