Where to rent a professional camcorder?

Should I rent or buy a camcorder for filming a wedding?

• hello all, my sister is getting married on Sunday and she wants me to get a camcorder to record it. The budget is around $400. I don't know if it's worth buying an average camcorder for that price or just renting a good one for the weekend. what do you think?

• Answer:

  Hi, Kee, and welcome back to Yahoo!Answers: As fellow Yahooligan "littlegirldude" mentioned, renting is good if this is a one-time event that you won't need to keep a camcorder for (you'll get much better gear with a $400 rental budget than a $400 purchase). You'll be able to make sure you have any extra batteries, and external mike & long cables, a GOOD tripod (and perhaps a mono-pod to steady any "wandering around the reception" or outside "dash to the limo" shots). Spare batteries (churches and reception rooms don't always have convenient plug-in spots) and plenty of tapes (don't use a mini-DVD or flash-card memory recorder — miniDV tapes or HDV for Hi-Def will work the best and record an hour or two at a time). There are national chains of rental services with complete camera & tripod packages (get an LED or other camera light, too, for the reception/party). "Meeting Tomorrow" is one chain. Major camera stores also rent video-shoot packages. Be sure to mention it's for a wedding, not a meeting, to get the right gear and accessories. Ask a LOT of questions while you can. Free advice is priceless! Weddings are a one-shot deal. If you've never done this before, then read-up on it, practice some shots in the venues ahead of time, and look around on YouTube and Vimeo for wedding photography video footage for ideas. People get sued over this stuff, and family members & "friends" end up on People's Court shows all the time over hassling about BAD wedding photographs and videos. And raw video footage always needs to be edited to look polished and "finished" (eliminating the shaky shots and unneeded scenes). Make sure you have a good fast computer for the editing. If you can't rent a Sony with the CD-ROM it was shipped with (for the Sony "Picture Motion Browser" editing software) make sure that you already have something like "Windows Movie Maker" (free on modern PCs) or iMovie & iDVD (free on Macs with iLife) to handle the video transfer, editing, and DVD copies. If you are unsure of your photography & composition/editing abilities, then find a good friend who's done this before, and you might get by with the $400 budget. You'll sleep a lot better, too! hope this helps, --Dennis C.   UPDATE Edit: I just saw your Additional Details, and yes $150 a day is a normal price for a miniDV camcorder like the Canon HF-S21 (or similar sized Sony or Panasonic miniDV setups). And as Fellow Contributor "Palladini" (Dave) touched on (while I was still typing), for an extra $150, and some pocket money to a helper, I'd rent a 2nd camera & bribe a good buddy some money (and free food & drinks at the reception) to help shoot additional "backup" footage & angles (we call it "B-roll" in the business, since the main camera is the "A-roll" in edit-speak). What one guy doesn't get (especially during a tape-change) the other has a chance to have "captured" a special moment you wouldn't want to miss. If no one will help run it, put it in the choir loft or a side pew, and shoot a "lock-down" wide shot. --DC