Experience needed

[Brandy Bryan]

Hello everyone. I am new to video. Done alot of stills. Have a few questions.

I am in the process of buying a camcorder and nle. I need info about which media to go with. Flash or tape. Is tape going to be obsolete in a short time or will it be around for awhile. I am relying on your experience in market trend for this forcast of usable media. I don't have a problem buying top end but am looking to find the best camera and media for a beginner for the buck.

Thanks any info

[Eric Stemen]

If you think you will stick with video, I would go for the Sony EX1. You can check out an entire category dedicated to it on this message board. This is a flash based camera. As far as NLEs go. I personally use Premiere pro, but most of the actual professional places I have gone to(only two places, the PBS station I work for and encore media in Nashville) use Avid...soooo?

[Ervin Farkas]

Your question has been debated for some time now and we won't have a definitive answer any time soon. The tape part is pretty obvious, being the most fragile segment of the video aquisition system it will be replaced soon. How soon... no one really knows. Fact is, consumer cameras are going already toward either hard drive or DVD based recording (problem is these are severely compressed formats that allow for little work in post), professional stuff looks like goes toward flash. And then there's also Firestore which is DV/HDV quality directly to hard drive.

Personally I think tape will stick around for another good 5-10 years, but that's just my guess, take it with a grain of salt. If you have the money, go for flash, but do not base your decision solely on the media type - look for the camera overall, to suit your needs.

NLE: are you on a PC or on a MAC? Again, beyond personal preferences, go for the one that suits your needs and check book. Another vote for the Adobe suite from me, it does everything I need and a lot more, and I love the integration between them. Keep reading on the forum and you will soon find that it's not all that difficult to make a decision. Avid and Canopus are mostly used in television, independent content or film producers, event videographers prefer either Final Cut (Mac only) or Vegas or Adobe. Take your pick.

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Eric Stemen

If you think you will stick with video, I would go for the Sony EX1. You can check out an entire category dedicated to it on this message board. This is a flash based camera. As far as NLEs go. I personally use Premiere pro, but most of the actual professional places I have gone to(only two places, the PBS station I work for and encore media in Nashville) use Avid...soooo?

With all due respect Eric, the EX1 might be a bit too much camera for Brandy if she's just starting out in video. I guess it partly depends on her budget and intended use.

-gb-

[Chris Soucy]

If you're that new to video, may I suggest you take a few hours/ days to wade though this little lot, if you haven't already:

http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=29995&page=98

May enlighten your decision.


CS

[Brandy Bryan]

Gentlemen I really appreciate your help. I have been lurking on this and other sites for a few months. I have researched alot of cameras and only a few nle. I already paid for a backordered pmw-ex but was having reservations wether i needed this much of a camera. I just did not want to downgrade to a hdv if it was going to be obsolete in a a year or two.

Also I am a guy. Kinda like the boy named Sue

[Chris Soucy]

Didn't assume anything, personally, but there you go.

I'm showing my ignorance here, but what's a pmw - ex?

You talking about "downgrading" to HDV makes me think this may well be one mother of a camera system for a beginner.

You weren't kidding about going "top end" if true.

Not where I would have suggested you start, but horses for courses.


CS

[Brandy Bryan]

I usually go big early I hate buying things twice. But with the price of a new computer with camera and editing system. It has me straddling the fence wether I am jumpimg in over my head. It would'nt be the first expensive learning curve I had. But once again thanks for the help.

This is what i having been leaning toward
Sony PMW-ex1 already ordered for a month
Either build my own pc with sony vegas or buy a mac with fcp and the option to use sony vegas on it.

Also did not mean down grading but just worried if i do buy a hdv that the older technology would still be available for a cost effective time.

[Don Bloom]

seems to me he's been talking about an EX1 although I'm not sure that HDV is downgrading and I do believe HDV will be around for awhile yet.
Frankly I don't see anything wrong with starting out with a camera like the EX1. There is so much information flying around out there about this camera from both professional and semi-professional sources that I think pretty much anyone with some experience in cameras (meaning someone who understands the basics of how a camera works) can pick it up fairly quickly. Now I'm not saying that the person would be tops at running it right away but at least enough to be able to operate the camera and get useable footage from it.
Brandy, if the EX1 is what you want and you got the bucks for it, go for it. BUT by all means read the book and every post here about the operation of the camera and practice practice practice with it.
As for NLEs well I'm a PC guy and been on Vegas for a long time and won't look at anything else plus for the EX1 it's an easy conversion.
Again read some of the threads about the EX1 and you'll see what other more experienced folks are doing and should be able to glean enough info to make an informed decision.
Don

[Greg Boston]

Whoops, sorry Brandy. You definitely tripped us up on the gender. Ok let's get back to my earlier statement.

I only suggested the EX-1 might be a bit much if you didn't plan to use it professionally. Yes, there would be a learning curve, coming from a still camera. But as Don wisely pointed out, there is plenty of help here and elsewhere to get you past the hurdles.

-gb-

[Chris Soucy]

Ah, the Sony - it was the lack of the "1" that threw me.

Well, reckon HDV's got a few more miles in it's legs yet, tho' it's days are definately numbered.

My reservations weren't really about the type of video camera for a "newbie", it was more about the cost of getting into a medium you are not familiar with and may not take to in the long term, that concerned me.

You're obviously not short of the odd buck (where have I typed that before just recently?).

Problem from my perspective - you do not need the latest whizz bang stuff to do "good stuff', and, in fact, can use pretty mediocre gear if the content and thought is there.

The flip side is this: the best, most expensive gear in the world won't make up for the faults, foibles and inexperience of the idiot running it (I use the word "idiot" carefully, the uninitiated are apt to just "let fly" rather than compose).

I get even more jittery when the person involved has come from a stills background, where the camera skills, mindset and talent required are completely different (I come from a stills background and it still catches me out all these years later).

Whatever, it's supposed to be one hot piece of kit and no mistake, hope you can make the most of it.

If I may make just one small suggestion - if you can find somewhere offering courses in video production and all relevant aspects, take it and do it. It pays dividends.

Enjoy.


CS