I am going to become a film student and I would like to know what would be a...

[eternalnirvana999]

...good video camera for a newbie? I'm pretty much a late bloomer when it comes to it, I've always been the one writing the story and / or in the post production world. Reason I come here is because many industry people will tell you there preference instead of just saying what right you.
So here it is: my budget is moderate, not looking for high end though vcams are expensive, totally understand. I would like to use it for full length as well as documentaries. And if you can recommend site that is very useful just to learn about different types of video cameras etc, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[Just Dixalâ„¢]

Hi there.
No matter what camcorder you decide to get, I do suggest that you get a model that is an HDD (Hard Drive based) model. Ones with hard drives built in are very easy to transfer your videos to a computer, just drag and drop. They aren't too expensive, but it depends of the brand you get.
Flash Memory camcorders are the same as Hard Drive camcorders, but you are constantly having to buy memory cards, and in the long run is more expensive than HDD camcorders.
I do not recommend Mini-DV camcorders for the simple reason of transferring the files to the computer. Let's say you record a 60 minute video and want to upload it to your computer. You have to literally re-record the video to put it on the computer. So you record a 60 minute video to the camcorder, then you record a 60 minute video to the computer as well. Big waste of time.
More and more camcorders are offering HD (High Definition) camcorders for a cheaper price than they were a few years ago.
Brands I suggest are Sony or Canon. Both are very great camcorder makers and hold their reputation well.
But if you don't find anything you like with them, try Sanyo.
Yes, I did say Sanyo.
Sanyo has a new camcorder out called the Xacti, which enables HD (High Definition) use, with a built in hard drive. Prices aren't too high, around the $400 range, and are sold virtually everywhere.
But, no matter what camcorder you buy, I strongly suggest one with a built in Hard Drive (HDD).

Here are some links to the Sanyo Xacti line at Best Buy:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=crootcategoryid%23%23-1%23%23-1~~q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031~~cabcat0400000%23%230%23%23dh~~cabcat0403000%23%230%23%231j~~nf398%7C%7C53616e796f&list=y&nrp=15&sc=abCameraCamcorderSP&sp=-bestsellingsort+skuid&usc=abcat0400000

All are very well priced compared to competitors for what you get. Plus you get Free Shipping!

 

[Ryan]

ok well theres a bunch of differnt kinds of camra


flash drive
hard disk
cassete
mini dv



i have a jvc enverio mg-335 and i love it but i do action things like film skateboarding in stuff. the way i learned about the differnt ways is just by going on best buy and browsing through camras. i compared like a million of them i read like 6543514 thousand reveaiws. and i looked up each kinda of camra on google to see how differnt it was from the other ones

 

[Little Dog]

As a film student, you will want to save all you video. You will want the camcorder to have an external mic jack and you will want manual audio control.

The reason "many industry people will tell you their preference" is because they probably learned the hard way and are sharing their knowledge with you. If you want to learn the hard way, then you are doing the right thing by not listening to them. If you want to use their experience, then listen to what they say.

The only camcorders that meet all three of these requirements - mic jack, manual audio control, affordable storage - will be miniDV tape based. Check with the film school instructors on their recommendations...

There will be a mix of standard definition or high definition camcorders (that can also do standard def). Set a budget. "Moderate" means different things to different people.

The least expensive camcorder is the Canon HV40. Next up is the Canon GL2... then Sony HVR-HD1000 (but it is a shoulder mount)... then the Sony HVR-A1U... Sony HDR-FX7, Panasonic AG-DVX100B, Sony HDR-FX1000... and they get more expensive from here...

For "real" documentaries and shorts or features, the MINIMUM will be something more like the Sony HVR-Z1U or Canon XHA1 or Panasonic AG-HVX200. More commonly, higher end pro camcorders with XLR audio-in connections and larger lenses and imaging chips are used.

You will also want to budget for:
high capacity rechargeable batteries (from the camcorder manufacturer)
mics (shotgun, wireless lav - Sennheiser, Shure, Audio Technica)
Tripod (Bogen-Mafrotto, Libec) or other steadying device like a camera crane (Kessler) or Glide-cam or SteadiCam device or a dolly system
Video lights (NRG Research, Bescor)
Cases (Pelican, SKB)

There's a LOT more, but this is a start - the camera is only part of the system - speaking of which, what are you planning to edit with (computer video editing application) and on (computer hardware)?

Hard disc drive camcorders are not recommended because of their known problems with vibration and high altitude. They also can be a challenge when the hard drive crashes and you have not transferred the video - open your wallet wide for data recovery services like DriveSavers. MiniDV tape and Flash memory camcorders do not share the altitude and vibration problems.

Consumer grade HDD and flash memory camcorders save to the same very highly compressed video file type. MiniDV saves to a much less compressed video file. While it is true that copying the files over USB with HDD and flash memory is less time than MiniDV tape, there is an extra step to create the video archive files for HDD and flash memory. With miniDV tape, the archive is the tape. Just don't re-use the tape.

Pro and prosumer grade flash memory camcorders save to DV and HDV - just like miniDV tape. Check the Sony HVR-Z7 and Panasonic AG-HVX200. There is no such thing as a pro or prosumer grade camcorder with an internal hard drive - but there are externals available from Sony and Focus Enhancements (FireStore) that save to DV/HDV. There are a couple of Panasonic AVCAM AVCHD flash memory camcorders - but I have yet to see any real pros use them. At least they don't compress as much as the consumer HDD and flash memory cams do.

If you decide to go with a higher-end consumer cam that does not have manual audio control, then expect to add an audio "field recorder" to your kit. Zoom, Edirol, Tascam Sony (professional), Marantz and lots of others make them...

Good luck!