The gigantic "which camera should I buy" thread!

[Dylan Couper]

Cole, you haven't told us what you plan on shooting. It's pretty important to the choice of camera.

[Cole Lanter]

well, ive really been leaning towards the XL2 because it was the first one i knew about. you see, i love movies and thats what i want to do, make movies. im still fairly young and i have all these ideas swarming around in my head and for the longest time, ive wanted to shoot these movies. then, one day i saw an add for the XL2 and it blew my mind! i was shocked that a camcorder was capibal of such a thing. well, several months later, here i am, deciding which one i should buy.

I guess what im looking for with the camera is:

a. something thats reliable

b. produces the "film look" (which is a great idea) and

c. very nice audio.

so, with which ever camera i get i want to be able to make a "proper movie" and not some cheap 200 dollar handheld camera movie. so which one works best for a begging film maker? the xl2 or the dvx 100? they both sound so good and im still undecided.

help?

[Cole Lanter]

by the way, is that 35mm movie really shot on the xl2?!?! becasue if it is, thats totally what im looking for!

[John Britt]

<<<-- Originally posted by Cole Lanter : by the way, is that 35mm movie really shot on the xl2?!?! becasue if it is, thats totally what im looking for! -->>>

What movie are you referring to? Did I miss a comment?

Also, I've seen some amazing looking stuff from dvinfo and dv.com members that was shot on a PD150, GL2, etc (older, non-progressive cameras) -- and they looked good because the director understood lighting, framing, and other important aspects of filmmaking/videography. You may be very disappointed (as many first-time DVX100 users were) to find out that you can't just take a 24p camera out of the box and make a "film-like" movie. There's a lot more to making a "proper movie" than just the camera.

[Cole Lanter]

yeah, thats something i never really thought about... (the lighting and all that stuff). well in that case, where can i learn about all the aspects of film making? is there a book you would suggest? maybe i could get the camera (XL2 preferably) and fiddle around with some different tecniques to see what really looks right, good idea or bad idea?
but you're totally right, i think it would be wise for me to grasp all the technical aspects of making a "proper movie" before i open the box. so to restate my question, whats the best way to learn about all the technical aspects of making a movie with a DV camera?
and i would just like to say that i really appreciate all of you guyses advice... ive learned more about DV cameras in one day than i have in the past 3 months. thank you

[Mitchell Stookey]

You're looking right at it.... it's DVinfo my friend

[Boyd Ostroff]

Cole: Browse through our book forum for lots of good ideas on what to read http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisp...?s=&forumid=36

[Chris Hurd]

Cole

Take it from somebody who has worked trade shows for years now, where people come up to me and ask the exact same question as you did in your original post.

Get your hands on the cameras. The right one for you is the one which *feels best* in your hands. End of story. It's that simple.

There's a lot of good reading to be found here at DV Info, I hope you enjoy your experience here.

[Dylan Couper]

<<<-- Originally posted by Cole Lanter :
but you're totally right, i think it would be wise for me to grasp all the technical aspects of making a "proper movie" before i open the box. so to restate my question, whats the best way to learn about all the technical aspects of making a movie with a DV camera? -->>>



Not to sound sarcastic, but....

How about four years of film school, followed by a few years of experience working in the industry working under masters of the craft?


Just a thought.

[Rob Lohman]

I want to add my two cents....

First on your list Cole:

a. depends on your definition of reliable, but most pro-sumer camera's (what we are talking about here) are "reliable"

b. this hasn't got much to do with the camera (see below)

c. this also hasn't got much to do with the camera (also see below). Good audio is a function of the EXTERNAL MICROPHONES you attach to a camera (onboard DOES NOT cut it for fictional work, unless there is no speech), your guy/woman who records the audio for you and the final audio mix

With all due respect to everyone who is eager to get started
making "great" movies and think that the "film look" is the holy
grail and the answer to the look you want, think again.

The single most important thing is still the story. A "film look" can
definitely enhance a good story, but it can never fix a bad one.
After this acting, editing, lighting, audio recording, framing, camera
moves etc. are all much more important than your camera.

Yes your camera decides how things look (although you can change
a lot in post with things like color correction!) and it is very important,
but do not blindly look at just the camera.

Camera (technically) wise, the look is most decided by the quality
(3 chips better than 1 chip etc.) and framerate. Film is shot at 24
fps and both the XL2 and DVX100 support this framerate, so that
is good news for you. One of the final things is emulating the
exposure latitude of film (we simply don't have that with our
video camera's) which the DVX seems better to do in camera (film
look gamma curves, which the XL2 also has!) according to users,
but I find the DVX too grainy for example.

Personally I'd rather do the S like gamme curve adjustment in post
in the editing package (I'm using Sony Vegas 5).

My ramblings here have hopefully opened your mind to see there
are lots of things to learn / consider.

One of the biggest questions that I think no-one has asked here
yet is: what is your budget?

[Cole Lanter]

the most ill spend on a camera is the XL2, which is from my understanding the most expensive.
And yes, i have thought about film school but i fear that most of the schools are out of my budget.

[John Britt]

As stated before, dvinfo.net is a great resource for you to start with -- it's a little like you're standing in the middle of a library and asking, "Where can I find some books?" :)

Another suggestion would be to pick, say, 3 to 5 movies (on the low end) that are similar in style, scope, and/or genre to the movie you want to make. Go rent those titles and spend a weekend holed up in your house, watching movies and taking notes. Seriously -- take notes like you're getting ready for a test. Pay attention to how shots are framed, how the story evolves, how lighting is used, how dialog is used, etc. Find what you like and make note of it. It's the cheapest film education you can give yourself (well, next to great, free resources like dvinfo.net).

[Cole Lanter]

ok sweet. ive been going through a lot of the threads with the search function and found a lot of great stuff. you guys have been really helpful, thanks a bunch.

[Marco Mezzalana]

Hi,
I'm an happy owner of mx500, but I've to shot wedding with another xl1s, so my mx500 has a lot of problems in low light (I think everybody knows this)...
In your opinion wich is the best camera for replace an mx500, without spending a lot of money?
In my opinion one of these could be a good choice for my budget:
xm2
jvc gy-dv300

Ok I need your help, I know little bit the xm2, but I don't know how it is compared to the xl1s...
And....the jvc, I search in the forum, but I found only few and old post, anyone has this camera?It seems very good...but a lot of people prefer sony or pana or canon...any opinon?

[Rob Lohman]

If you already have a Canon XL1S I would stay in the Canon range
so your footage more closely matches. The XM2 would be the
obvious choice if you can't get a second XL1S.