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further thoughts on a camcorder for a neophyte1. I understand that consumer cameras don't come close to prof. quality cameras but I don't care to spend several thousand bucks at this point. 2. I understand that tape has the best quality- but with a hard drive camera - the video can be "captured" much faster to my computer- which feature I like. 3. A hard drive camera can record many hours- but the batteries can only work for an hour or so- so I'd either have to have several (expensive) batteries or just get used to not recording several hours on any given day- this problem of course is true for any camera dependent on batteries. But, can these batteries be charged from a vehicle- as I can do with my cell phone? 4. My editing needs are minimal- some cutting and pasting- adding a simple title, etc. Probably doable with Windows Movie Maker on my Vista system. 5. Though I could get by with a non hidef camera, since I expect to get a hidef TV in the next year or so, I might as well get a hidef cam- even if my needs at this point won't require it- as I mostly want to produce some clips for YouTube or a similar site. Basically, my goal is to produce video clips- perhaps 10-20 minutes long which should look decent but don't have to have a highly professional look. Since my competition (forestry consulting work) is so backwards- few even have a basic web site- if the clips look decent, I'm light years beyond them- and will win many points with my possible clients. So, I want to conveniently do the recording without bothering with tapes- quickly move that video to my PC (a high end system with a 24" flatscreen- widescreen monitor and very high end video card- duel CPU - 2 gigs RAM)- do some basic editing- and move the clip to YouTube or whatever server (hopefully the server will cost little or nothing). I've read some good reviews on the Canon HD-20 (I think that's it's name)- and similar Sony camcorders in the $1,000 more or less price range. And, at least with the Canon, I'll need to get an extra microphone as the built in one sucks- maybe an extra lens or two (especially a wide angle for recording in forests). Presumably Windows Movie Maker can do the basic editing, titling and saving to the proper format to upload to the net? Keeping in mind that a few months ago I knew zero about video- I'm starting to "get it". Does my plan make sense or am I totally missing something? Joe Show quote
"Joe" <a**@xyz.com> wrote in message news:y94pi.4160$Gs4.3618@trndny05... Honestly? You're going to wind up with low-quality, amateur video. If > OK, here's my thinking at this point: > > 1. I understand that consumer cameras don't come close to prof. quality > cameras but I don't care to spend several thousand bucks at this point. > 2. I understand that tape has the best quality- but with a hard drive > camera - the video can be "captured" much faster to my computer- which > feature I like. > 3. A hard drive camera can record many hours- but the batteries can only > work for an hour or so- so I'd either have to have several (expensive) > batteries or just get used to not recording several hours on any given > day- this problem of course is true for any camera dependent on batteries. > But, can these batteries be charged from a vehicle- as I can do with my > cell phone? > 4. My editing needs are minimal- some cutting and pasting- adding a simple > title, etc. Probably doable with Windows Movie Maker on my Vista system. > 5. Though I could get by with a non hidef camera, since I expect to get a > hidef TV in the next year or so, I might as well get a hidef cam- even if > my needs at this point won't require it- as I mostly want to produce some > clips for YouTube or a similar site. > > Basically, my goal is to produce video clips- perhaps 10-20 minutes long > which should look decent but don't have to have a highly professional > look. Since my competition (forestry consulting work) is so backwards- few > even have a basic web site- if the clips look decent, I'm light years > beyond them- and will win many points with my possible clients. > > So, I want to conveniently do the recording without bothering with tapes- > quickly move that video to my PC (a high end system with a 24" flatscreen- > widescreen monitor and very high end video card- duel CPU - 2 gigs RAM)- > do some basic editing- and move the clip to YouTube or whatever server > (hopefully the server will cost little or nothing). > > I've read some good reviews on the Canon HD-20 (I think that's it's name)- > and similar Sony camcorders in the $1,000 more or less price range. And, > at least with the Canon, I'll need to get an extra microphone as the built > in one sucks- maybe an extra lens or two (especially a wide angle for > recording in forests). > > Presumably Windows Movie Maker can do the basic editing, titling and > saving to the proper format to upload to the net? > > Keeping in mind that a few months ago I knew zero about video- I'm > starting to "get it". Does my plan make sense or am I totally missing > something? > > Joe that's good enough for your purposes, then fine -- I really have no input to add beyond what I've already said. Show quote > Well, I simply can't afford to hire a pro or buy a pro camera- I should
