Must Have Video Equipment

[maxpower]

I know it might be a year or so away, but I am starting to wonder about what camera equipment I will need to create videos. I know I will need a camcorder but what kind do I really need? Should I get the most expensive or 2 of the cheaper ones, or just 1 medium priced one will work good. I also know I will need lights but how many what type? Are these about the only things I need? I was thinking about maybe using screen caps for some pics cuzz I am going to have to do it all myself. I was also thinking about getting most of what I need from Ebay unless anyone knows a better place.

[basschick]

i got a medium-low priced camcorder and it does videos as good as or better than a lot of sites out there. my camcorder allows me to shoot pics simultaneously while i shoot videos and although they are not as good or big as regular pics, they are better than screencaps.

what lights you will need depends a lot on what size room you are planning to shoot in as well as what background colors and materials, how high the ceiling will be and a bunch of other stuff. i started out with 2 500 watt lights from bhphoto video plus a floor and a fill light which i actually got from the hardware store for around $20 each. craigslist did much MUCH better for my stuff than ebay but mostly i bought stuff new at www.bhphotovideo.com for the equipment and www.butterflyphoto.com for the camcorder and later the cameras.

[maxpower]

Those do look pretty cool did not know I could get away with going that cheap on the cam. What do you think about these few?

I have seen this one in films allot http://www.butterflyphoto.com/shop/p...px?sku=PVGS300

I think this one looks cool http://www.butterflyphoto.com/shop/p...spx?sku=GZMG21

What one would you or anyone most suggest? http://www.butterflyphoto.com/shop/s...=1100&pti=1100


I was really thinking if its going to be this cheap too save up and get 2 cams, this way it will help make up for my bad shoots with having 2 angles to chose from in editing, and always having a stable shots even when changing one of them. I know I am going to be really bad at first just thinking this would help me allot, but again I have seen some really bad stuff that people use.

Is the sound going to be ok with these cams too? Just seems I would need more to good vocal sounds

[basschick]

the PVGS300 is the baby brother of the PV-GS250, which is my camcorder. while my camcorder cost more, the 300 sounds like a very good option:

http://reviews.cnet.com/Panasonic_PV...-31660647.html

panasonic has a very good auto setting - so good that it convinced us to buy a panasonic camera, as well. in fact, the 300 sounds good enough to use as a backup. i think i'll be buying one. thanks!

i am not a fan of JVC camcorders myself as i don't care for the video quality, and let's face it - features don't matter if your videos look muddy and flat. perhaps there are some good ones out there that i haven't seen.

[maxpower]

the PVGS300 is the baby brother of the PV-GS250, which is my camcorder. while my camcorder cost more, the 300 sounds like a very good option:

http://reviews.cnet.com/Panasonic_PV...-31660647.html

panasonic has a very good auto setting - so good that it convinced us to buy a panasonic camera, as well. in fact, the 300 sounds good enough to use as a backup. i think i'll be buying one. thanks!

i am not a fan of JVC camcorders myself as i don't care for the video quality, and let's face it - features don't matter if your videos look muddy and flat. perhaps there are some good ones out there that i haven't seen.

You really think the baby brother Panasonic PV-GS300 MiniDV is a real viable option? I did look at the Panasonic_PV_GS500 model you have now, but its only getting a .2% higher ranking. I am just wondering if I could get away with the 300 and maybe get 2 of them. Of course I can get a ok deal on the model you have as well so no mater what I think I will get 2 of them unless you see a problem with that.

I am just not really that sure about this Cam stuff at all :crazyeyes:

[maxpower]

Hey Bass I am getting ready to order a video camera and I was looking at the one you said you used PV-GS250. From what you said this is a better cam than the PVGS300, but I saw a review of the 250

(But that otherwise excellent model turned out to have an unfortunate flaw: its electronic image stabilization didn' t work very well, resulting in shaky footage.)

Do you still think the 250 is better than the 300? I know you said you where going to order the 300 as a back-up just wondering how that worked out.

