Among my interest in shooting video in the zen like Solo VJ paradigm, I also research quite a bit on the idea of paring down ones possessions as a means of reducing ones clutter, simplifying your life if you will.

One area that I’ve taken an interest in is in the realm of what solo video journalists can actually utilize that combines small size, yet has as high a quality of image and take that same concept into the post production process.

For those who see the web as a viable platform for content distribution, the burden of carrying large, heavy and expensive video gear becomes a thing of the past.  Myriads of consumer, and prosumer HDV video cameras are available that take this idea and can make it work.

So I’m going to touch on my recommendations for gear for those who are serious shooters, not the typical writer who is having to shoot video as a part of their work.  This first in this series is about the best solution for cameras based upon price versus performance up to this point in time.

Cameras:

>

There are HD video cameras available on the market that provide the necessary functions for shooting video content at more than a casual level.  I have mentioned the necessary features in the past but I’m going to repeat them as a refresher.

• Microphone Input
• Headphone jack to monitor audio
• Manual White Balance
• Manual Mic Audio level adjustment
• Manual Exposure Control
• Manual Focus Control
• Firewire Connectivity (Tape based ingest)

Each of these features should be available to the shooter, no matter what their level of expertise is.  This comes from personal and professional experience. You can shoot in auto everything and as you gain experience, you begin to find you want more control over the cameras features – having these options available allows you to become more creative in your shooting as you gain experience.

The cameras will typically be one chip HDV or AVCHD cameras.  The ones currently on the market that have become mainstays for solo vj’s looking for a balance of small size and high image quality include the:

Tape Based Cameras

Tape based acquisition is still considered by many the best solution due to the tape being the immediate archive of acquired footage.  It’s readily available, inexpensive, and reduces the need for purchasing hard drives to archive the content as compared to content shot to memory cards.

The tape based cameras I suggest include:

• SONY HC7, HC9
• Canon HV20, 30, 40
• SONY A1U, which is unique for having XLR mic input compared to the other cameras which utilize a 3.5mm or 1/8″ mini jack.

I recommend these cameras because the HDV codec is a known quantity – is well supported even in older NLE’s that support it and produce broadcast quality footage when setup properly in exposure.

AVCHD Based Cameras

Flash memory HD acquisition is based around the highly compressed AVCHD codec standard.  These cameras utilize either a large capacity hard drive inside the camcorder or use flash based cards that provide immediate access to the files on the card – which for tight deadlines, can be an advantage.  The trade offs are you need a hefty computer to transcode the AVCHD files to be able to edit them.  I recommend staying away from cameras that have an internal hard drive and instead, find a camera that has dual memory slots to allow for uninterrupted shooting  without fear of moving parts breaking down – which is typical for traditional hard drives when they are handled roughly.

The cameras I recommend include:

• The Canon HF-S series of cameras
• The SONY CX-300 and 500 series cameras

AVCHD cameras are the new kids on the block compared to HDV based cameras.  They provide excellent image quality, but at the cost of a highly compressed file format that can bring most computers to its knees when trying to edit the file format.  Transcoding (to be discussed in a future article) is the best solution – especially if laptop editing.

MIC Jacks

With regards to the type of mic jack available on the camera, my research has concluded through personal experience and advice from other pro’s that there is virtually no difference in audio quality between these two connector types.  XLR does provide a wider range of higher end shotgun mics and a more robust connection, but as you’ll soon discover, using a mic with a 3.5mm lack isn’t any less effective than using an XLR type mic – old prejudices don’t die easily.  In addition, the mini jack type mics currently available are quite affordable and I’m going to try and dispel many opinions that what is needed for higher end broadcast type work is overkill for producing video for the web – even as technology pushes into the realm of 1080p video for the web.

In part two of this equipment series, I’ll look at compact mics for use on these compact HD cameras.

Bookmark to: