Video camera?

R

RAMI

Guest
I'm putting this here, even though it maybe should go in the "Video" section. But I have a feeling that if I put it there, it would take a long time for anyone to see it, let alone respond to it.

(I know I started a thread about this about a year ago, but never followed up on it, and can't even find the thread now)

I want to get a video camera to make some half-ass videos of my songs and also possibly some drum instruction videos.

For now, I'm in the $200-300 range. I can actually go a lot higher, but I figure at this point, a few more hundred bucks isn't going to give me much better results, considering my lack of experience.

(I'm still kicking myself in the head for not grabbing a camera that should have been mine when I moved out of my last house...Long story, not worth even talking about, even though I just did. :D )

Of all the cameras on this page, which would you think would be the best one for me. I'm thinking the first one (The Go Pro).

Thanx for the help in advance.

Camcorders: Video Cameras, HD & Digital Camcorders - Best Buy Canada
 
Oh, also...I don't care about sound quality at all. I'll never use the camera mic.
 
GoPros and other sports cameras tend to have very wide angle lenses. I don't think you need or want that. I have a GoPro 2 which I like for a lot of stuff, but it does have a fisheye lens look to it. There's software that will reduce that effect but it also causes distortion and reduces clarity.

Most of these smaller cameras will have no optical zoom, only digital. The problem with that is that you lose resolution/clarity with a digital zoom. You can always do a digital zoom in post so it's a rather pointless feature.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
GoPros and other sports cameras tend to have very wide angle lenses. I don't think you need or want that. I have a GoPro 2 which I like for a lot of stuff, but it does have a fisheye lens look to it. There's software that will reduce that effect but it also causes distortion and reduces clarity.

Most of these smaller cameras will have no optical zoom, only digital. The problem with that is that you lose resolution/clarity with a digital zoom. You can always do a digital zoom in post so it's a rather pointless feature.
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Man, thanx a lot. I was on my way out the door to buy a Go Pro, and then I read your post. Saved me from buying the possibly wrong thing.

I ended up buying this:

Canon PowerShot ELPH 340 HS Digital Camera Review - Reviewed.com Cameras

Looks pretty simple. Re-charging the battery now and will give it a go later.

Thanx, man. :cool:
 
Mods, if you feel the need, you might want to move this to the "Videos" section. It's up to you.

I got my answer. The Boulderman and another friend steered me away from the GoPro and I got the camera that I think I need.
 
Shit, maybe I spoke too soon about moving this thread. I have another question.

Is this legit? It's not a torrent file, but it almost seems too easy. I put "Sony Vegas" in Google search, and got this site. Free Vegas 13. I thought it was a paid program, but nothing about this looks illegal. Am I getting something legit here?

Sony Vegas Pro 13 Free Download
 
Thread moved.

I have a gopro, and it has its uses. It's not my main camera, though, which is a panasonic hdc-sd900. The reasons why I like the panasonic are that is has a leica lens, it has a 3mos chip, and it records to SD card.
 
gecko zzed said:
Thread moved.

I have a gopro, and it has its uses. It's not my main camera, though, which is a panasonic hdc-sd900. The reasons why I like the panasonic are that is has a leica lens, it has a 3mos chip, and it records to SD card.
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Cool. yeah, I'm glad i didn't get the GoPro for what I want to do with it.

Not sure if you saw my post above concerning Sony Vegas. Any idea about this?
 
RAMI said:
Shit, maybe I spoke too soon about moving this thread. I have another question.

Is this legit? It's not a torrent file, but it almost seems too easy. I put "Sony Vegas" in Google search, and got this site. Free Vegas 13. I thought it was a paid program, but nothing about this looks illegal. Am I getting something legit here?

Sony Vegas Pro 13 Free Download
Click to expand...

I read the comments at that site. There's something not quite right about it.

If you got to the Sony site, it's showing a price of $600

Vegas Pro 13 Overview
 
Ah, I think it's just a trial version. I don't know what the limitations are, but I guess I'll find out.
 
gecko zzed said:
I read the comments at that site. There's something not quite right about it.

If you got to the Sony site, it's showing a price of $600

Vegas Pro 13 Overview
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I thought. But I just installed it and it gave me the choice of "Register New product" or "Register trial Version". So I guess it's legit, but just a trial version.
 
Just to keep anyone that cares up to date, I un-installed the Sony Vegas. It was just a trial version, so I didn't want to spend time learning a program that I'm not going to shell out $600 to keep.

I found a couple of legit, un-crippled, free programs. I'll probably download both and see what happens. I'm even going to play with Windows Movie Maker for the hell of it.

I found these 2 that I'll be trying out:

Free Video Editor | Download Video Editing Software for Windows

Downloads
 
You can get Sony's starter NLE for $50, maybe less if you shop. But I use Vegas 13 for most of my recording and mixing. Once you edit video with Vegas you might want to try it for audio. I find it much faster to use than other DAWs, but that might be because I've been using it and its relatives since around 2001.
 
jimmys69 said:
I have used that VideoSoft one for a simple montage thing. It worked. I am no video guy tho...
Click to expand...

Did you manage to get more than one file into it? I upload a video, but as soon as I try to upload another picture to mix with it, it just replaces the video with the new picture. It also doesn't want to take an audio file. I've got to see what I'm doing wrong.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
You can get Sony's starter NLE (video equivalent of DAW) for $50, maybe less if you shop. But I use Vegas 13 for most of my recording and mixing. Once you edit video with Vegas you might want to try it for audio. I find it much faster to use than other DAWs, but that might be because I've been using it and its relatives since around 2001.
Click to expand...

Thanx. I'll check that out.

I also was going to try the second link, Lightworks, which is supposed to be great. But it wants me to download Apple Quick Time. I haven't had Quick Time on my computer for over 5 years. Don't know if I want to put it back. I can't remember why, but I do remember hating it for some reason.
 
Quicktime wants to be the player for everything and it doesn't work that good. I hate quicktime.

I'll 2nd the notion to get Vegas Studio. If you know how to use a DAW, learning video editing is not a far leap.
 
7string said:
Are you using the whole suite or just the video editor?
Click to expand...
Just the editor. It cost me about $30, and was well worth it. I find so many programs just aren't easy to understand. I wanted something simple, where I can drop my music in the timeline and then add as many video tracks as possible. So many programs I tried, I just couldn't figure out the simplest thing.

I actually shot a whole bunch of footage today for a video. I first went and bought a bunch of fabric for different back grounds. I don't think I'm ready for green screen yet, but that's probably the next thing I'll try. I'm worried enough about how long it will take me to line up my video with my music track for now. But it was fun shooting a whole bunch of footage.
 
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