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Seeking Advise on camera choice..


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hi,

 

I'm an audio designer and i have a growing interest in making movies. my first project is going to be filming and interviewing my grandparents about their life before they die or go senile. that way they will be remembered..

 

for that project (and for future projects) i need a camera.. however, i have virtually no budget.. 1000euros is about the maximum.. (unless i save up, but thats less than ideal) i know i dont want film.. i know i want something thats easily transferable to my mac, dv or mini dv afaik.. id like one with an LCD, as a viewfinder is irritating with glasses id imagine..

 

ive found a canon xl1 for about 900 euros second hand.. but as far as i understand the xl1 is old and has been replaced by better and newer stuff.. ive read that the Panasonic NV-GS500 isnt that bad either.. and as far as i understand i need to go 3ccd..

 

i really dont want to hire stuff.. dont like that..

so, what is a good choice, for a beginner like me..

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As far as good looking DV goes, Panasonic DVX100. They are pretty cheap, and the 24p looks great.

looks like a great camera.. allthough the price is a tad too high.. 2300 euros or something.. thats way out of my price range..

 

i was wondering if there is something cheaper which can give me atleast acceptable quality..

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... that way they will be remembered..

 

If it's for archival use, try and get a camera that shoots on a format that looks like it's going to stick around for a long time. With all the HD format wars, you never know what's gonna pop up next. Sure, you can always transfer from one format to the next, but we all know it's best to preserve the original footage as best we can.

 

I know you don't have the budget, but if you shoot film, you'll literally be time proofing this footage of your grandparents

 

And since my suggestion is probably outside your budget, I apologize for my worthless advice, ha ha

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Consider Super8 as well... you could get a good camera pretty cheep off ebay, and if you scroll down to the bottom of this page, you can find some good package deals on S8 film.

super8 is not a format i am considering because of the difficulty of transferring it to the computer..

 

right now i am eyeing a Panasonic PV-DV953, price: 200 euros.. which i am seriously considering because it is supposed to be a nice camera.. not expensive at all.. allthough it was 1500 euros 4 years ago..

i know its not that professional.. but i just dont have that kind of money right now..

i wont hold up to footage from a camera thats 10 times more expensive.. but it is supposed to have nice manual controls for a consumer camera..

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