Recommended $400 to 500 Video Camera

[kjrojo420]

400 to 500 dollars video camera

[Rheinwasser]

what kind of videos are you shooting?

[Swndlr]

t3i

[CartertheCOCguy]

sony rx100 mk3

[kjrojo420]

For starting with youtube

[davidvu396]

Sony RX100III 

 

Best all in one small camera.

[Omon_Ra]

Panasonic G6 just dropped to (barely) under $500. Basically an updated GH2 with 1080p/60fps.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMC-G6KK-Compact-Digital-14-42mm/dp/B00CFCTDD6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418493665&sr=8-1&keywords=panasonic+g6

[Dw136]

If you have thought about audio equipment then please ignore my rant: 

 

Please everybody stop recommending camera that take up the whole budget. Every single experienced video marker will tell you that audio is king. Most people can tolerate a crappy video shot on a cellphone. NO ONE can stand crap audio.

 

Spend less on the video and get proper audio. Spending ~100 to get the ability to put a mic close to your subject and get good audio trumps any video quality gains you could ever hope to achieve. 

 

If you're just starting out I'd recommend buying used. Camera gear is generally pretty reliable. I'd get a used Sony NEX, Zoom H1, and a lav mic, if you can get it in budget a set of work lamps and a reflector to help light the scene will go a long way. 

[Omon_Ra]

If you have thought about audio equipment then please ignore my rant: 

 

Please everybody stop recommending camera that take up the whole budget. Every single experienced video marker will tell you that audio is king. Most people can tolerate a crappy video shot on a cellphone. NO ONE can stand crap audio.

 

Spend less on the video and get proper audio. Spending ~100 to get the ability to put a mic close to your subject and get good audio trumps any video quality gains you could ever hope to achieve. 

 

If you're just starting out I'd recommend buying used. Camera gear is generally pretty reliable. I'd get a used Sony NEX, Zoom H1, and a lav mic, if you can get it in budget a set of work lamps and a reflector to help light the scene will go a long way. 

 

 

Yes and no..it depends on what you're filming. I do a lot of skate and music videos...audio doesn't matter much at all for that. And if it's YouTube commentary-type videos, it's distinctly possible/probably OP already has a decent mic. Yes, good audio is crucial, even just a simple audio recorder (Zoom, Tascam, or the like) will help a ton; but I typically assume whatever budget is given is their camera budget, not their entire gear budget.

[Guest]

Yes and no..it depends on what you're filming. I do a lot of skate and music videos...audio doesn't matter much at all for that. And if it's YouTube commentary-type videos, it's distinctly possible/probably OP already has a decent mic. Yes, good audio is crucial, even just a simple audio recorder (Zoom, Tascam, or the like) will help a ton; but I typically assume whatever budget is given is their camera budget, not their entire gear budget.

I agree. Depends on what you're shooting. Even the camera depends on what you are shooting. If you are doing short film, I recommend a DSLR, but if you are doing anything with lots of movement (like a skate video) I would recommend a camcorder. If you are doing anything "extreme" you should go with a sport cam.

[Dw136]

Yes and no..it depends on what you're filming. I do a lot of skate and music videos...audio doesn't matter much at all for that. And if it's YouTube commentary-type videos, it's distinctly possible/probably OP already has a decent mic. Yes, good audio is crucial, even just a simple audio recorder (Zoom, Tascam, or the like) will help a ton; but I typically assume whatever budget is given is their camera budget, not their entire gear budget.

 

I agree with you but when people say "starting YouTube" and provide absolutely nothing in terms of what they're going to shoot or their experience, I just assume it's someone who has a dream of being a famous Youtuber and haven't really thought it through. Honestly, if they're still at the "what camera should I buy" stage, it's highly likely they haven't considered the importance of audio. Hell, even many indie studios spend thousands of dollars getting the image right and then attach a crappy mic that gives horrendous audio. 

[thatfilmcrew]

Canon T3I or Nikons D3200.

I personally use D3200.

But I have used the T3I many times and they are basically the same. Except T3I has a screen that pops out.

[Bsmith]

For starting with youtube

 

what kind of content?

videocamera, DSLR, point and shoot, any preference?

need to swap out lenses or not?

manual recording or with tripod?

image stabalizer prefferd or not?

rough estimated distance between camera and person/object.

a little bit more information please, with just a price range we would be able to recommand 1000+ possible device's.