Need Help Choosing A Starter Proffessional Video Camera

Question

I'm 16, and I aspire to having a job in media, at the moment i'm inbetween going down the route of photography or video production (cameraman).

I have a lot of experience with my canon camera, but not much experience with a video cam.

What's the video cam equivalent to a good canon cam? Whats the best? and if I were to get one, what should I get? Not too expensive, but great quality, great for someone starting in the proffession.

Thanks

Answer 1

Im using this camera: http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs...

not so expensive. it has done me well as a starting video camera.  

Answer 2

Your first step should be to set a budget... though I guess it helps if you know what the professionals use...

The Sony HVR-1000U might be an interesting place to start. 1080i, shoulder mount, mic-in (though not XLR), some other decent features, and not too expensive. The Canon HV30 or Sony HDR-HC9 would be consumer-grade cams that can capture video for possible pro use. Then you jump up to the big boys (more $)

Prosumer:

Sony HDR-FX1

Pro:

Canon XHA1

Panasonic HDX200

Sony HVR-V1U, HVR-Z1U

Then the BIG jump:

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

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/contro...

http://pro.jvc.com/prof/attributes/categ...

http://www.panasonic.com/business/provid...

Big lenses and big imaging chips, XLR mic connectors and miniDV tape are the common attributes for pro-grade video...

bhphotovideo.com, adorama.com and a few others... even amazon.com. beware the "lowest price" scam trap. Check the cnet.com camcorder forum for more information.