Discussion » Video Cameras

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Posted by beargod, 16:30, 17th November 2003:
 
Are digital cameras better then the conventional analogue ones?

What format do digital cameras encode the video into?
Posted by Victor Menendez, 16:37, 17th November 2003:
 
hehe 'anaglogue' cameras.
Posted by arsepuppy, 16:39, 17th November 2003:
 
DV cameras are aces. Much better quality than analogue IMO. However, they are fucking expensive and you do need good equipment to do it justice (An Avid setup with a DV video recorder with edity things)

This is just from my experience of making and editing videos in my last job, I'm in no way an expert here.
Posted by arsepuppy, 16:39, 17th November 2003:
 
You do mean video cameras, right?
Posted by beargod, 16:45, 17th November 2003:
 
yes, ap video cameras like the title :)

So if i wanted to spend less then 500 pounds (preferably less than 400), then i should probably not get a digital camera?

How do you get anon digital camera on to a computer usually?
Posted by arsepuppy, 16:46, 17th November 2003:
 
You're not making snuff porn again, are you?
Posted by beargod, 16:47, 17th November 2003:
 
maybe, there is bit of money in that area :)
Posted by arsepuppy, 16:49, 17th November 2003:
 
I would imagine that you wouldn't get a very good DV camera for that price. The ones we were using cost around £2k :/

You can get analogue ones for that though quite easily. Of course, everything depends on what you want it for. If it's home movies/pissing about you don't need a very expensive one. You only need an expensive DV one for broadcast/DVD authoring etc.
Posted by beargod, 16:54, 17th November 2003:
 
Well yeah it was going to be for home movies
Posted by Foghorn Leghorn, 17:03, 17th November 2003:
 
I still aint got a fuckin digi camera! bah!!
Posted by trim..., 17:05, 17th November 2003:
 
depends on what kind of camera you get but by the time you've gone to the effort of digitising it the quality will be about the same as a £500 camera... my friend has a broadcast quality dv camera that cost £1k
shop around, don't go to dixons ;)
Posted by arsepuppy, 17:06, 17th November 2003:
 
Depends on which digitising methods you use though....
Posted by Grim..., 17:16, 17th November 2003:
 
Beware the 'Digital' Camcorders that offer USB outputs and all that - my mate got one and plugged it into his PC and he only gets 320x160 res =[

I've got a Sony DV something something - it cost £300 from eBay and is great - it has nightvision =D
Posted by arsepuppy, 17:29, 17th November 2003:
 
Yeah, the Sony ones are mint. Can't go wrong there.
Posted by Sul, 17:37, 17th November 2003:
 
Ive got a this:

www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00009...

But I think I paid £370 from another site. Possibly less.
I'm very happy with it. It has night vision but thats a bit shit as each frame takes too long to render. Other than that its tops.
Posted by Sul, 17:38, 17th November 2003:
 
Oh and its really dinky too. Looks well smart
Posted by trim..., 17:38, 17th November 2003:
 
get firewire sony dv, the best you can get for your budget, or you'll be forever lugging vcrs around to hook them up to your computer etc etc.. nightmare..
oh and if you get a decent warranty, wait till the next model comes out and 'oops' it broke..
a friend of mine has had the latest minidisc player for the past four years because his one conveniently breaks a lot.. hehe
Posted by tommorris, 18:19, 17th November 2003:
 
16mm film is the answer.
Posted by arsepuppy, 18:19, 17th November 2003:
 
Luddite.
Posted by arsepuppy, 18:20, 17th November 2003:
 
Well, sort of.
Posted by tommorris, 18:35, 17th November 2003:
 
Not yet.
Posted by tommorris, 18:46, 17th November 2003:
 
Trim - it's slightly different with computers. When the warranty people call you have to mask the fact that you made a full tape backup the day before.
Posted by trim..., 19:45, 17th November 2003:
 
ah lying's lying, once you've told one porky, what's the harm in a couple more loaded on top eh?

16mm films and projectors, mmmm computers can fuck off and die, they take the character out of everything ;)
Posted by arsepuppy, 19:50, 17th November 2003:
 
Does MS-DOS work on an abacus?
Posted by beargod, 20:03, 17th November 2003:
 
How much flash memory will you need to last about an hour? ( on a decent resolution)
Posted by arsepuppy, 20:07, 17th November 2003:
 
You are a big Porno Marcus.
Posted by beargod, 20:08, 17th November 2003:
 
what's Hi8?

I have not thought about video cameras before you see :)
Posted by beargod, 20:10, 17th November 2003:
 
Pron roxers

I want to view christmas over again :) Nothing to do with Rosies bedroom window, honest
Posted by arsepuppy, 20:10, 17th November 2003:
 
Hi8 is the old analogue video standard. It's shite but good enough for home movies etc. DV is the way forward, really.
Posted by beargod, 20:14, 17th November 2003:
 
www.jessops.com/search/viewproduct.cfm?P... is that any good? Is it still tapes? I take it most cameras come with their own mirophones?
Posted by arsepuppy, 20:15, 17th November 2003:
 
Sonys are good but I'm far from an expert. Shop around, read magazines if necessary.
Posted by arsepuppy, 20:16, 17th November 2003:
 
Yeah, they have mics but you may need an external amplifier for certain uses.
Posted by beargod, 20:17, 17th November 2003:
 
damn the reading, just tell me :)

cheers for your helps people, I take it most camcorders can connect to a computer, if so I might get one of the cheaper Hi8 ones, If not I will have to find more money.
Posted by arsepuppy, 20:21, 17th November 2003:
 
bear in mind that digital ---> digital (PC) will be better than analogue ---> digital. Consider it an investment. But Hi8 has it's place and you can stick the tapes into a VHS cartridge which is cool in an oldschool Dixons way.
Posted by beargod, 20:30, 17th November 2003:
 
Yeah, I think that is what my dad used to have
Posted by beargod, 21:11, 17th November 2003:
 
www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00009... £300 and it looks like it can do what I want it to do
Posted by trim..., 21:40, 17th November 2003:
 
If you just want it for home movies then I think you'll be ok with that, and like i said before, installing a fire wire card is easier than piffling about with wires and digitising stuff.. and you can get a hacked copy of premiere from somewhere (did i say that outloud?) to capture and edit stuff.. and even better if you have a dvd writer then there's no need for big clunky tapes.
Anyone want an old 8mm tape? I don't really know what to do with it..
Posted by beargod, 17:19, 18th November 2003:
 
I purchased it in the end last night