Newbie message board??
 

Hello everybody. This is a great forum and i've learned quite a bit, but actually I was wondering if anyone could point out some forums that are more suitable for a beginner.

I tried to read the posts and I just tend to get lost in the jargon and talk that a lot of the people on here post about.

If I understood the basics of proper filming, and the techniques used, I would appreciate the forum more. I plan to buy a used vx2000 soon and I constantly hear people telling others that there is no sense in buying an expensive camera if the person doesn't know how to properly use one. So where would I learn how to properly use one? lol

Any links or pointers for beginners?

PS I am fairly well educated when it comes to editing, nothing major though.

{Q.} I saw on another skate forum that a guy said to be sure to film in frame mode? Any idea why frame mode is better? I'm a newbie here so be gentle...thanks.

A couple things Mike,
1) When I started out reading about cameras it was at www.camcorderinfo.com, and then I "graduated" to this and some other boards, although I still think camcorderinfo has a great community, and post and read there often.

2) Don't worry about overbuying on a camcorder purchase. Many buyers learn their cameras relatively quickly. Now, this does not mean that you will learn videography techniques as fast...that knowledge comes with experience, (possibly) schooling, and experimentation. My advice for camera buying is to give yourself some growing room...to "overbuy". When people get their hands on equipment and learn it, they almost always wish they had more features. Why not prepare by actualing having those features ready for you when you get there? (assuming you can afford the more advanced model)

3) Frame mode is a shooting mode in the higher end consumer cams from Panasonic and Canon. That shooting mode mimics the look of progressive scan shooting, while recording an interlace signal*. It results in an unnecessary resolution loss. You should shoot in regular interlace mode to retain all the resolution. Should you decide later that you would prefer your footage to have a "progressive" look, you can de-interlace with software at any time, preserving the original higher-res master, and creating a copy that has the same look as frame mode. If you do shoot in frame mode you cannot get back that lost resolution.

EDIT - It was mentioned a month or so ago, to put up a newbie board with a lot of FAQ stickies, or a video jargon dictionary for newcomers. I think we should try to get that going.

EDIT 2 - I forgot to link the asterisk to anything, so here goes *- You can find more information on these and other message boards, and the web, concering progressive and interlace video than you'd ever have the time to read. That's why I didn't get into it here.

Hi Mike, and welcome. Don't be afraid to ask "newbie" questions, there are plenty of helpful people here. If you're thinking about buying a VX-2000 then a good place to start is the Companion right here at DVinfo: http://www.dvinfo.net/sony/companion.htm. Another helpful site is Urbanfox PD-150 workbook. The PD-150 has different audio features and a few other things, but most of the tutorials will also apply to the VX-2000 http://www.urbanfox.tv/workbooks/sonypd150/index.htm

Of course it only makes sense to learn how to take full advantage of an expensive camera. But the VX-2000 has a very good automatic mode as well, so you can start out with that and learn the manual controls at your own pace as you feel more comfortable with the camera.

Mike, you can ask pretty much anything you want here without getting snappy answers like RTFM (read the F-ing manual) or getting made fun of. Just don't ask us when the XL3 is coming out and you are allright! :)

We'll work on the newbie FAQ!

thanks for all the help guys.
i've been reading up on camcorderinfo.com, pretty useful stuff.

a newbie category would be nice though, good idea