Consumer camera to match 5D?
 

Can anyone recommend a cheap camcorder (£500 - $1000) to accompany my 5d mkii on an up and coming visit to Asia?

I guess i'd have to convert to pro res and change the frame rate of the 5d stuff to 25 fps being in the UK.

If anyone's working like this i'd be interested to know how the footage matches up?

Obviously the 5d will generally look better, but i also know there are some stunning small camcorders around. I would take the sound from an external device, so not too bothered there, but i'm concerned about the post workflow and the best timeline to use in FCP.

Any thoughts?

D

The Canon Legria HF S10 would work well alongside it and it offers superb image quality for the price (around £1,000), although you could go for many even cheaper options such as the Canon HF11, HF20, HV30, and HF10. The Panasonic HDC-HS100, HDC-SD100 and HDC-HS300; plus the Sony HDR-HC9E, HDR CX-11E and Hitachi DZ-BD7HE are other options.

The Canon HF200 is a decent choice if you can't go over £500.

I know some will probably freak at this, but my suggestion would be to take a tape based camera like the Canon HV40. I have the earlier HV20, and for a travel situation, it is great. The image out of that camera is outstanding, and with tape, while you are on the move, you don't have to worry about downloading to a computer, and the tape is there to capture when you return.

No 'freaking' needed, Chris. Many tape-based camcorders can offer great image quality at a low price point, and as you have mentioned, the tape could come in handy as secure back-up in case of HD capture failures or download problems.

Thanks for the feedback. Some good camcorders there.

How about the editing side of things. Will the 5d footage cut with these formats?

What would be the optimal timeline to put these clips into in FCP?

D

I'd agree with Chris... its hard to beat the HV20,HV30 or HV40 for image quality and a great
small camera to take on a trip... its nice to have the tapes as archival too...

Look for ways to trick the exposure as these can get pretty noisy if you let the camera choose the gain in low light situations...

Here's some ways to take care of the gain issue...

Gain (Exposure Lock with Photo Button Trick) - Canon HV20, HV30 & HV40 User Forum