think that if I'm careful I could come up with something useful- which as I indicated should be far beyond my competition. I won't try anything fancy- I'll have it on my nice Manfrotto tripod and I have a sense about lighting from my 35 mm days. People say I have a good eye when it comes to photography and graphics stuff. If and when I come with anything, I'll let you guys offer your comments. Joe Show quote "PTravel" <ptra***@travelersvideo.com> wrote in message news:5gk1vlF3g54kmU1@mid.individual.net... > > "Joe" <a**@xyz.com> wrote in message news:y94pi.4160$Gs4.3618@trndny05... >> OK, here's my thinking at this point: >> >> 1. I understand that consumer cameras don't come close to prof. quality >> cameras but I don't care to spend several thousand bucks at this point. >> 2. I understand that tape has the best quality- but with a hard drive >> camera - the video can be "captured" much faster to my computer- which >> feature I like. >> 3. A hard drive camera can record many hours- but the batteries can only >> work for an hour or so- so I'd either have to have several (expensive) >> batteries or just get used to not recording several hours on any given >> day- this problem of course is true for any camera dependent on >> batteries. But, can these batteries be charged from a vehicle- as I can >> do with my cell phone? >> 4. My editing needs are minimal- some cutting and pasting- adding a >> simple title, etc. Probably doable with Windows Movie Maker on my Vista >> system. >> 5. Though I could get by with a non hidef camera, since I expect to get a >> hidef TV in the next year or so, I might as well get a hidef cam- even if >> my needs at this point won't require it- as I mostly want to produce some >> clips for YouTube or a similar site. >> >> Basically, my goal is to produce video clips- perhaps 10-20 minutes long >> which should look decent but don't have to have a highly professional >> look. Since my competition (forestry consulting work) is so backwards- >> few even have a basic web site- if the clips look decent, I'm light years >> beyond them- and will win many points with my possible clients. >> >> So, I want to conveniently do the recording without bothering with tapes- >> quickly move that video to my PC (a high end system with a 24" >> flatscreen- widescreen monitor and very high end video card- duel CPU - 2 >> gigs RAM)- do some basic editing- and move the clip to YouTube or >> whatever server (hopefully the server will cost little or nothing). >> >> I've read some good reviews on the Canon HD-20 (I think that's it's >> name)- and similar Sony camcorders in the $1,000 more or less price >> range. And, at least with the Canon, I'll need to get an extra microphone >> as the built in one sucks- maybe an extra lens or two (especially a wide >> angle for recording in forests). >> >> Presumably Windows Movie Maker can do the basic editing, titling and >> saving to the proper format to upload to the net? >> >> Keeping in mind that a few months ago I knew zero about video- I'm >> starting to "get it". Does my plan make sense or am I totally missing >> something? >> >> Joe > > Honestly? You're going to wind up with low-quality, amateur video. If > that's good enough for your purposes, then fine -- I really have no input > to add beyond what I've already said. > >> > Show quote
On Jul 23, 10:53 am, "Joe" <a***@xyz.com> wrote: You better double check on that hard drive camcorder. The ones I> OK, here's my thinking at this point: > > 1. I understand that consumer cameras don't come close to prof. quality > cameras but I don't care to spend several thousand bucks at this point. > 2. I understand that tape has the best quality- but with a hard drive > camera - the video can be "captured" much faster to my computer- which > feature I like. > 3. A hard drive camera can record many hours- but the batteries can only > work for an hour or so- so I'd either have to have several (expensive) > batteries or just get used to not recording several hours on any given day- > this problem of course is true for any camera dependent on