Choosing a Video Camera

Here are some key tips to keep in mind when selecting your first video camera:

First and foremost is to learn the different classifications of cameras that exist for use. The 'Consumer' camera, or lower-grade digital camcorders are affordable and meant for use of collecting home videos and perhaps novice film makers and avid You-Tubers. These will generally fall into the price range of $150 to $1,000. Just remember you are getting what you paid for. Some good brands in this price range are Sony HD Handycams, the Sanyo Xacti line and the small Canon handheld series. With these you will find a lot of great extra-features that you generally won't find on professional gear, but are attractive to you as a low-grade consumer. Some of these include on-camera filters, such as 'nightvision' and waterproof features. Most of these brands already shoot in a high definition format, so you are in the clear for future longevity. Shooting formats for these cameras range from MiniDV to HDV to SDHC cards. Most still have options to shoot in 4:3, the dying NTSC Television aspect ratio. In lamans terms, square pixels and square footage. The HD format is a 16:9 shooting aspect ratio, now much more commonly found and the eventual standard for broadcast television.

The next grade up of cameras is what is known as the 'pro-sumer' camera. These include the mid-range and most commonly found High Definition Camera lines. These include the HV line from Sony, XLH Line from Canon and the Panasonic HPX line. Canon and Sony have adapters for shooting on Compact Flash Cards, while still retaining the ability to shoot on both MiniDV and HDV and DVCam tapes (in most cases). Panasonic, however, has developed the nice addition of P2 Card slots for Digital recording. The downside, however, is the cards are very costly and work only with the Panasonic brand. Prices for these lines of cameras will range from $1,000 to sometimes $10,000 depending on features you require with your purchase and extra, sometimes necessary, adapters and add-ons.

The Professional camera runs upwards from $10,000 oftentimes reaching the $30,000 sometimes even $40,000 mark. (The equivalent of renting a film camera for a day or two.) The benefit to these cameras is foremost in image quality, coming with a variety of lenses, adapters, filters and the mere weight of a professional camera, production quality immediately goes up. Most of these cameras are used by independent film producers and news corporations, stations and local news outlets. The line between professinal HD cameras and the pro-sumer lines mentioned above is, however, become less and less distinct as the HD format becomes more and more accessible for the average consumer.

A second, and equally important fact to remember is that there is always, always, extra and hidden costs that come with buying a camera. Don't forget you will be spending money on a tripod, perhaps even a boom micropohone for quality production. For importing and video capturing purposes, Firewire and HDMI cables will be required, as well as sufficient disk space on an external drive to support your HD video files in quite large capacities.

Remember that video is a constantly evolving market, and in order to consistently stay ahead of the curve requires the consistent purchase and repurchase of equipment. Now, the new format for Digital Filmmaking is coming from the Red Camera. This newcomer is the one thing that poses a real threat to the 35mm film camera. Red currently shoots at a pixel ratio of 4520x2540 or three times as much as a standard 1080i HD camera. The incredible resolution offered by the RED will render 35mm film obsolete, given the fact that already 60 major motion pictures are being shot on it.

The next aspect to consider in selecting a camera is your editing platform. Are you just gathering footage to have on stock? If so, this might not seem such an issue. But what do you plan on doing with all this video footage you have captured? Chances are you have some end result in mind which will require editing, rendering and exporting to a final medium such as YouTube or DVD, HDVD, etc. Think of your end consumer, if you have one, and what it will require to satisfy their needs. Don't cut them short on the quality of production you can offer. Editing suites are available in the form of Avid for PC Platforms (and Apple), however, the direction the medium is headed is most definitely in the form of Apple Final Cut Pro, a good, cheaper version of this is available in the Express edition. Also, Adobe offers a strong editing program: Premiere Pro. But if you are looking for something that will maximize your capabilities, skills and eventually your results and quality of video. Final Cut Pro is a surefire way to get there.

Many other things can be taken into consideration, but can come after you have selected your initial gear. Buying components and add-ons will only enhance your videos and films, so don't ever stop looking for new alleys to follow.