The price is not important here at all really, in fact I can get the PV-GS250 that you have for less than the baby brother 300. :thumbsup:

[basschick]

300 review
http://reviews.cnet.com/Panasonic_PV...-31660647.html

250 review
http://reviews.cnet.com/Panasonic_PV...tag=prod.txt.1

check out the user reviews. editors don't really use the equip for that long - users do.

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/ratings.php
check where both stand in the ratings and go read reviews and specs.

[maxpower]

Ya will not get a used cam, but might get some other used things like lights, stands, new lenses stuff like that. I am really drowning in all this other work I have to do right now, but I am going to order this cam sometime in the nest 2 weeks anyway. :egg:

Think it will be fun to play with it, and I do need something less stressful to do from time to time. :thumbsup:

The quality of the film is not what interests me most, I want to create some of this “Uncle Don” crap, just on steroids.

[TropixxxStudios]

I know it might be a year or so away, but I am starting to wonder about what camera equipment I will need to create videos. I know I will need a camcorder but what kind do I really need? Should I get the most expensive or 2 of the cheaper ones, or just 1 medium priced one will work good. I also know I will need lights but how many what type? Are these about the only things I need? I was thinking about maybe using screen caps for some pics cuzz I am going to have to do it all myself. I was also thinking about getting most of what I need from Ebay unless anyone knows a better place.

Maxpower,
Since you mention that you are about a year away, I would suggest reading all I could about videography. A good source for camera reviews, tips, lighting reviews, etc. is Videgorapher Magazine.

When it comes closer to the date of actual purchase I would suggest checking out closeouts. I would strongly recommend against buying used video equipment as you never know how it was treated.

Believe it or not, lighting is more important to the final outcome than the camera. Also, to get the best image, you should ALWAYS turn OFF image stabilazation, etc. So it doesn't matter if the camera has that or not. Invest in a fluid tripod ($300+) or a steadycam rather than rely on camera image stablization. A great steadycam will cost anywhere from $500+, but you can build one yourself for about $20.

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/

I have a BA in Television Production and am close to my MFA in Cinema. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have. Just email or private me.

- Michael

PS. As far as style goes...be carefull. I tried to be artistic in some of my earlier works...it did not go over well. Now I just shoot down and dirty.

Sometimes we use our $3000 cameras, steadycams, Chimera Lightbanks, etc. and sometimes we use our $150 camera, no tripod, and a construction lightset from Home Depot to give it that amateur look that is popular now.

[maxpower]

Maxpower,
Since you mention that you are about a year away, I would suggest reading all I could about videography. A good source for camera reviews, tips, lighting reviews, etc. is Videgorapher Magazine.

When it comes closer to the date of actual purchase I would suggest checking out closeouts. I would strongly recommend against buying used video equipment as you never know how it was treated.

Believe it or not, lighting is more important to the final outcome than the camera. Also, to get the best image, you should ALWAYS turn OFF image stabilazation, etc. So it doesn't matter if the camera has that or not. Invest in a fluid tripod ($300+) or a steadycam rather than rely on camera image stablization. A great steadycam will cost anywhere from $500+, but you can build one yourself for about $20.

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/

I have a BA in Television Production and am close to my MFA in Cinema. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have. Just email or private me.

- Michael

PS. As far as style goes...be carefull. I tried to be artistic in some of my earlier works...it did not go over well. Now I just shoot down and dirty.

Sometimes we use our $3000 cameras, steadycams, Chimera Lightbanks, etc. and sometimes we use our $150 camera, no tripod, and a construction lightset from Home Depot to give it that amateur look that is popular now.

Thax man I will check all that out

[gaybucks_chip]

Maxpower,
Also, to get the best image, you should ALWAYS turn OFF image stabilazation, etc. So it doesn't matter if the camera has that or not.

Hey, Michael,

I know this is true if it's digital image stabilization, which actually "stabilizes" by blurring adjacent pixels, thus blurring the image. But on newer, higher end cameras, such as the Canon XL-2 and Panasonic HVX and DVX, the image stabilization is optical rather than digital and actually does an amazing job of improving handheld shots. There's no loss of sharpness with optical stabilization; even the HD cameras have it.

