Beginner's Camera

[Adam Barnett]

I'm new to the art of "cinematography" (although what I'll be shooting in the beginning will probably far from qualify as that) and asked an experienced camera operator what I should do to get started. His name is Dan Marrero and he recommended me to this site. His advice was this: "... buy a camera and start shooting". I'm short on funds and make about 500 to 600 dollars a month (I'm living in a side room at a relatives house for the moment until I find better employment). 200 of that goes to car payments. Probably around 100 goes to gas, and 100 to food. That leaves me with around 200 to spend/save if I stick to that budget. I'm debating between these cameras and wanted to know if an Olympus Pen (specifically the E-P1 or E-P2) would be a reasonable thing to start with. Right now I'm stuck with a Casio Exilim EX-FH20 which is quite frankly a piece of crap as far as trying to shoot video because you essentially have zero control over aperture, shutter speed, or ISO (all you get is exposure compensation of like 2 stops I think). The EP-1 and E-P2 give the user the ability to change both aperture and shutter speed. I'll sacrifice ISO for now since I need a camera fast and don't have much experience (why waste money right?). Is this a wise decision?

[Fred Neilsen]

It really depends, there's no one size fits all, my first camera was a 16mm spring wound bolex*, they're tones of fun and produce great images (within their limitations). While I would highly recommend these types of cameras as "your first camera" thats all they really are, a first camera, you cant shoot an entire feature on it and you probably wont be doing many paid jobs with it BUT its a great way to learn discipline (shoot an entire short on a 2.5 minute roll), framing/composition and the other fundamentals.

 

Because you mention the micro 4/3rd cameras I take it you want an affordable camera that is versatile and produces good images for this micro 4/3rds and DSLRs are the way to go. While I don't have much hands on experience with the m4/3 system (yet :) ), I have been spending a lot of time shopping around for one, my tip, watch the camera test videos on youtube (they are really helpful) and read the reviews, once you've found a camera with an image that you like the look of, go to one of the bigger chains and have a good go with it but don't let the salesmen try to upsell you or sway you into purchasing equipment you don't need. (I recently went into a reputable shop looking to buy a lumix, and was almost upsold to a 7D)

 

(*or BH filmo/kraznogorsk)

Edited January 8, 2011 by Fred Neilsen

[Fred Neilsen]

Edit: I just re read your post, my apologies, my reply didn't really answer any questions, anyway, while the higher ISOs are nice, you shouldn't have to use anything above 800 (and normally 400) on the 550d at-least, these high speeds are so noisy that they may as well not be there (I believe much of the grain is removed through complicated processing of the image, not available in video mode, though I may be wrong) there have been some amazing things done with the EP cameras (just type in EP camera test on youtube) I assume you've done a bit (or a lot) of research to settle on so I'm sure you have good reasons to want to purchase, and if the only thing making you hesitate is that it doesn't shoot at some ridiculous ISO like 6400 then go for it, you wont need the ultra high speed in normal situations.

[David Mullen ASC]

A Canon 550D T2i might be a good starter camera -- it also takes great photos. You can get the basic kit at CostCo for a good price.

[Adam Barnett]

Thanks Fred :). Your post really helped a lot and I'm planning on getting the Micro 4/3rds now. Thanks for all your help!!!

 

Edit: I just re read your post, my apologies, my reply didn't really answer any questions, anyway, while the higher ISOs are nice, you shouldn't have to use anything above 800 (and normally 400) on the 550d at-least, these high speeds are so noisy that they may as well not be there (I believe much of the grain is removed through complicated processing of the image, not available in video mode, though I may be wrong) there have been some amazing things done with the EP cameras (just type in EP camera test on youtube) I assume you've done a bit (or a lot) of research to settle on so I'm sure you have good reasons to want to purchase, and if the only thing making you hesitate is that it doesn't shoot at some ridiculous ISO like 6400 then go for it, you wont need the ultra high speed in normal situations.