Close-ups knot working
November 10, 2011 10:36 AM Subscribe
What would be a good camera for shooting close-up video.
I'm looking into creating on-line classes and I need a camcorder or digital slr that is good at shooting close-up. I'm talking about someone's hands that are tying knots with string kind of close-up.
The low price camcorders I try seem to look ok for wide shots but don't do well with close-up (the picture looks too muddy). Some also have the annoying proprietary formats that don't play well with our old Power PC Mac.
DSLRs look nifty but cost is a big factor. I don't want to spend more and get the same results as described above. I want to get the right lens for this as well.
Finally, it needs to have good sound recording and a tilting lcd screen so I can see what I'm filming due to the way I have to rig up the camera to shoot down on the hands tying knots.
Any suggestions, tips, etc. are welcome.
I'm looking into creating on-line classes and I need a camcorder or digital slr that is good at shooting close-up. I'm talking about someone's hands that are tying knots with string kind of close-up.
The low price camcorders I try seem to look ok for wide shots but don't do well with close-up (the picture looks too muddy). Some also have the annoying proprietary formats that don't play well with our old Power PC Mac.
DSLRs look nifty but cost is a big factor. I don't want to spend more and get the same results as described above. I want to get the right lens for this as well.
Finally, it needs to have good sound recording and a tilting lcd screen so I can see what I'm filming due to the way I have to rig up the camera to shoot down on the hands tying knots.
Any suggestions, tips, etc. are welcome.
Best answer: For this purpose, I would think almost any point and shoot camera with an articulating screen would work. You need a camera with a macro lens with a short minimum focusing length - most of the canon P&S will fit this bill.
Something like a Canon G12 might be perfect. (I'm not sure if there is a newer model..)
If you get a DSLR, you will be getting a lot more than you need for just this application. If you go that route, you will need to get a macro lens with a short focusing length - this can be pricey.
As you said most camcorders out of the box will not do macro work well - but in some cases, you can buy a macro lens adapter.
posted by NoDef at 11:16 AM on November 10, 2011
Something like a Canon G12 might be perfect. (I'm not sure if there is a newer model..)
If you get a DSLR, you will be getting a lot more than you need for just this application. If you go that route, you will need to get a macro lens with a short focusing length - this can be pricey.
As you said most camcorders out of the box will not do macro work well - but in some cases, you can buy a macro lens adapter.
posted by NoDef at 11:16 AM on November 10, 2011
I don't know about camcorders, but for a DSLR example, the close-up bits of this video are filmed with a Tamron 90mm f/2.8 lens on a Canon 60D. (And the not close-up bits with a 35mm f/1.4 lens.)
So the good thing about DSLR-s is the interchangeable lens. The bad part is you will probably need another microphone for good sound quality.
posted by revikim at 4:45 PM on November 10, 2011
So the good thing about DSLR-s is the interchangeable lens. The bad part is you will probably need another microphone for good sound quality.
posted by revikim at 4:45 PM on November 10, 2011
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posted by speedgraphic at 10:42 AM on November 10, 2011