Invest in a fluid tripod ($300+) or a steadycam rather than rely on camera image stablization. A great steadycam will cost anywhere from $500+, but you can build one yourself for about $20.

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/

We have a couple of these for our mini camcorders, and they work great. Only problem is, you can't get through airport security with them... they have to go as checked baggage, and even when they get checked, they get looked at VERY carefully... I think they assume they're bombs. For the larger camcorders (DVX-100 and HVX-200), we use the DV-Rig Pro (www.dvtek.com) which is almost as good as a true ($2000) steadycam in terms of stability, if used by a good cameraperson.

[maxpower]

Have you used the 250 or 300 Chip? Am I going to have problems with the image stabilization of these models? :crybaby:

[gaybucks_chip]

Image stabilization on both of those are digital, so you don't want to use it.

If you want optical image stabilization, I haven't seen it on any lower priced camcorders. I'm pretty sure you have to step up into the $1200 and up category. An excellent choice if you want to spend that much is the Canon GL. I know a lot of people that shoot adult content on GLs.

However... if you practice and use both hands and learn to brace your camera against your body, you can actually get pretty steady handheld shots even with the smaller cameras and no steadicam.

Also, I wanted to echo Michael's point on lighting. I would much rather have a less expensive camera and excellent lighting than a fabulous camera and shitty lighting. You'll spend some money for good lighting, but it's a wise investment... I'm always amazed at how poor the lighting is on the majority of gay adult content I've seen.

[gaybucks_chip]

Sorry, I didn't completely answer the question above.

We own two 300s, one is with Skyler for him to shoot content for his site, and one we keep as a b-roll camera. They work well, and i'm surprised at the quality of the image from these cameras. There is a noticeable difference between these and the DVX, but the DVX is almost ten times more in cost.

We also have a piece of shit JVC bottom-of-the-line DV camcorder that we use exclusively for capturing. It is marginally OK for outdoor work in bright sunlight, but the color rendition is abysmally bad in anything other than very well lit settings, and not great in any setting. By contrast, we can intercut B-roll footage from the 300 with footage from the DVX (a $4000 camera) and, while it's noticeable if you look closely, it generally fits together pretty well.

The one warning I'd give is one of our 300s died within a month of getting it, and ALL of these low end camcorders seem to crap out within 6 months to 18 months when used regularly. So this is a case where I highly recommend getting the extended warranty. We bought our 300s from onecall.com, and I think we got a 4 year extended warranty on them for about $150. The last low-end camera we had with a warranty on it, we had it repaired about 6 times in 4 years, and the warranty paid out over $700 in repair costs, so it was a really good deal for us.

[maxpower]

Image stabilization on both of those are digital, so you don't want to use it.

If you want optical image stabilization, I haven't seen it on any lower priced camcorders. I'm pretty sure you have to step up into the $1200 and up category. An excellent choice if you want to spend that much is the Canon GL. I know a lot of people that shoot adult content on GLs.

However... if you practice and use both hands and learn to brace your camera against your body, you can actually get pretty steady handheld shots even with the smaller cameras and no steadicam.

Also, I wanted to echo Michael's point on lighting. I would much rather have a less expensive camera and excellent lighting than a fabulous camera and shitty lighting. You'll spend some money for good lighting, but it's a wise investment... I'm always amazed at how poor the lighting is on the majority of gay adult content I've seen.

Ya for sure I will pick up some lights man, not sure how many and what type I will need but that will come with playing with the cam I guess. Most of the reality stuff I have seen do not use any lights as far as can tell, but its hard for me to talk too much crap about others video work (at least yet)

Not sure if I will ever really be able to create film at the level you do, after all most of my time has to go into the sites I have to run, and I am alone in this so far anyway. But I could get a better cam if you think I need that for the type of content I will shot. (mainly just reality stuff I can use on my sites)