Why I love shooting with compact HD Camcorders
By Cliff Etzel • May 14th, 2008 • Category: Equipment
In December of 2007, I finally made the switch from my beloved SONY TRV950′s to a pair of SONY HC7 camcorders.
Having shot with them intermittently since that time, I’ve come to appreciate, even love, shooting with them.
The size of the HC7 isn’t intimidating – either to the subject, or to my body when carrying them around. I have two cameras, 4 batteries, an Azden SMX10 shotgun mic, a Century Optics .55 wide angle lens and a Cavision 3×3 Rubber Matte Box – which all fits into a Photo backpack that also carries my small Dell D400 laptop with two external laptop drives for editing while traveling. Other cameras such as the Canon HV20/30 provide similar size and capabilities.
When walking around locally, I opt for a single HC7, the wide angle lens and mic with the mattebox which all fits in a small shoulder bag.
The ability to shoot HDV content in a diminutive package really makes for being agile at all times. In addition it also makes sense when shooting in the unobtrusive reportage style – the size of the camera doesn’t call attention to what it’s capable of producing image wise. Add to it the compact size of the mic and you have a solid acquisition system for shooting video for web distribution as well as potential broadcast.
Some would say the small size is a disadvantage due to camera shake. This is understandable and a tradeoff I and other like minded solo video journalists are willing to accept in place of being able to move about more freely without the cumbersome size of larger size camcorders.
It still utilizes tape, which has its pros and cons but they are a cost effective tool to work with and I don’t mind logging tapes at this time – the technology of tapeless recording and archiving is still working itself out and I would rather have tape for the time being. Who knows, NLE’s may finally resolve the AVCHD file format for editing the native file format. In a pinch, Vegas Pro 8 used in conjunction with VASST’s Gearshift plugin allows for editing of AVCHD in a way that increases performance on older hardware at the expense of slightly longer times in post due to editing with proxy files.
Bottom line is – working with this size camera gives Solo VJ’s the ability to be nimble content creators at a cost effective entry price.
Cliff Etzel is a regional award winning photojournalist from the Pacific Northwest who has been a visual content creator since 15 years of age. In his past still work, he specialized in photo documentary and slice of life stories. Since discovering the new paradigm of self contained video journalism, he now focuses his energies in the Solo VJ paradigm with an emphasis on people-based stories, environmental, social justice, travel and documentary work through his company, bluprojekt
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