camcorder for not-for-profit

December 12, 2007 11:56 AM

My wife needs to buy a digital camcorder for her job. They are a not-for-profit organization, and they would like to use Youtube and other online video outlets, post videos on their Myspace page, etc. The videos need to be as professional looking/sounding as possible, but they also need the camera to be easy to use.

They'd like something better than a Flip (decent zoom, indoor/outdoor use, "polished" feel to the final product), but preferably under $1000 for the whole package (mics, etc). Is this possible? If not explainations about what products come closest and why the extra money is necessary would be very helpful. Thanks!

posted by LizardOfDoom to media & arts (5 comments total)

Well I'd look for a used semi-pro standard definition camera. You would probably find some good options in the $1000-$2000 range. Here are some added expenses you will inevitably incur if you are serious about producing high quality videos in a mobile environment, in an informal order of importance:

1. good fluid head tripod ($300+ new)
2. wireless mic kit ($500+ new)
3. shotgun mic
4. good bag, batteries (varies, couple hundred)
5. some kind of lighting system (varies greatly)
6. lenses (varies)

I recommend the Panasonic DVX-100, if you can find it at a reasonable price. Tried and proven. I know I'm kind of interested in selling my DVX kit. These days, however, there are a lot of consumer level cameras that might fit the bill for you, without having, lets say, the degree of control over the picture that a more expensive camera would give you. And at the end of the day, that kind of simplicity of use might be a plus for your wife's purposes. And if you do go with a cheaper camera, your extra money might be more noticeably spent buying reliable accessories.
posted by phaedon at 2:34 PM on December 12, 2007

If she's willing to go with something used, I can definitely recommend picking up a Canon GL1. I used these cameras to teach film to 6th-8th graders, so needless to say, they're easy to use.... and tough enough to survive junior high kids. Based on the prices at ebay, she should have no problem finding one within the 1K budget.
posted by blaneyphoto at 3:05 PM on December 12, 2007

Thanks phaedon and blaneyphoto. Probably they won't be able to spring for lighting and extra lenses. We'd forgotten about a bag, so thanks for the reminder. I think we will have to find something less expensive. Probably around $500 for the camera and another $500 for accessories. Any more recommendations?
posted by LizardOfDoom at 7:20 PM on December 12, 2007

The recently released Canon HV20 is all the rage lately. It's a consumer level camcorder but the sensor is very good. Some people are going the way of accessories with the hv20, which means that instead of putting their money in a prosumer camera that costs a lot they put half of it in a cheaper camera and then tweak it via accessories.
This is probably a good idea but the problem is that the HV20 it's not very professional looking... Depending what you do it can be a problem.
It can look badass with the right accessories though.
The thing is, even the HV20 is still priced around 800$ which mean it's still too expensive. But 500$ for the camera seems llke a very small budget.
1000$ for a camera, a nice mic and a tripod is a very tight budget these days, especially if you want "professional" looking stuff.
The advantage of the HV20 is that it's small, easy to use, it does HD and it can do 24p, to put it simply it's a mode that makes your video looks kinda like film, that'll give you an edge.
The disadvantages is that it doesn't have a lot of manual controls and it looks like a toy.
posted by SageLeVoid at 9:44 PM on December 12, 2007

I recently completed film school (journalistic style) using a Sony HC3 that I picked up on Ebay for $450. I've added a tripod/monopod combo ($50), an L bracket for mounting the shotgun mic ($10), a shotgun mic ($80), a corded Lavalier mic ($20), an audio in adapter ($30), and a bunch of lights from home depot ($30 each x 3), and some parchment paper ($5), and I have a pretty good setup at this point.

It is not the prettiest setup, but the output looks good. The HC3, when on a tripod with a shotgun mic, looks pretty respectable.

The big "other" expense that you haven't mentioned is editing software. What are you using?

Oh, and the HV20 in the previous post, like the HC3, is an HD camera. Trust me when I say that you want to shoot in HD if you can. If you ever want to take your content and repurpose it for PSA or other TV project, you'll be very happy it's in HD.

Net net, your skill as a filmmaker is what will make the films look professional. The tools you use don't matter so much...
posted by wflanagan at 6:29 PM on December 13, 2007