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What is the best inexpensive handheld video camcorder?

What is the best Video Camcorder I could use for my film?

  • My friends and I are making a Blair Witch Project-Esque "handheld cam" kind of film. It's being made on a tight budget. I need a COMPLETELY digital HD Camcorder. Something with great image quality. Any ideas?

  • Answer:

    Consumer level HD camcorders have 4 problems. 1) Blurry, fuzzy, out of focus areas closely around people in videos taken by consumer level HD camcorders. 2) Any movement, even a wave or lifting an arm, while in front of a recording consumer level HD camcorder, results in screen ghosts and artifacts being left on the video track, following the movement. Makes for bad video, sports videos are unwatchable. 3) These Consumer level HD camcorders all have a habit of the transferred to computer files are something you need to convert, thus losing your HD quality, to work with your editing software. 4) Mandatory maximum record times - 1 hour, 30 minutes, 8 minutes, 3 minutes – four different times advertised as maximum record time for some consumer level HD camcorders. No event I have ever been to is that short. Either take multiple camcorders or pack up with out getting the end of the event on video. With a MiniDV tape camcorder, record 60 or 90 minutes ( camcorder settings), 90 seconds or less to change a tape and record for 60 or 90 more and repeat till you run out of tapes. You can get a Canon ZR960 for $250. It is a MiniDV tape camcorder, has a Mic jack. You will need a firewire (IEEE1394) card ($25 to 30) for the computer and a firewire cable (less than 10) to be able to transfer video to your computer. To say this is not HD, think about this. It would cost in excess of $3500 to get a HD camcorder that could equal the video Quality of a $250 Canon MiniDV tape camcorder.

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A canon T2i will give you a great picture in full 1080p. I have even heard of them going on sale for 599 at times. The only thing your going to have to look at with this is you are going to want to build a camera rig (eventually) so you can mount it on your should and a tripod. Also you are going to want to get some audio gear like a Zoon H4n, a boom pole and a shotgun mic. You will have to sync sound in post production. The only other thing you could do is get a mini shotgun mic that will go into its 1/8" audio in jack and mount it to the top of your camera. Rode makes a model for around $150. Last but not least you are going to want to start getting extra lenses (primes if you are doing indie film making.) The good news is I just quoted off a whole bunch of stuff... here it comes... you don't have to buy it all at the same time. Do like I did for all my cameras. Buy the camera learn it. RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH your next piece of equipment and then get that... such on and so forth... have a blast.

Matthew

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