Tips for new camcorder?

Tips Buying a HD Camcorder / Effects?

• Hey all, i wanna buy a new camcorder! HD so i can get really good quality footage i work with green screen on a normal picture camera video setting. all though its good for making ...show more

• Answer:

  Well, let me start you off by telling you this: If you're gonna get an HD camcorder, DON'T get a cheap one. I made that mistake, only to wind up with a broken camcorder (it just randomly stopped working). But that's not the only reason to not get a cheap camcorder. You said you're gonna be using it for chroma keying, right? Well then, a cheap one won't do you any good, because their image sensors won't pick up light accurately (very important for chroma keying). Also, cheaper cameras tend to reproduce colors inaccurately, which isn't good if you're dealing with green screens, etc. (of course this can be fixed in post, but still). This is almost a rule: Cheap cameras never have good sound. Even if you plan to use an external microphone, remember that only the more costly models will support that feature. Those are just some very basic guidelines, so in your purchase, make sure to consider what YOU need your camera to do. That being said, here are some really good choices for HD camcorders: Canon Vixia HG21 http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=177&modelid=17383 Panasonic HDC-HS300 http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/shop/Cameras-Camcorders/Camcorders/Hi-Def-Camcorders/model.HDC-HS300K_11002_7000000000000005702 Sony HDR-XR500V http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665736664 JVC GZ-HD40 http://camcorder.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL028385&pathId=141&page=10 Of these, I would recommend Canon and Panasonic the most. But check out the Sony and JVC ones as well, in case one of them meets your needs.