terms of looking at equipment..
audio-
make sure the camera has XLR (the three pin sockets) and can generate
phantom power. That way you can upgrade to a more professional
microphone when you feel like it. There are some good cheap
directional mics out there (often referred to as 'shotgun' mics)..
Beyerdynamic ME66 is pretty good, not sure how much they are in the
states but you get them here for around £160.
GET A GOOD WINDSHIELD.. a full Rycote mount is very expensive and
takes up a lot of space for the 'journalist on the street'... have a
look at something like the Rycote Softie.. will fit over most shotgun
mics and retails here for about £130.
visuals-
ok.. so here's the things that i think raise a camera above standard
ND filters (neutral density ) - you can get these seperately but
having them built in is a god-send, basically they take down the
overall light level , VERY useful if you're shooting in daylight. I
think a lot of the Sony prosumer range have them (e.g. PD170 etc)
Manual exposure control with F-stops - this means that if you start
getting fancy you can buy yourself a little photographic light meter
and set good exposure levels.
Focus ring that stops!! - one of the most annoying things for me on a
lot of DV cameras is that the focus ring has an infinite spin..i.e
turning it round continually changes the focus.. there is no fixed
short/long focus points. This means you can't ever really do great
focus pulls with ease, and you never really get a 'feel' for adjusting
the focus quickly, which is really needed if you're shooting in a
hurry.
Changeable lenses - the biggest flaw of the Sony range in my opinion..
i think most of the larger Canons have the option to fix different
lenses on, the XL-2 fits any 35mm lense i think if you buy the
adaptor.
I'd also agree with Chris that the look of the camera is important..
larger cameras still 'impress' people more.. although this may change
as news reporters use smaller and smaller cameras.. look for something
that has enough weight so you can hold it steady and comfortably for
long periods of time..
Oh, and one last thing.... NEVER buy a camera where the tape loading
slot is covered by the tripod attachment.. some of the small models
have a bottom loading slot.. changing a tape mid tripod shoot? you've
got to take the whole thing off.. very likely you'll loose the
position the camera was in!!
there's lots of different makes out there.. the features i've
mentioned should be founf on many of the mid-range models (i.e. around
the $1500 - $3000 mark)
hope this was of some help!
(and there's me making on my vlogs a little canon ixus!! pah!)
d
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
- Visit your group "videoblogging" on the web.
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
