Video Camera

[Inversion]

I asked in a previous post about cheap DSLRs but I've come to the conclusion that they're gonna be too expensive so I'm looking for a video camera now. 

 

Don't really wanna spend more than £250 and am looking for 1080p minimum recording to SD with either DC in or really good battery life. Clean HDMI live output and a rotating screen. I assume that tripod support is a given. 

 

This will be mostly for indoor shooting for making YouTube. I want to upgrade from the camera in my phone and I can always get a cheaper DSLR later down the road.

 

 

[RumSwift]

Why don't you look at a GoPro? Doesn't have the rotating screen, but if you get a WiFi one (Hero 4+), you'll be able to stream to your phone/tablet.

 

Even a used one from eBay would be a good shout. 

 

If you're doing YouTube with it, it's portable and discreet. Takes photos too.

[Inversion]

2 hours ago, Rhyss said:

Why don't you look at a GoPro? Doesn't have the rotating screen, but if you get a WiFi one (Hero 4+), you'll be able to stream to your phone/tablet.

 

Even a used one from eBay would be a good shout. 

 

If you're doing YouTube with it, it's portable and discreet. Takes photos too.

I have but I decided against it. My intention is to use it for shooting normally but also for facecam through HDMI. I have a capture card I intend to use for it. I've heard Sony's Handycams can be good and I can get them at about £150 to £200. Any experience with them?

[RumSwift]

39 minutes ago, Inversion said:

I have but I decided against it. My intention is to use it for shooting normally but also for facecam through HDMI. I have a capture card I intend to use for it. I've heard Sony's Handycams can be good and I can get them at about £150 to £200. Any experience with them?

Well, before I posted my reply I was looking into them. But from what I read, if you're going to get one you should get the slightly higher-end one 

 

Face detection and auto focus, HDMI out for your live feed.

[Inversion]

55 minutes ago, Rhyss said:

Well, before I posted my reply I was looking into them. But from what I read, if you're going to get one you should get the slightly higher-end one 

 

Face detection and auto focus, HDMI out for your live feed.

 

That s one of the ones I was actually considering although I think I'll try and maybe get the cx625. It has a Mic in port which I think may be helpful for some shoots

[another random person]

On 8/18/2017 at 5:56 AM, Inversion said:

That s one of the ones I was actually considering although I think I'll try and maybe get the cx625. It has a Mic in port which I think may be helpful for some shoots

Okay so I have used the exact one and it is a pain to adapt a mic onto. To cut down on costs I had to purchase a Sony hot shoe to standard hot shoe adapter before adapting a bit more for the shotgun mic I intended to use before I could finally use the mic I wanted to use. The on-screen audio levels monitoring is a very useful feature and the live audio monitoring port is beyond useful. The Camcorder is best suited to mobile situations due to the stabilization but still, requires a steady hand to prevent jittery footage. The camera shoots acceptable quality in low light although it does take quite a while to recover focus in a dimly lit environment after it's lost it. The zoom pulled subjects in pretty close whilst maintaining admirable quality even when projected onto a large screen. Battery life is pretty much acceptable, but that's coming from a DSLR user so to the average user it is good and unless if you're deciding to take it on like 3-hour shoots without battery chargers and recording at the highest settings I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[cc143]

keep in mind that for indoor recording you would probably need a proper lighting setup, especially given the small sensor size of most camcorders. 

 

You would probably need that with a dslr too ofourse, but you should probably alot somwthing like £50 for that too

[Inversion]

3 hours ago, cc143 said:

keep in mind that for indoor recording you would probably need a proper lighting setup, especially given the small sensor size of most camcorders. 

 

You would probably need that with a dslr too ofourse, but you should probably alot somwthing like £50 for that too

Thanks but I'm picking up longer mic cables for my Blue Snowball and will do a lot of recording facing a big window in the room (attic bedroom) so I get a lot of natural light.

[Inversion]

4 hours ago, another random person said:

Okay so I have used the exact one and it is a pain to adapt a mic onto. To cut down on costs I had to purchase a Sony hot shoe to standard hot shoe adapter before adapting a bit more for the shotgun mic I intended to use before I could finally use the mic I wanted to use. The on-screen audio levels monitoring is a very useful feature and the live audio monitoring port is beyond useful. The Camcorder is best suited to mobile situations due to the stabilization but still, requires a steady hand to prevent jittery footage. The camera shoots acceptable quality in low light although it does take quite a while to recover focus in a dimly lit environment after it's lost it. The zoom pulled subjects in pretty close whilst maintaining admirable quality even when projected onto a large screen. Battery life is pretty much acceptable, but that's coming from a DSLR user so to the average user it is good and unless if you're deciding to take it on like 3-hour shoots without battery chargers and recording at the highest settings I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I wasn't even sure you could attach shotgun mics to the CX625. Is there a panel on the top?

 

[another random person]

5 minutes ago, Inversion said:

I wasn't even sure you could attach shotgun mics to the CX625. Is there a panel on the top?

 

Yes there is, when it's not in use there is a door built in.

[Inversion]

16 minutes ago, another random person said:

Yes there is, when it's not in use there is a door built in.

Ah okay. I'll only be able to get it if it's on sale or used anyway