Camcorder for professional videography

scott1391990

scott1391990

Adept
My friend has a channel on youtube and makes videos every other day but he is using a point and shoot samsung cam or a Galaxy S3 for now and now wanna jump to a professional grade camera but he and neither I have any clue about that.

His price range is as minimum as possible but he can shell out near 50K.
He would be getting it from US so I guess he has a wider range to choose from. Maybe.
Any ideas which one is best under 50k or where to look for for making a choice? Any videography blogs?
 
Sony A7s
Panasonic GH4
Sony A7II
Olympus OMD-EM5
Sony RX100

in that order. sorry no love for canon/nikon.

Basically, DSLR or actioncam and not camcorder.

Sony A7 series supports S-Log recording which helps in post processing to make TV-Ad type quality videos. Also with things like atomos shogun you can make 4k videos too. (price goes exponentially)

Panasonic GH4 is loved by every film maker. provides inbuilt 4k support.

olympus omd-em5 is a cute but badass camera. loved by many people.

RX100 is P&S but with good quality and features.

Sony's nicely integrate with smartphones and home networks and has a good software support and on camera apps etc...

Action cams if the videos are taken while doing things like breaking legs and getting eaten by sharks.

Cameras are money pits. so buying a dslr will help in future quality improvements by buying things like lenses, gyros, tripods, mics, flashes, lighting systems, 4k recorders, adobe licenses, underwater housings etc.... which cost a kidney and half a liver for both you and your friend.

btw, you can get a sony A7 (not A7II) for under 1000 dollars during some offers.
 
Dont just focus on the camera for video. It should be a proper mix between Camera + Lighting + Audio

For camera I would suggest to get a Canon 600D if budget is an issue. Video quality is really good youtube and the kit lens should suffice.
Get a simple 3 point lighting kit which will improve video quality immensely
Then for audio a lavier mic used with a external recorder like Zoom H1
Tripod for stability

All combined it should a great starting kit for professional looking video...
 
Sorry but we don't want indian ads quality. We like hollywood styled videos. Know a little bit of Premiere Pro and would be learning After Effects too with Red Giant's plugins for the rescue.
Also he made an ad for leggings last month. His first commercial, so he needs something with better files that can be post processed in PP and AE.
Sorry for not adding this info in the first place. We would be doing lots of stuff in near future with AE mostly.
Which one would be better for those and of course in his budget? And is a voice recorder better than the mics that are used in camera(or those that come separately)?
 
Well i suggested this in your budget... If you are still learning start with micro 4/3 and DSLRs. Learning the basics of videography with DSLRs. Any DSLR is a huge jump in quality over a point and shoot. However if you dont have good lighting even expensive camera wont help.

A7S costs like 1.5L in India and similar to a GH4 which I assume would be close to 1L.

Ofcourse I can suggest camcorders like FS700 or FS7. But if your assignments need these kind of cameras you would know what to buy already.
 
Try and pick up a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera (BMPCC) during one of the sales. If you're going to buy the 600D it's better to buy it in India.
 
booo said:
Sony A7s
Panasonic GH4
Sony A7II
Olympus OMD-EM5
Sony RX100

in that order. sorry no love for canon/nikon.

Basically, DSLR or actioncam and not camcorder.

Sony A7 series supports S-Log recording which helps in post processing to make TV-Ad type quality videos. Also with things like atomos shogun you can make 4k videos too. (price goes exponentially)

Panasonic GH4 is loved by every film maker. provides inbuilt 4k support.

olympus omd-em5 is a cute but badass camera. loved by many people.

RX100 is P&S but with good quality and features.

Sony's nicely integrate with smartphones and home networks and has a good software support and on camera apps etc...

Action cams if the videos are taken while doing things like breaking legs and getting eaten by sharks.

Cameras are money pits. so buying a dslr will help in future quality improvements by buying things like lenses, gyros, tripods, mics, flashes, lighting systems, 4k recorders, adobe licenses, underwater housings etc.... which cost a kidney and half a liver for both you and your friend.

btw, you can get a sony A7 (not A7II) for under 1000 dollars during some offers.
Click to expand...

Reviving an old thread here.

Thinking of buying a Camera/Camcorder for basically shooting home/vacation/travel videos. Was searching through the forum and found this thread where you are specifically advicing not to go for camcorders. Would be interested in knowing why?

I am not a Photography enthusiast, and normally just use my phone to take videos/photos. Therefore am looking for advice from enthusiasts/experts on this.

Frankly speaking, I thought Camcorders were dead, and people are just using phones to take casual videos. Then came to know about the alternatives ie. PnS, DSLRs, action cams and camcorders. Would like to learn more and make an informed purchase.
 
Back
Top