Maybe a used JVC HD or something?

I used to have one of the Canon 3 CCDs. No idea how much they cost now.

Best on the market is Canon Vixia HV40

Should be under $1000

Problem with that one is one tape usually only holds 1 hour of HD video per tape as it uses an older HDV recording format. This also makes the transfer to a computer slower.

I got the Canon Vixia HV30, with a killer accessory pack. Shot about about 15 hours worth of footage from England to Gambia in January, and another 5 hours or so while hiking the Appalachian Trail.

omg we use a jvc everio at work and it is SHIT. colour is shit and the image stabilization is even shittier. i was shocked at how bad it is.

i have a sony hdr-sr11 and i LOVE IT. gorgeous gorgeous camera. everything about it! also works seamlessly with imovie if you have a mac.

Tim

I have a Canon HV20, but I heard the HV30 is pretty sweet and is definitely under $1000.

oh god. pc and video-making should not ever be put in the same sentence

hahahaha

i kid

kinda!

it's definitely not AS easy from my experiences with it. but from what i know it's more about finding the right equipment and right software to work together properly with the right pc.

Tim

easier said than done, i know

and sorry that that is really of no help! lol

there must be some good websites that talk about pc video making and what kind of pc to use with what software and what video camera. i havent' looked in years though for that so i can't help there sorry

Tim

you are welcome!!!

have fun with it

it's a great hobby (or job)

Tim

I have Adobe Premiere Elements 7 for my PC and it's serviceable. Still nowhere close to Final Cut, but it gets the job done once you get used to it. Just make sure your comp has enough space/memory to handle it, or else you'll have a lot of freezing problems.

EDIT: Plus, it's cheap. $100 max.

premiere is awesome!

Tim

Fuck mac.
I know plenty of editors who do very well with AVID HD on PC.
But you WILL need a high end pc for any kind of video editing.

BTW i would NOT recommend getting an HD cam unless you have firewire and a high high spec PC.

HD video can cause a LOT of problems and really trash up a PC during render.

exakry. need right equipment and usually more expensive in pc form once all said and done.

is there a good pc program like imovie out there that is tiny and cheap for making lil' vidvids?

Tim

Oh im sorry i didnt imply that you need an even high spec mac for the same job.
My bad.

I use Vegas for video.
I also use Windows Movie Maker if its a rough edit for youtube.

true i forgot about windows movie maker. i used it a couple times while backs and it wasn't so bad

Tim

Its not about fucking your current PC, It wont fuck it, it just wont work. I mean we are talking total lockups and taking 59 hours+ to render a video.

I mean i have a high end PC and it slugs on HD video.

The HV40 is the highest rated HD cam on CR...

So I still think it's your best bet, lol.

We used the Sony XDCam for an ads campaign and music video I shot.
It actually was fantastic, if you can stretch your budget to that I would certainly recommend it.
It handles depth surprisingly nicely for HD, produces great colour and definitely is ultra sharp.

Of course if you are looking for cinematic, HD is not always the best choice, there are a lot of great lense based non-hd cameras that will give a much more cinematic style with the addition of hired lenses.

I would say that you are going with the right choice on HD but be prepared for having to deal with crisp image on absolutely everything which can be a problem. HD is not always the best choice at this stage, and it will require you to purchase memory cards and a reader.

Canon DC410?

Way cheap, not HD.

huh?? not if it's an hdd cam

Tim

HDD cams are useless for large projects.

For projects you need something which you can easily replace the cards on long-shoots when the camera is not able to be plugged in because it has to be used. Memory cards are the solution. HDD is fine for home movies and such i guess, but if you are shooting for several hours then you will need removable media, and MiniDV is not available on HD.

I'd also assume that HDD cameras are compressing the data for the hard-drive which is not always desirable of course. Because HD files can be very very large.

Bottom Line: If you want to use an HD Camera for film and video projects then you will need one which supports removable media. If you are using it for home video purposes, then HDD will be suitable.

If you really are using it for the stuff you want to Magnus, I don't know why a good MiniDV semi-pro wont suffice.

loads of cams do 1080p for several hours. that is lots of footage for little fun vids he's talking about!!!!!!

Tim

Michael does Tim: Blu-ray Hardcore edition.

fuck yes blu-ray! yes fuck blu-ray!

Tim