Hi everyone. I'm a real real beginner. I would like to start practicing filming, but don't know anything about camera and don't have enough money to buy those camera for professional.
I was thinking about buying those HD camcorder for max $1000. what do you guys think about that? again, im just a beginner who wants to practice but with something good but not TOO good...get what i mean?
thanks for those who will reply

Check out here for lots of info about common cameras used by student filmmakers.

I have an HV20 and I've loved it so far. The HV30 just came out, you could either go with one of those two, and be guaranteed to have a nice little cheap camera.

thank you Heliotrope, your link really helped...but you wouldn't recommend me those HD camcorder with hard drive inside? Are the files from HV20 or HV30 easy and fast to transfer to a mac?

I haven't used one of the hard drive camcorders but they use AVCHD encoding, instead of the HDV that the HV20/30 uses, and it has more compression. I'm really not sure how much of a difference it makes, and depending on your planned use it may be none.

The HV's capture just like normal MiniDV, they record on MiniDV tapes and have the same bitrate. All you'll need is a firewire cable to transfer the files.

Here's a decent article discussing HDV vs. AVCHD.

Just remember that the camera isn't everything - you need to be able to edit and you need decent sound. Save some of your money for that.

Cinematical...you are advising me to save money for an editing program or for sound equipment? In either case, what is necessary for me to buy? Again, im just a beginner so Im scared to be lost with technical stuff (thanks anyway for the advice ;-) )

Well first of all, having a screen name like "notalent" isn't a very confident start! In consumer cameras, the best "mic" really is the RODE Videomic at the moment, unless you buy an XLR adapter (which you don't need - pro sound).

A RODE Videomic will run you about $150.00 and make sure you buy from an authorized dealer. If you see a $1200 camera selling for $199, don't ask if it's a good price or not...it's most likely a scam. B&H is a good source for things like that. The camcorder in your price range can usually be found at Best Buys or other major electronic stores, so that's not a problem.

The HV20 is a fantastic camera, but have not had the chance to use an HV30. The only real difference is that it shoots 30p, has a black finish and the LCD may be sharper?

You're going to have to do some research in cameras, but the list that Heliotrope linked to should explain some of it. 24p is a good start to having your video look more filmic and less like video.

As for the harddrive cameras, they're just like DVD camcorders - bad. I wouldn't advice getting one for filmmaking as editing becomes more of a pain. AVCHD isn't advanced enough really for it to be used in filmmaking in my opinion.

Going back to what Cinematical said, he's right - investing in decent sound and editing equipment is a good idea. Give us a budget to work with. Do you already have a mac? If so, what are the specification of it? You can easily get something like FCE (Final Cut Express) and if you're a student, you can get a discount on said program. It retails for $199, without a student discount and is a good building block for editing on Final Cut Pro. There's an ongoing debate about what program is the "industry standard", but Chris (the site founder) is an editor and uses AVID in the industry. I say start with FCE, a RODE Videomic and an HV20 and you should be perfect with a good filmmaker starter kit!

Canon HV20 - $799.95 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/481076-REG/Canon_...V20_2_96MP_CMOS.html
Rode Videomic - $149.00 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/363083-REG/Rode_V..._Camera_Mounted.html
Final Cut Express - $199.99 http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress/

My post seems a little scattered, so if you need me to clear anything up - just post back.

Hopefully this helps,

Kegan

**- Oh and also consider a couple 500w lights from Home Depot or the like. Around $50-$75 and you're good to go. Lighting is key factor in making sure that video looks more like film if thats the look you're trying to achieve. In all honesty, lighting is a common student film mistake along with audio resulting in poor final products. Remember, making a movie is a strong collaboration of visual appeal, good sound and a solid story.

Thanks Kegan, everything was really clear. It really helped. I actually have final cut pro (that a friend of mine installed in my macbook) Problem is...i tried using it and i don't understand it. And believe me, I'm usually good at finding how things work cause i'm a very curious guy and I like understanding things. Therefore, I practiced with iMovie, and it was pretty easy. Also, I havent taken any film production classes, so if you could suggest me any good websites that teach the basics of lighting (angle, distance from camera or actors...anything) and also sound, i would really appreciate it. Otherwise, thanks again.

FCP is an incredibly deep program - it's extremely hard to just pick up and edit. I would suggest either getting a training series dvd, or getting FCE to learn on before making the switch. iMovie really is nothing like FCP.