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PartyBullshiit
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That stupid "what camera" thread.

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Z.J.H.
Posts: 842 - Karma: 1,541
Sorry guys but in the thread i read before it seemed like nobody got responses there so i just copied the list of things to ask myself.

1) What is your budget? How much money can you spend right away, and do you think you can get more money to invest in the future?

up to 1000 or a bit over but i would be fine with a cheaper body and a lens that would make it better.

2) What experience do you already have with cameras? Have you ever even used one before? Have you helped your friend out with his camera? Have you owned your own?

i take a video editing class and my brother and i are both decently good but not great.

2) What gear, if any, do you currently have? (tripod, old camera lenses, mics, etc)

nada but i can snag a tripod from my class and borrow it.

4) What are you planning to shoot and how do you want to use your camera? Are you going to use this with the sole purpose of shooting skiing? or do you think you might try other stuff as well (movies, documentaries, short films, etc)

skiing and skateboarding and edits and such. my brother and i want to make a somewhat legit season edit.

5) Do you want a camera that you can hand to your friends, that could or could not have film experience, and let them shoot you? or will you be doing all the filming?

my twin brother and i will be sharing the camera about 50/50
but i will not let my friend use it prolly.

6) When filming skiing, how do you tend to shoot? (follow cams, leave it on record on a tripod and hike, film from a tripod, etc)

some follow cams but not off jumps and some tripod but not really leaving it there unless were doing urban.

7) What computer do you currently have/use to edit (if not currently editing, what would you most likely use)? If you can provide specifics, such as hard drive space, RAM, processor size, that would be great.

mac desktop.

7) What program do you currently edit on? How familiar are you with it (1- just learning; 10- I can make tutorials and know the keyboard layout)

looking into that too soo, suggestions? i have imovie currently


my friend suggested the d5100 but i wanted some other opinions. thanks guys, sorry for the pointless thread
Nov 19 2012 9:02PM
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chris.goodhue
Posts: 946 - Karma: 6,204
Well for 1000 your only going to be able to get a basic DSLR setup if thats what your looking for, i have a T2i like half of Newschoolers and its a great camera!!! BUT, a good quality lens, lets say a wide angle for follow cams and what not, at least 500, which is around what a good lens will cost you,and your always going to want new lenes, then youll want a glidecam, another few hundred, then a mic, good tripod it adds up fast so you have to realize that if your going to get a DSLR, i didnt realize that and 1 1/2 years later iv spent well over 1000$, but its been worth it!

There is also some great camcorders that will be cheaper but still have great quality, i dont know much about them but i was looking at the pasasonic hdv 700 i think it was and it looks like a great cam for the price
Nov 19 2012 9:10PM
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Linked
Posts: 325 - Karma: 216
Look at a Panasonic gh2, which is on amazon for $500 now, then you will wan't to get an extra battery and a couple of cards. If you can regularly borrow a decent tripod form school then I would get a glidecam first and then get a tripod when you have the money
Nov 19 2012 10:01PM
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RawrRawrRob
Posts: 1841 - Karma: 685
T2i or a used T3i
Nov 20 2012 8:10AM
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Z.J.H.
Posts: 842 - Karma: 1,541
howwill getting an slr versus a dslr affect my filming? major diferences?i tried looking it up butits really confusing. thanks guys.
Nov 20 2012 8:43AM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
the d in dslr means digital. in other words, an SLR is a film camera for still photos, so you don't even need to worry about those for filming because that's not possible.
Nov 20 2012 9:28AM
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Z.J.H.
Posts: 842 - Karma: 1,541
thanks for clearing that up. what sort of fps should i look for . is 30 fps a bit too low to do a decent slowmo
Nov 20 2012 1:11PM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
if you want slow motion like what you see in most other cameras, you'll need one that shoots 60
Nov 20 2012 1:36PM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
haha whoops, *most edits
Nov 20 2012 1:36PM
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Z.J.H.
Posts: 842 - Karma: 1,541
thanks. do you have any suggestions?

Nov 20 2012 4:59PM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
given that it sounds like you're more looking for a camera for the purpose of filming skiing rather than progressing as filmmakers, I would look at the panasonic hdc series, like the HDC-TM900. It's a pretty solid camcorder that is easy to use and shoots at 1080p60

If you're looking to really get into filmmaking, then I would recommend a T3i or GH2, but you will really have to dedicate time to learning how to get the most out of those cameras.
Nov 20 2012 6:50PM
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Z.J.H.
Posts: 842 - Karma: 1,541
I am very interested in filmaking as well but not necessarily on the ski side. i want the shots that my bro a nd i take to look good, and i really enjoy taking videos of skateboarding etc. im just not familiar with it.
Nov 20 2012 9:26PM
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Z.J.H.
Posts: 842 - Karma: 1,541
this has been really helpful. any advice on lens camera combos?
Nov 24 2012 9:18PM
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Z.J.H.
Posts: 842 - Karma: 1,541
Got a discounted t4i with alens pack. thanks for the help guys
Nov 27 2012 1:04PM
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