Video Cameras, Learn how to shoot.
Now they are getting closer to producing film like quality with video cameras and some really interesting one are going to hit the market soon within the price range we could afford. One of the best out now is the Sony HDRFX1 HDV High Definition Video Camera w/12x Optical Zoom . This camera will give you quality that is transferable to 35 mm film.
Professional Independent Film Video Cameras
Digital
Camera Info
in Spanish
Sony HDR-HC1 2.8MP High Definition MiniDV Camcorder
w/10x Optical Zoom
Sony
HDR-FX1 3-CCD HDV High Definition Camcorder w/12x Optical Zoom
"Digital Cameras Ratings"
"thin digital cameras"
"top selling digital cameras"
Digital Cameras the key to Independent Films
Video Cameras have been key to this great advent. Because of the ease and low cost of video tape makes it possible for the Independent Film Maker to produce these great films at a cost that can be afforded by people out side of Hollywood. Hollywood had long had a hold on Films and Movies due to the great cost of film and processing, but that has now changed.
But film, even 16 mm to a point, gives you the definition needed for the big screen. Now if you need to shoot with film there are places that rent all the equipment you'll need but it's still going to cost an arm and a leg.
Digital on the other hand is great for TV and the internet. Many movies that are on TV are shot with Digital Video Cameras. These Video Cameras did cost upwards in the tens of thousands of dollars. But that has changed just recently. Now the cam corders that you buy for around $800. like the Panasonic PVGS400 MiniDV 3CCD 4MP Digital Camera that gives you almost the same quality as the studio Video Cameras that cost well over $50,000. just 5 years ago. Many television stations are getting less quality then the guy on the street with his Canon XL1 MiniDV Digital Camera. Why is this, well not too many people are going to go to their boss and say " Remember that $80,000. camera I told you we needed, trash it, there's this LESS THAN $6,000. Canon XL2 Digital Camera Kit that is better.
What do you need to be an Independent Film Maker? Well your going to need a Digital Video Camera that can at least connect to your computer because your are going to have to edit your video. So most of you with that little cheepo camcorder can start shooting your movie now. The quality of the picture is not going to be that great but with editing software you can do wonders.
Now let me give some minimums for buying a Digital Camera. First your going to need to get a Digital Camera with 3 ccd's. A 3 ccd camera is a camera that has a receptor for each basic color, red green blue. By getting a camera with 3 ccd's that is going to boost your quality of the picture and give you greater control concerning post effects, especially Blue Screen effects. Cannon, Sony, Kodak, Olympus, and Fuji all have models that come with 3 CCDs. Next your going to want that camera to have manual control for just about everything; focus, iris, white balance, etc... Why? Because you need to create your scene. The Auto controls give you a more or less look of what the camera thinks you want. Cameras don't think too well, and even if they could they'd have no idea of what you wanted. And although there are many situation where you might want that home movie look, you won't want it all the time.
Here's what you don't want to happen. You don't want to get a camera that after you shoot your scene you find it's pretty good but the digital camera doesn't have the ability to perform that task needed to create your scene. And once you start shooting and your going over and over the shot to see if you can get that perfect Hollywood look, not being able to do what you need to do is going to hurt.
My recommendations are, minimum you should go with the Panasonic PVGS400 MiniDV 3CCD 4MP Video Camera. Its a great camera for the price. It will allow you to create that Hollywood look and it has all the features of a pro camera. Picture quality is very close to broadcast and there are add on lenses you can get if you need to go to tele photo or wide angle. Not as good as being able to change the lenses like the canon digital cameras but you can get the job done. Very important also is an external mike connection.
My recommendation if you have the bucks is the Canon XL2 Digital Camera Kit . It has BroadCast quality and you can change the lenses on the camera. Canon is the only video camera that allows you to do that. Again When your looking for that perfect shot, being able to change to a wide angle lens when you need to, will make that shot a reality.
Controls that need to be manual and why.
White Balance is a feature on video cameras that you will have to adjust manually.
This control tells your camera what is white. Our mind is constantly telling us what is white. There is no real white. White is a mixture of all the colors, and it depends on the light that's being used to what lie our minds needs to tell us as to what is white. For example, if you set your white balance to indoor lighting then shoot outside in the sun everything will look blue. Close the iris a bit and you have the night scene shot in the day time. I'm sure you have seen that tactic on some of the old movies.
