Hi, this is my first time posting here. I am about to buy a camera to film a feature film but I hav'nt ever filmed one before and wondered what kind of camera I should get:

I have around 500-600 pounds to spend.
Should I get the very best camera my money can buy or two cameras for around 300 each?

Thanks guys!

600 pounds = 1,000 us dollars. or so says universal currency Convertor. If you mean feature film, as in, distribution and being shown in theatres, you probobly couldnt get a camera that would give you enough quality to do that for 600 pounds. Although I'm sure someone knows a good camera for that price. The standards around here are canon: GL1/2 Xl1s/Xl2s
panasonic: dvx100
Sony: pd150
but none of these are in that price range.
check back in the forums, as this question is asked about once a week.

As a few people have said on this forum in the past, the qaulity really dos'nt matter as long as the content is good. Hmmmmm

I am gonna have to go with two cameras I think, 300-400 pound each - anyone suggest anything in that price range?

What makes a difference between consumer camcorder and a pro/prosum one lies on lens, ccds, manual operation. A good quality feature film is greatly enhanced by a good camcorder, with a 3 CCDs camcorder being the minimum choice.I'm afraid that 300-400 pound can only get a consumer one.

I've seen a few panasonic ones with 3ccd, thats the one i'll prob go for.

I I dont mind wat model really, as long as it has:

Optical zoom: An ok one, at least 100
3CCD: This is a must have
Mic-Out: Best sound, no internal noise.
AV: Again, a must have for me

WHY are you going to go with 2 cameras!?! not ANY of us should be on 2-camera shoots. student filmmakers are limited enough as it is... getting 2 cameras at 1/2 the price means you'll have 2 ****ty cameras instead of 1 good camera. but, please, its SO EASY to cut to different angles without using 2 cameras. just make sure you're continuity is right and it'll be fine with one camera.

i dunno about any of the other guys here, but i've shot all but 1 film with just one camera. they all look good, continuity is big with me and i make sure it looks perfect. in fact, using 2 cams was no easier than using 1. it's no big deal. if you're a good director, you'll be looking for continuity anyway.

buying 2 cams in that price range is just throwing away your money. buy just one cam, and learn it well. i also concur with particleman about the cams to use, although i will add some more lower-end cams.

on the Panasonic side of things, theres the DVC-30. this may still be out of your price range. if you're really strapped for cash, Panasonic makes the GS200, which is 3CCD's and retails for $1000. everyones probably going to ***** at me for mentioning this, but hey, chances are you arent gonna be buying an expensive camera, so its better that i point you in the direction of decent cheap cams. this camera is 3CCD's and has 10x optical zoom.

the PD150 is a good cam, but lacks an on-board mic. the similar, "prosumer" sony cam wuold be the VX2000 or VX2100, both of which are excellent as well. you could probably find a VX2000 on ebay relatively cheap. sony also has more consumer-ish cameras such as the TRV950, which still has 3CCD's and is still a good camera.

yeah...

"Optical zoom: An ok one, at least 100"

100x optical zoom does not exist. you are probably referring to 100x DIGITAL zoom, but DIGITAL ZOOM IS CRAP. it's like blowing up an image to 100x in photoshop. makes it pixellated, retiaining NO quality. the kind of zoom you want is OPTICAL zoom, and you're not even gonna find a camera above 20x optical even in the professional end of cameras.

Hey thanks for the advivce insomniac - wen I say 100x zoom I meant 10 - LOLOL sorry, I can see why this has lead to a bit of confusen, i didnt notice I miss-typed till I got this reply LOL

As for the 1 camera or 2 camera thing - maybe I will go for one camera. Only thing is though I love long shots, u know the kinda shots that were seen alot in the 60s / 70's cos the price of film was too expensive to cut (independant mostly).

Hmmmm - Ok I think I'll check out some of the models u describe and post my results - I mean if need be I could always film scenes many times from different angles with one camera and then choose which performance looks best - maybe I could also do a 4 way split screen?

OH is the Panasonic PV-GS400 better than the PV-GS400? and if I went with a Panasonic AG-DVC30 how much do u think I could get an external mic or "boom" for (big fluffy thing on end of stick)

Thanks again insomniac.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bign2000,

I think I'm the only jackass who shoots movies with a 1CCD camera. Being poor sucks major ballsack.

Anything by Sony is a solid investment, and they make some very reasonably priced cameras.

Nervous Larry,
I used to shoot with a 1 CCD camera, won me awards and got me a free trip to a film festival where they screeened my movie. To this day, that 1CCD camera remains one of my favorites.

But if your opting for "feature film" as in distribution than you need to market it and marketing it looking like a stretched out DV video may pose a problem in the way of getting certain people to see it. Some people would, actually, say that it looks terrible.

"Only thing is though I love long shots, u know the kinda shots that were seen alot in the 60s / 70's cos the price of film was too expensive to cut (independant mostly)."

What do you mean by that? Too expensive to cut how? Edit? Or cut the negative?

And what's that have to do with having one or two cameras?

Also, why don't you just get a good camera for that price, and make shorts? If you've never shot a feature before, and you don't know that much about cameras that you have to ask around for them, why are you jumping into it so quickly?

600 pound wont get you much at all... if you hire gear it wont get you anything the really big boys use for a day, let alone operators.

SHooting a feature is a mamoth task that should really be only left to the insane and well trained... im not saying your not good but 'ease up turbo', make a couple shorts enter them into festivals, and use the winnings if you win to shoot one or two. Most even hollywood flicks only use more than 1 camera on seriously expencive action shoots where it would be too expencive to shoot multiple times. Multiple cameras in a complete pain in the backside to direct, light for, and act to. that is why most tv sitcoms suck technically.

quote:

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...'ease up turbo', make a couple shorts enter them into festivals, and use the winnings if you win to shoot one or two...

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I do not agree. Go make your feature! Keep asking questions, keep researching and good luck.

I think a lot of TV sitcoms suck (technically and otherwise) because of the lowest common denominator approach often taken with television programming. I don't believe shooting with multiple cameras is the problem.

Thanks for the all info guys. Very soon, after checking around and listening to people like you, I will be buying a Panasonic PV-GS400 for around 850 pounds. Its a little more than I intended but I decided to hold off buying one so I could save a little more money. Although not perfect for shooting a feature.

Shooting starts around March, giving me 3 months to experiment with shorts, angles and the likes.

I have a new question however, sound - I want to get an external mic so the sound quality is as perfect as poss - any suggestions and prices?

What do u think about my camera choice? could I still do better for the price I am willing to pay?

RFranco:
In the early 60's and 70's certain movie companys in Hollywood started making tight sceduals - this made it hard and expenisive to cut multiple takes, it was much cheaper to do big long shots, it saved money as well as man power (cameras took along time to setup in those days) - thats what I meant wen I meant it was too expensive to cut film - not actual negitive, but man power - those long shots have now become things of legend, and alot of film makers out there do them for style these days instead of need.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bign2000,

Id say rent a panasonic DVCPro camcorder (the big shoulder rest ones) or check out pro8mm.com and shoot super8 and record sound on DAT or MD. If you go to school, college or highschool see what they have to offer in terms of what students can sign out.

Thanks for the advice Matt but because I am independant and have no ties with any universitys or government schemes I cant really afford one of those cameras