need a video camera

[ajcstudio]

well i know this is mainly a photography forum but i was wondering if anyone knows of a good video camera for weddings i was thinking around the 300 dollar price range i was thinking a sony dcr-sx40/l(cause i like blue) but i want one that i can have a microphone for but with sony the cheapest one is around 600.....

 

[photogincollege]

Honestly, not trying to be rude, but if you want to do video at weddings, you really should invest in a high quality camera, people are paying you for a service and to deliver less then good quality video because you opted for the cheap camera is unacceptable IMO. Now that that is out of the way, I wouldn't recommend going with that sony, a higher end sony or canon would be a better choice. You might want to look at getting something used?

Edit: Sorry I know that kind of came off as a jerk, I didnt mean it to, I'm just trying to say if you want to try to get into doing professional wedding videography, you should do it right.

 

[ajcstudio]

well i have been asked to video a wedding i do not own any equipment and she is only paying me a 100 dollars to do it(keep in mind it a relative) i know i should get pro level stuff as in i was looking but i cannot aford a 2-3k camera right now and she isnt covering the cost of a camera. so im doing it with the next best thing. but i am getting a good cut to photograph the wedding for her. but still there is no way i can come up with 3000 dollars in a month right now

 

[photogincollege]

Oh so your not really planning to get into it professionally, just basically doing this because she cant get anyone else. If that's the case that's a bit different. I still wouldnt go with that sony, but a 400-600 dollar sony or canon (or a host of other brands) should serve reasonably well.

 

[ajcstudio]

yea i mean later on i want to start doing professional level videographing i mean my partner is great at it but we dont have the funds for gear so we are not pursueing it yet.. i will take a look thank you for the tips.

 

[EhJsNe]

I wouldnt go with something thats blue, just because YOU like blue. But its for a reletive, so its not the most important thing. I would recomend getting a lower end profesional video camera, try finding a used one.
HD recording (3CCD's would give you the best image quality) would be nice.

Going with Black or White would look more professional. This: Canon | GL2 Mini DV 3CCD Camcorder | 7920A001 | B&H Photo Video is a rather cheap, reletively small camera with pretty darn good image quality. If you find the money for it.....
It also has a lot of manual controlls, something a lot of cameras dont have.

 

[ajcstudio]

thanks for the tip but about the blue im buying the camera for myself not for my relative..

 

[EhJsNe]

ahh...ok then. Your camera will do fine then.

 

[SpeedTrap]

Why not rent a high end camera for the wedding and then buy what you want for yourself after?

 

[Snyder]

Well if you plan on doing it in the future, why pay twice? You buy a $300 video camera now and six months later you decide hey I want to try and do more weddings, well I hope people wont be happy with the quality of a $300 cheap video camera. You want to invest in a Canon GL2 or Canon XL 2. I personally own a Canon XL 2 and its the more amazing standard def video camera Ive ever seen.