The best way to set your white balance is to get a white peace of paper, put it in front of the camera focus on it and have it lit with only the light your going to use in your shot then set the white balance.
Focus is a feature on the video camera you will have to have manual control of.
You are going to need manual focus. Why? Yes I know it's a lot easier to have the camera do all the work. The problem is that the camera thinks your shooting a home movie and that you don't know anything about Hollywood shooting styles. What does Hollywood have to do with this? Hollywood has brainwashed us from the time we were born as how to interpret a scene. There are certain rules that need to be followed to shoot a scene so our minds understand whats going on. And it turns out that the center of the screen is kind of a no mans land. Most anything of importance is a bit off center. For example if two people are talking to each other, when each are filmed each one will take the opposite side of the screen. The next movie you watch check out how things are most of the time off center. Auto focus, focuses on the things in the center of the screen. So what that means is that anything of importance will be out of focus. Also as an example; when you want to film someone looking at something and then switch the importance from him to what he's looking at, you can so this with the focus.
The Iris or F Stop will have to be manually controled.
The iris is the hole inside the lens that lets the light in the camera. Auto iris looks at the total light and adjust itself to let in the right amount of light for the scene. Whats the problem? Well the problem is that maybe there is too much light in the background which means that the things in the foreground are going to be too dark. Now again our eyes and mind correct for most of this so we don't notice. And film has a greater range of contrast, but video has a problem when it comes to contrast. Most of the time there are going to have to be compromises. Auto iris doesn't make compromises. With auto iris things are gong to be too dark or too light.
Zebra pattern is a must have feature.
Zebra Pattern is a tool that tells you when things are too bright. This is very important. Again video has a problem with contrast and your going to have to make compromises. To make these compromises your going to have to know where you stand. Here's how it works; When you look through the view finder you will first set the iris to a level where you can see your mark. As you open the iris you will reach a point where you have opened it too far. Things will still look ok to you but it's too much for the camera so you will begin to see slanted lines like a zebra pattern in the arias where its too bright. You can now make your adjustments as to what is more important to have the correct lighting. Sometimes you will have to change the scene because too much will have to be compromised.
Here is a list of features that most Video Cameras are equipped with and their definitions.
Auto Exposure Mode has various sub modes for certain situations, and they are:
Sports Mode, This mode is for recording scenes involving quick movements, such as sports scenes. The camera will be using a higher shutter speed to capture the fast action with out blurring out the action by having a slower shutter speed.
Portrait Mode, This mode focuses on the main subject of the image and leaves the background slightly out of focus. The iris will be opened a bit more to decrease the depth of field leaving only the subject in focus.
Low Light Mode, Preserves the mood of dim light settings without altering picture brightness. this feature stopes the camera from attempting to adjust for the low light situation. Normally the camera on auto mode would attempt to adjust the iris and shutter speed to compensate for the low light but sometimes the mood is more important to the scene.
Spotlight Mode, Neutralizes the additional brightness created by the spotlight so as not to drown out the back ground. This again works with the iris and the shutter speed to create the wanted effect.
Surf and Snow Mode, Compensates for excessive illumination from sun glare to produce a clear picture.
Progressive Photoshot Mode: This allows you to record still pictures with higher resolution than with the normal Photoshot Function, this is used With the PhotoShot Recording on the DV Cassette, which allows you to record sound with your Pictures which results with slightly inferior quality.
Digital Zoom: I like to call this Stupid Zoom. It is just a selling point. A way to rip off the customer. Its junk and don't let it influence your reason for buying a camera. Always go by the actual Zoom provided by the cameras lenses.
Cinema-like Format Recording: The cinema function give you black bars above and below to give your the cinema look. The Wide Function stretches vertically to give you the dimensions for Wide-Screen TV equipment.
Microphones Sensitivity Level: This allows how much effect the AGC(automatic gain control) will have on your audio recording. The more sensitive your mic., the more it will pick up. But if there is a lot of wind or back ground noise you will want to adjust this for best results.
Picture Adjust: This enables the sharpness and color levels of the picture to be adjusted during recording.
Remember that in most professional situations these automatic features should not be used and part of being a good camera man is to know how all this is done manually and thus be ready for any situation.
So in choosing a camera it's not how many automatic functions the camera has, it's how many manual features the camera has.
Here is a list of Digital Video Cameras with Reviews of discription, picture and price.
Canon Reviews
For a complete list of Digital Camer Reviews
Written by
G. Parsons copyright © 2005 711net.com
