Gents, this is starting to get ridiculous. There was a time, and really only three or four years ago, that deciding what to do for video recording was pretty easy. First, if you were not doing professional photography you simply didn't need nor really want the expense of a full frame DSLR and the accompanying thousands of dollars worth of lenses and gear that tend to go with them. Even if you wanted fantastic video capable from the full frame sensors. Typically, that is. There are always those who crave the top gear because it is their passion.
With the massive movement to 4k video shooting we are starting to see more features trickle into the lower end camcorders but honestly, anything much under $1500 is not gaining you much over a really good mobile devise like a Nokia Lumia. And for knockabout shooting there is really no need to spend 300-500 dollars on a dedicated camcorder because the results are not much different to the better mobile cameras. Yes, I realise there is much more to it but for casual shooting 99 out of 100 people likely could not tell the difference between the two. Anything in the mid or lower consumer range is almost certainly dealing with AVCHD type formats and really no difference in encoding bit rates. You have to step way up to get a better encoding rate or intraframe format type.
So this brings me to another point. I recently saw a neat article where a gent took a Canon EOS 3 and added a lens appropriate for video shoots, a handle/holder to aid in handheld shoots, EF lens adapter, and added Magic Lantern firmware for more refined settings. I think he tied up 600-700 in the whole rig. This made for an extremely compact camera and from what I gather, the video imaging from this camera body is pretty darned nice. The original EOS m is discontinued and blokes were picking up the body alone for 200-250 dollars. Adding the lens and accessories was very affordable. The gist of it is, you had a camera rig with a MUCH larger image sensor than a typical 500-1000 dollar camcorder. The EOS m had some bad reviews about autofocus lag and some other things that made it not too great for photogs but as a video camera it gave a lot.
So with that out of the way, would you look at something similar? The EOS m was very tiny which is a plus for video rigs. Prices? I think the latest system cams are a 0good bit more pricey than that. Maybe upwards of 800 dollars for the body alone. Ideas? I really cannot justify a 1000 dollar camcorder because of the lack of feature vs price. But I don't really have a desire to drop thousands on a cam. Where to start looking? Particularly formats. I would really like something that recorded to an intraframe codec in camera. Constant conversion and editing is pain.
[video=vimeo;75630564]https://vimeo.com/75630564[/video]
With the massive movement to 4k video shooting we are starting to see more features trickle into the lower end camcorders but honestly, anything much under $1500 is not gaining you much over a really good mobile devise like a Nokia Lumia. And for knockabout shooting there is really no need to spend 300-500 dollars on a dedicated camcorder because the results are not much different to the better mobile cameras. Yes, I realise there is much more to it but for casual shooting 99 out of 100 people likely could not tell the difference between the two. Anything in the mid or lower consumer range is almost certainly dealing with AVCHD type formats and really no difference in encoding bit rates. You have to step way up to get a better encoding rate or intraframe format type.
So this brings me to another point. I recently saw a neat article where a gent took a Canon EOS 3 and added a lens appropriate for video shoots, a handle/holder to aid in handheld shoots, EF lens adapter, and added Magic Lantern firmware for more refined settings. I think he tied up 600-700 in the whole rig. This made for an extremely compact camera and from what I gather, the video imaging from this camera body is pretty darned nice. The original EOS m is discontinued and blokes were picking up the body alone for 200-250 dollars. Adding the lens and accessories was very affordable. The gist of it is, you had a camera rig with a MUCH larger image sensor than a typical 500-1000 dollar camcorder. The EOS m had some bad reviews about autofocus lag and some other things that made it not too great for photogs but as a video camera it gave a lot.
So with that out of the way, would you look at something similar? The EOS m was very tiny which is a plus for video rigs. Prices? I think the latest system cams are a 0good bit more pricey than that. Maybe upwards of 800 dollars for the body alone. Ideas? I really cannot justify a 1000 dollar camcorder because of the lack of feature vs price. But I don't really have a desire to drop thousands on a cam. Where to start looking? Particularly formats. I would really like something that recorded to an intraframe codec in camera. Constant conversion and editing is pain.
[video=vimeo;75630564]https://vimeo.com/75630564[/video]
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