Alright Farm here’s some straight talk about video cameras and what you should be looking for when you buy. All of these features combined really start to add up in price so you may have to sacrifice in certain areas depending on what’s most important to you. Full HD is best 1920X1080
There are quite a few guys on here that run camera equipment who know what they’re doing & I’m sure we’re all on the same page for the most part.
Like NBFK said, tape jobs are out and I’d also say built in hard drives can limit you out in the field if your out there for extended periods. So # 1 would be get a cam that take flash or SDHC cards. Get cards with a write speed of class 6 or better. The two most popular brands of cameras out there are Cannon & Sony. I use Sony because they’re rock solid & keep working in cold temps to about -23 continuous use . Any colder & they start to freeze up. Nothing gets babied either, they take a lot of rugged use & keep on ticking. Lets talk about something else NBFK said for a minute. Picture cameras that have a video feature. The most popular brands are Cannon & Nikon. All the big guns are using em because of the quality & lens options. The video quality compares to video cameras that’ll run you 20 to 30k. On the other side of the coin, the audio quality is extremely poor. It’ll do in a pinch but heaven forbid. The problem that persists is that most operators can’t pull focus in real world situations. We’re in a non-controlled environment where things happen fast. I tried to rig mine up with a Lilliput external monitor that had built in peaking & still couldn’t get it done consistently because there’s too much going on. Not to mention it got awkward & cumbersome. If I could pull it off I’d sell my video camera in a heartbeat. 90% of high end DSLR’s are use for B roll. Nothing worse than getting the money shot on camera only to have it out of focus. The footage is garbage at that point. Extremely risky. There’s operators out there doing it though, they’re called pros that have thousands of hours under their belts. Some can also film in 24p witch gives a true cinematic look. I can’t do it out in the field because I’m not experienced enough & not willing to take the risk. Post production gets it close enough for me.
Lets get back to video cameras now. Next thing you probably want to look at is the lux rating, optical zoom & audio. Lux ratings are brand specific so a 3 lux in a Cannon may be equal to a 4 lux in a Sony. Just an example. Lux ratings are pretty simple. This determines the cameras capability of capturing footage in low light conditions. The lower the number the better the filming is in low light. As hunters, we all know that the 1st & last ½ hours are pretty important. Get a cam with good lux rating.
Now we go to optical zoom. For me the higher the better. Good luck getting in tight @ a 100 or 200yds with a 10X. The cheaper cams are 10X & the better ones are 20X & higher. Never ever go in digital zoom… it’s trash. If you looking at a cam that only has a 10X optilcal zoom, but has everything else you’re looking for don’t count it out. There are teleconverters out there that will compensate with little loss of quality. I ran that way in the beginning.
A lot of guys overlook the audio in cams witch to me is extremely important. The better cams have XLR inputs that allow for better audio & more control. The less expensive cams have a mini jack or hot shoe Either way you should get a cam that has one or the other so you can use a shotgun, stereo or wireless mic depending on what your doing. Wind muffs are a must when it comes to wind. I can’t even watch footage when the wind noise is pounding your ear drums out.
Those are the basics of what to look for in the spec sheet before you buy a cam. Other things you’ll want to consider that would rank pretty high on the list is a lanc port. This will allow you to plug in a wired controller for zooming in & out smoothly, focus & some have a feature that allows you to turn the cam on & off. As hunters, the less movement the better. Manual controls to me are extremely important. Especially the focus & exposure. Along with a few others but we start getting pretty involved at that point.
Interlaced Vs Progrssive. I do everything in progressive. It’s a personal preference.
http://www.digitalphotographywriter....ogressive.html
So to recap, we’re looking at a full HD 1920 X 1080 Cannon or Sony that use SD or Flash cards with a good lux rating, good optical zoom, external audio inputs, lanc port & manual controls that may or may not film in progressive mode.
Other things to consider that are a must. Tripod or monopod at minimum. Extra large batteries as well. Batteries don’t like cold.
I run a tape cam & will upgrade next spring to AVCHD .
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Camcorder.html
Go to B & H & search Cannon & Sony Cams on there. They’ve got everything under the sun when it comes to cams.
Take this info for what its worth Farm & I’m sure there are others on here that can elaborate as to what is important to them as operators. Hope it helps you out man. Have fun out there & if I can give you some advice if you’re a beginner at filming, when the heat get turned way up & you get confused, Don’t forget of push record & Jam that cam in auto if you have to.
Have a good one
Best compact video camera for filming hunts?
Linear Mode
