Newbie needing a lot of guidance.

[jsidney]

It is going to be awhile before I make my purchase. Cannot afford at this time but want to be ready when I can.

I want two cameras.

A digital SLR and a digital camcorder.

I will be primarily using the SLR to take product pictures that will be seen on the internet but I would also like it to be versatile enough for other uses. I am a novice so easy to use and fast to learn the basics is a plus.

The camcorder will have two uses. It will be used to make demonstration videos of products for the internet but the secondary usage I think will be difficult. I want to be able to do very long recordings at time, maybe 12-24 hours. I was wondering if it is possible to hook up an external drive to any of these. It is not a deal killer if I can't do the super long recording but it would be nice. I am also interested in them being able to use 110 and the power supply at times.

I realize I will not need to highest resolution for the internet but I want the highest that is practical. I am not sure what the maximum resolution that is practical for the internet. I would also want the camcorder to be friendly for the novice to get started on.

I want to eventually do very nice photos and videos for online usage but I will probably need a lot of practice first.

Do I need an add on light for the camcorder for my purposes or will and internal light be sufficient? How about on the SLR?

I know I would need a Tripod for the camcorder. Not sure for the SLR.

Will keeping both the same brand make life easier?

I am willing to go used but not sure of what I need to be aware of when buying used.

I know this is a lot of questions without enough back ground to help. I just want to get pointed in the right direction for this. I will not be able to go pro-grade. I hope middle or slightly higher end consumer gear will work. Maybe since my resolution will be what looks good on the internet reduces my requirements some.

I can tell you that my first photos and video will be shot indoors in an average light residential room. Distances will be from 5-10 feet away. I don't know if stock lenses are optomized for that close.

Just thought of more questions.

Oh, a couple of more questions. I understand getting stills from a video can have problems. Can that be overcome if it is planned in advance?

I am so ignorant that I am not going to ask the right questions.



Thanks for any help or guidance you can give.

 

[pic_chick]

I only read the 1st line but most all dslr are also video recorders. ok I just read the last line "I am so ignorant that I am not going to ask the right questions" I think google what is a good starter dslr and then read what pops up is a great place to start.check out digtalrev.com all the video is shot using a dslr and they are a good jumping off point.

 

[jsidney]

I only read the 1st line but most all dslr are also video recorders. ok I just read the last line "I am so ignorant that I am not going to ask the right questions" I think google what is a good starter dslr and then read what pops up is a great place to start.check out digtalrev.com all the video is shot using a dslr and they are a good jumping off point.

The problem is I will be doing both at the same time so I kind of need two cameras. Also my usage is fairly sectored rather than wide.

 

[oplatio]

http://imgius.com/images/6hA5X.png

 

[jsidney]

I only read the 1st line but most all dslr are also video recorders. ok I just read the last line "I am so ignorant that I am not going to ask the right questions" I think google what is a good starter dslr and then read what pops up is a great place to start.check out digtalrev.com all the video is shot using a dslr and they are a good jumping off point.

It seems all the DLSR's I have been looking up can't shoot for even an hour in movie mode. It looks like they are not fully interchangable yet

 

[The_Traveler]

You don't know enough to buy anything or even ask good questions that can be answered on a forum.
Get a basic book about digital photography, read that and then start looking.

 

[Solarflare]

This limit on recording time is purely artificial, though.

 

[kathyt]

What is your budget?

 

[TCampbell]

What's the point with the 12-24 hour video? Are you trying to build a time-lapse video? If so, you don't necessarily need to be "recording" continuously. You can shot a periodic frame and then use the frames to build a video.

e.g. if you need want to build a 10 minute video that shows an event that took 24 hours in real life, you can think of it this way:

10 minutes is 600 seconds. If the video will play at 30 frames per second then you'll need a total of 18,000 frames.
24 hours has 84,600 seconds. If you snap a photo every 4.8 seconds you'll have enough to fill 10 minutes at 30 frames per second. I'd probably just go for 1 frame every 5 seconds and not worry about making the video exactly 10 minutes long.

A remote with an "intervalometer" could do it if you have a memory card that will hold the shots based on the resolution of the images (and 1080HD video is a lot lower than the camera's max resolution so you don't necessarily need huge images). A lot of DSLRs can be "tethered" to the computer via USB so that the computer controls the firing and also instantly unloads each frame as it's shot.

 

[fjrabon]

This limit on recording time is purely artificial, though.

if you're cool with burnt sensors and LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of digital noise, then sure.

If you tried to record video on a dSLR setup for more than about 2 hours, you'd have nothing but noise, and a fried sensor to boot.

If you really thought that dSLRs could actually record for much longer periods, don't you think one would come out and do it and totally destroy the market?

 

[KmH]

Two other limitations preclude shooting hours long video sequences using a DSLR - battery charge life and memory card addressing range.
Which is why many long video sequences are done using time lapse techniques.

Many DSLR cameras allow for continuous power, but not all locations have a ready power source.