a new camera

[Uniman_3]

some people have very good high quality videos...
Spencer and Agent Q... have good quality videos..
the quality on mine are terrible...is it my camera that makes the quality so terrible..it runs off of a hi8 tape so we have to convert to digital onto some kind of transfer box (the company is pinnacle and my dad got an editing program with it too, it was only like 100buks or sumthn..)
i want to get a better camera though so i can get videos with better quality..
wat kind of traits should i look for in a camera..
i dont know that much about cameras and have been looking at some for a few months but dont have much money for a good one..maybe 500$ max... and i dont know much about cameras...
my dad got mad at me because last time i took the camera out our friend carried it and scratched it up real good on the handlebars of a scooter and i didnt notice it till i looked at the footage on the camera so ive been wanting one to call my own...

[Jerrick]

I like dMini DV tapes the best for recording. No compression like if you used a hardrive or cd/dvd camera.

If you do go the way of a MiniDV camera, look foor CCD Chip size. The cameras will have either one CCD chip, or 3 chips (3CCD).

The CCD chips are what takes in the light and processes colors. If you have one CCD chip, that one chip takes in all the colors, if you have a 3 CCD camera, there are 3 chips, one for each primary color, red, yellow, blue.

The 3CCD cameras are used to for television recording and produce some/if not, the highest quality of video. I think Spencer uses a 3CCD camera. They have a cheap one for around 300-500 dollars, which is a lot better than the ones that are 1k-5k.

If you cant afford 3CCD, one CCD is great too, but look for a large CCD chip size. Small ones are around 1/6" and the biggest ive seen is 1/3". Bigger your chip size, the better quality.

For getting it to your comp, you use a firewire cable the records straight form your dv tape right onto your hardrive, producing a large AVI file with no compression on it. Makes it really great to edit with and stuff. Then compressing with Quicktime or DivX gives some high quality videos, that dont take up too much room.

Hope that helps for the DV cameras, I dont know much for other recording formats.

[Spencer Hochberg]

Mine is a panasonic pv-gs320. The MSRP is like 500 but I got it for a little more than 400. It is 3ccd so the colors are awesome.
I really recommend it, it looks really good for such a low price.

This is where I got mine. (http://www.butterflyphoto.com/1/PVGS320/PV-GS320_Mini_DV_Digital_Camcorder)


Edit: Yeah, what Jerrick said.

[Uniman_3]

wats the deal with pixels?
are the more you get the better?

[Jerrick]

wats the deal with pixels?
are the more you get the better?

More pixels = More details.

So yes, pretty much the pixels, the better. In most cases. =p

[Matt_V]

I have been wanting a better camera aswell. But I figured 3CCD cameras would be at least 1000.

[Chexjc]

This is my camera...
(http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Canon%20Elura%20100%20DV%20Camcorder:1993437208)
It's 1ccd, but probably one of the best on the lower end of miniDV cameras.

[Uniman_3]

are there any CCD cameras that can match the quality or come close of any 3CCD cameras?

[Blegas78]

Equipment is half of what makes a good quality video. The other half is filming techniques. Try to get shots with good lighting and good angles. I like to apply a small amount of color correction to my footage as well. Just simple things, like modifying the brightness and contrast. A little adjustment for color correction goes a long way.
wats the deal with pixels?
are the more you get the better?

I recommend a 1 pixel camera. ;)

[Chexjc]

are there any CCD cameras that can match the quality or come close of any 3CCD cameras?

Yes, the one that i posted has brilliant colors..read some reviews, do some research.

[captainkrunk61]

Mine is a panasonic pv-gs320. The MSRP is like 500 but I got it for a little more than 400. It is 3ccd so the colors are awesome.
I really recommend it, it looks really good for such a low price.

This is where I got mine. (http://www.butterflyphoto.com/1/PVGS320/PV-GS320_Mini_DV_Digital_Camcorder)


Edit: Yeah, what Jerrick said.
Ordered this camera Saturday. it's on the way now!:D :D :D

[Jerrick]

This is my camera...
(http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Canon%20Elura%20100%20DV%20Camcorder:1993437208)
It's 1ccd, but probably one of the best on the lower end of miniDV cameras.

It has a 1/5" CCD size, which is kinda small, but if it works, it works. Be carefull of low lighting, youll get good focus still, but lots of noise, and random yellow blotches.

[Ducttape]

It has a 1/5" CCD size, which is kinda small, but if it works, it works. Be carefull of low lighting, youll get good focus still, but lots of noise, and random yellow blotches.
i like my sony handycam (http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camcorders/sony-handycam-dcr-hc21/4507-6500_7-31273585.html?tag=sub), it's durable and works for what I use it for..... the CCD chip is only a 1/6 inch but it works good for the stuff I do, I tend to only film with good lighting (unless I want to film at night while I'm riding then it gets hard) but I like my camera and love that fact that i can operate the majority of the controls with one hand, only bad thing is that the tape loads from the bottom so when i use my tripod and run out of tape it's really frustrating.....

[captainkrunk61]

My Camera Came Today!

[Ducttape]

that was fast!

[Uniman_3]

show us some video...

[captainkrunk61]

I thought so too. I have a feeling it must have shipped from either somewhere here in OK or some state very near here. I got it from Amazon. The package tracking hadn't even been updated yet.

[captainkrunk61]

I'll have a vid up tomorrow.

[captainkrunk61]

Here it is (http://unicoreok.com/videos/Movie.avi)

My friend Ryan and I are in it. It was our first attempt at making anything on Adobe Premiere and After Effects as well. Enjoy.

[evil-nick]

You might want to check out Sony's Digital8 Cameras. They use the same tapes as the Hi8's, and many are backwards compatible meaning you can drop in an old tape and play it on the new camera. I don't know if it will convert it to digital to transfer to the computer though.

If you want a small cheap camera, check out the PureDigital Flip series. I did a review of one last summer: http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50059&highlight=Camera+review

It's what I use for most of my YouTube vids, as well as my longer vids now, just 'cause it's so small. Price is about $100, and they have a newer model now for ~$150 that's got 60min of recording time vs the 30min mine has.

This was filmed with it: http://youtube.com/watch?v=IHyIGzSkZhE