Novice needs advice on buying an HD Camcoder.

[gott]

Hello,
I'm not looking to spend more than $150 but I definitely don't want to go over $200 USD (Im cheap I know). Basically, I am in the beginning stages of learning 3ds max and After Effects. I just want a camera so that I have my own source footage to practice editing and compositing with, so it would be for my personal use only.

Being able to record in at least 720p is a must and a usb port is highly desired, but not required. I realize this isn't much money for a camcorder, so I am not expecting the quality to blow my mind or anything like that. I have 0 experience with HD camcorders, so any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[filmboss80]

Sorry, you can't be cheap and expect to edit HD video. Those cute little "Flip" cameras and such will give you HD images to watch on your PC and post on YouTube, but they record with a highly compressed codec that will demand much of hardware and software to edit.

Unless you're willing to budget A LOT more, your expectations are completely unrealistic.

[edDV]

I suggest you borrow or rent an "HDV" format camcorder and shoot/capture a bunch of MPeg2 sample video, then capture over Firewire.

Alternate is AVCHD format that shoots h.264. You would probably need to uncompress this to use in After Effects or 3ds.

[gott]

Ok after looking around at some camcorders, I guess my expectations were unrealistic so I'm open to suggestions. My hope was to purchase one this week and the $200 is what I have towards the camcorder right now. Waiting a while and saving up is an option however. I like the idea of renting or borrowing as a temporary fix, but I really would like to have my own at some point. Thanks.

[rocketman122]

I think your choice is limited to those pocket camcorders only for that price..maybe get used from ebay..
$200 is nothing for a camcorder..I would invest at least $500 if you plan to hold it for a few years. I don't think youd be happy with the quality of the PCC's..good luck

[edDV]

Ok after looking around at some camcorders, I guess my expectations were unrealistic so I'm open to suggestions. My hope was to purchase one this week and the $200 is what I have towards the camcorder right now. Waiting a while and saving up is an option however. I like the idea of renting or borrowing as a temporary fix, but I really would like to have my own at some point. Thanks.

I'd recommend to use standard def DV format to learn After Effects. Why render HD while learning? When you need HD, download quality sample files. Why use inferior quality pocket cams?

You can find many MiniDV or Digital8 used camcorders for $200. DV format records all frames as frames so you won't have to decode long GOPS to access frames.

[Cyrax9]

I'd recommend to use standard def DV format to learn After Effects. Why render HD while learning? When you need HD, download quality sample files. Why use inferior quality pocket cams?

You can find many MiniDV or Digital8 used camcorders for $200. DV format records all frames as frames so you won't have to decode long GOPS to access frames.

I have to agree with edDV on this one gott; it's actually a lot easier to learn in SD than it is in HD. In SD you can occasionally "cheat" in well-lit areas and not worry about things like lighting kits, in HD even the most brightly lit rooms can require a lighting kit. It's far easier for a beginner to focus solely on the camera, and then to move on to worrying about things like lighting. Prior to college, I had never held a video camera in my life, with the possible exception of my Grandfather's old shoulder-mounted VHS camcorder, (god, I miss that thing,) and it was very helpful to start shooting in SD and to do so outside where I could focus on the basics and then refine my craft over time.

DV is definitely the best method of SD recording for beginners to start with, the intra-frame compression produces a high quality image that's highly suited to what you want to learn how to do, and the format itself has been considered semi-professional, if not professional outright. (Many documentaries are shot using DV.) I've shot footage on DV tape using DV SP mode that was shown on a local CATV station (It belonged to the community college that I graduated from before attending a four-year university.) that reaches several homes within the state of NJ.

If you are truly adamant about shooting on an "inferior quality pocket cam" to quote edDV, then at least consider purchasing a previous-generation iPod Nano. The video quality is pretty decent for a consumer-level device, and you'll get a rather nice portable media player out of the purchase. I have a feeling that once you start working in After Effects and realize that footage from pocket cams isn't designed for what you're doing, you'll take edDV's advice, but at least you'll have a decent portable media player from this learning experience. You need to move quickly though, because there's now a "land-grab" for the previous-generation iPod Nano by people who want it for the camera and the FM-radio among other things. (The new Nano is a huge leap backwards with a touch screen slapped on it, and that's being kind.)

Finally, edDV I should point out that for basic consumer tasks, or for quickly recording something "spur of the moment," the iPod Nano has--well, had a pretty decent camera built into it. However, as you and I both know, it's really not suited for working in After Effects.

[edDV]

DV format is a pro format. The video codec is the same for DV, DVCAM, DVCPro25, etc. DV camcorder quality varies as you go up from $250 consumer models on up to $20,000 broadcast models.

Before they went HD, most all TV news/magazine/reality programming was shot DV format including most cable channels.