Help me pick a video camera

[Oleg Volk]

I'd like to do a lot more video work, especially RKBA related commercials. I am currently using consumer-grade DV camcorders, with all their interface and image quality limitations. I'd like suggestions on the video camera and directional + lavalier microphones.
I do not care about the physical size of the video camera.

The must-have features are:

   1. Physical (non-menu) adjustment for manual exposure
   2. Focusing ring
   3. Accessory shoe
   4. Battery charging should be outside of the camera

    * I would prefer 720P to 1080i, unless it has capability for both.
    * Would prefer 3CCDs, but that is not a requirement.
    * Non-interchangeable lens with moderate tele capabilities would be fine.
    * Lens based image stabilization would be helpful.
    * Levels or, at least, overexposure warning in the viewfinder would be very helpful.
    * Audio level monitor would be helpful.
    * Pro color space would be nice, if affordable

The main issue right now is that I'd like the camera to use some sort of random-access media. Hard drive would be best, micro-drive also OK, DVD less desirable. The list of models with the features I'd like that do not write to tape seems limited. At least one Sony model has either exposure or focus control but not both at the same time, which is unacceptable. Canons seems to have the right features but they all write to tape.

Budget: up to $3,500 for the camera. Would need a tripod, pare batteries, light and microphones also, so raising funds for it would likely take until summer.

[Manedwolf]

You'll unfortunately find that most of the "big" pro cameras used for such things as news reporting and the like are still Betacam SP. One of the primary reasons for this was until literally just now, even the best DVCAM exhibited unacceptable compression artifacts when moving at high speed in a zoom or pan, whereas the analog Beta SP does not. Another issue was that the data stream of raw HD footage is so staggeringly large that it might be difficult for an in-camera hard drive to keep up with writing operations without frame drops, so a large buffer of fast memory would be needed...raising the price. If you've worked with any HD files, even short clips are measured in the tens of gigabytes.

Beta SP also has the additional cost of an editing deck and a converter to DV, (I recommend the Canopus models), which is another few thousand! One persistent advantage of tape is that you only need capture for editing the bits you need off the tape, leaving the "dead" footage on the master tape just in case it's ever needed, instead of filling up racks of hard drives with it.

And as we're in a transition to the new technology, the newest pure-digital cameras are...pricey. One of the next generation, like a Sony CineAlta HDCAM camcorder, shoulder type, runs about $80,000.



CineAlta. Yes, they cost $80K. Don't drop it.

[280plus]

CineAlta. Yes, they cost $80K. Don't drop it.

$80,000 ?? Kaaak, can't breathe... 

Stupid question time, sorry I have no input for you but I've always wondered, do video cams capture the images as seperate frames like movie film or is the image a continous stream like an audio tape recorder?