Which Camera? Which accessories? « Videomaker Community Forums

announcementguy
Member

Hello everyone. I've been cruising the forum and like it here. I also just subscribed to Videomaker Magazine. I love making videos, and am ready to buy my first prosumer camera.

I'm leaning towards the GL2. I will be making videos for my church, but not service videos. We will be doing video announcements (comical interview type footage) and also "Man on the Street" type videos where we interview people on the street. Does this seem to be a good choice of camera? My budget is about $2K for the camera, light, and mic. Is this possible? I was looking at BHCamera and it seems I can get what I need for $2K. Any/All suggestions welcome.

Posted 5 years ago #
Ken
Member

The GL2 is a good choice. I chose the Panasonic AG-DVC30 because I liked the 3.5" LCD monitor. Last time I checked, the DVC30 was going for slightly less than the GL2, but that may have changed. The GL2 has a greater range to its zoom, nice if you need extreme telephoto. For a mic, I really like the Rode Videomic ($149 at B&H). It has a miniplug, which should work with either camcorder. Can't help you with the on-camera light; I use reflector floodlights on lightstands.
BHPhotoVideo.com is a reliable vendor.

My 3 cents worth. :)
Ken Hull

Posted 5 years ago #
announcementguy
Member

Thanks for the response and advice. I may buy the same microphone. I am wondering if I should also buy some sort of handheld microhpone for stree interviews?
Anyone?
Also, I assume the GL2 is a good choice for this type of filming?
Any light recommendations? For in studio, and on street filming.

Posted 5 years ago #
compusolver
Member

For planned interviews, you'll want a lav mic and for your on the street stuff, you'll need a handheld or shotgun mic. The shotgun is likely to pickup more street noise than the handheld though. For a tight budget, consider the Azden WMS-PRO VHF set. It's under $150 and comes with both a lav and handheld.

I wouldn't suggest an on-cam light for what you've outlined. You won't need it outdoors in daylight and it is insufficient for your interview scenes. You could get clip-on metal bowl reflectors from Lowes, etc. and floodlamps from B&H. You could get halogen work lights on stands from Lowes for around fifty dollars, or you could spend $300 to $3000 for studio lights with stands from B&H.

To add interest, you may want to consider greenscreen shots that would allow you to drop in graphic or video backgrounds. If so, you'll want a couple extra lights for the greenscreen (flourescent is fine and again, Lowes is your bargain light-store).

Posted 5 years ago #
announcementguy
Member

This is very helpful Hank, thank you.
I might go with your recommended mic. package. Do you think I'd want a wind muff for the handheld?
We will be doing a lot with greenscreen, so I'll be heading to Lowe's tomorrow :) Does it matter what kind of flourescents?
Thanks again!

Posted 5 years ago #
Ken
Member

You said: "Also, I assume the GL2 is a good choice for this type of filming?"

The GL2 is a very good general purpose prosumer camcorder for the budget you mentioned.
But if you're going to do a lot of on-the-street-interviews with a handheld camcorder, you would find a shoulder-mount unit easier to work with. Within your budget, the selection of shoulder-mount camcorders is VERY limited. Least expensive woud be the Panasonic DVC7, which only has a single 1/4" CCD. Since you're also doing ChromaKey work, the single CCD might not give precise enough color for clean keys. For just a little more, Panasonic makes the DVC20, which has 3 CCDs. But those CCDs are only 1/6" in size, kinda small for a supposedly PROsumer product. For $2200, B&H sells the Panasonic DVC60, an excellent shoulder-mount prosumer camcorder (slightly over you budget, though). I also see that B&H is selling a JVC should-mount S-VHS camcorder for $1500, but you probably should stick with a miniDV unit.

Well, hey, I guess that brings us right back to the GL2! I think I've seen some attachments that can turn a normal camcorder into a shoulder-mount unit. Sorry for the long winded response that just returns to the starting point. :)

Ken Hull

Posted 5 years ago #
compusolver
Member

Good points, Ken!

The C7 is only good for greenscreens if the delivery is for the Web. It can be used for standard video greenscreen, but you won't get nearly as clean a key as, say, the VX2100 (I own C7; VX2100 & FX1).

Foam "windscreens" are totally inadequate for real wind or even breezes. Do a search on these forums for "fur muff" and you'll find an excellent vendor who is the only source I've found for lav fur muffs and has inexpensive muffs for shotguns and handhelds.

Posted 5 years ago #
seruvenci
Member

announcementguy Wrote:
Hello everyone. I've been cruising the forum and like it here. I also just subscribed to Videomaker Magazine. I love making videos, and am ready to buy my first prosumer camera.

I'm leaning towards the GL2. I will be making videos for my church, but not service videos. We will be doing video announcements (comical interview type footage) and also "Man on the Street" type videos where we interview people on the street. Does this seem to be a good choice of camera? My budget is about $2K for the camera, light, and mic. Is this possible? I was looking at BHCamera and it seems I can get what I need for $2K. Any/All suggestions welcome.

B&H is a good place to shop and GL 2 will be far enough for church needs, great colors, tones and great lense......

Posted 5 years ago #
tpainter
Member

Ken Wrote:
The GL2 is a good choice. I chose the Panasonic AG-DVC30 because I liked the 3.5" LCD monitor. Last time I checked, the DVC30 was going for slightly less than the GL2, but that may have changed. The GL2 has a greater range to its zoom, nice if you need extreme telephoto. For a mic, I really like the Rode Videomic ($149 at B&H). It has a miniplug, which should work with either camcorder. Can't help you with the on-camera light; I use reflector floodlights on lightstands.
BHPhotoVideo.com is a reliable vendor.

My 3 cents worth. :)
Ken Hull

I second the dvc30 -- I bought this over the GL2 a couple of years ago and am very pleased with it.

Posted 5 years ago #
icam32
Member

umm im looking for a good camera and ive always cqam back to the gl2 and i wanted something with a shoulder mount but thyre all less quality and i read ken saying you should getÂ a different camera for the shouder mount its cheapoer to buy a shoulder mount piece on like ebay or some other website and use that for like interviews on the street.its just my opinion but ive never had a prosumer camcorder before..

Posted 3 years ago #