batteries. But, > can these batteries be charged from a vehicle- as I can do with my cell > phone? > 4. My editing needs are minimal- some cutting and pasting- adding a simple > title, etc. Probably doable with Windows Movie Maker on my Vista system. > 5. Though I could get by with a non hidef camera, since I expect to get a > hidef TV in the next year or so, I might as well get a hidef cam- even if my > needs at this point won't require it- as I mostly want to produce some clips > for YouTube or a similar site. > > Basically, my goal is to produce video clips- perhaps 10-20 minutes long > which should look decent but don't have to have a highly professional look. > Since my competition (forestry consulting work) is so backwards- few even > have a basic web site- if the clips look decent, I'm light years beyond > them- and will win many points with my possible clients. > > So, I want to conveniently do the recording without bothering with tapes- > quickly move that video to my PC (a high end system with a 24" flatscreen- > widescreen monitor and very high end video card- duel CPU - 2 gigs RAM)- do > some basic editing- and move the clip to YouTube or whatever server > (hopefully the server will cost little or nothing). > > I've read some good reviews on the Canon HD-20 (I think that's it's name)- > and similar Sony camcorders in the $1,000 more or less price range. And, at > least with the Canon, I'll need to get an extra microphone as the built in > one sucks- maybe an extra lens or two (especially a wide angle for recording > in forests). > > Presumably Windows Movie Maker can do the basic editing, titling and saving > to the proper format to upload to the net? > > Keeping in mind that a few months ago I knew zero about video- I'm starting > to "get it". Does my plan make sense or am I totally missing something? > > Joe have heard about transfer video at the same 1X speed as tape based camcorders. Using tapes will be the least of your problems. Yes, you should be able to charge your batteries from your lighter socket in your car if you buy the right charger. I wouldn't assume that you will produce professional looking video just because you have some experience with taking still photos. How much interviewing have you done? How are you at voice-overs. I think you are underestimating the difficulty of producing nice looking video that you can sell. Good Luck. Dave Well, I'm not going to try to sell the videos- the idea is to show land
owners that I'm the coolest "professional forester" in the state- most foresters are, well, not so bright- few have web sites and those aren't very good- I've had a web site, an extensive one for a decade. If forest owners are thinking about retaining a consulting forester- and I'm the only guy with a series of video clips on the net and an extensive web site- they're likely to conclude that I'm the guy to retain. I have seen some amateur video which looked OK and I think I can do better- so, thought it won't be professional quality by a long shot- it will be infinitely more professional than the competition- many of whom can barely turn on a computer. Since large landowners in my area tend to be professional types- most with high speed internet, mostly sophisticated people- I think I'll win some points. When I did my web site I taught myself HTML programming and did some neat tricks with it- so I can at least learn the essentials of video- and I do have a good sense of graphics. One of the problems of trying to get across to forest owners the subject of forestry is that- it's a difficult subject to explain by the usual means, that is by brochures and photography- I think using video will be an improvement. If I find that I want to do more- and that I can't accomplish what I can imagine, then I'll start talking to a pro to see how they could do it- at that point it might be worth spending the extra money- it's just basic economics- if I could spend $10,000 on a pro and get back $100,000 in business it would be a great investment- but experimenting on my own in this field will make me a better purchaser of those professional services, I think, Joe <dcasper***@email.com> wrote in message Show quote news:1185253846.972870.258730@r34g2000hsd.googlegroups.com... > On Jul 23, 10:53 am, "Joe" <a***@xyz.com> wrote: >> OK, here's my thinking at this point: >> >> 1. I understand that consumer cameras don't come close to prof. quality >> cameras but I don't care to spend several thousand bucks at this point. >> 2. I understand that tape has the best quality- but with a hard drive >> camera - the video can be "captured" much faster to my computer- which >> feature I like. >> 3. A hard drive camera can record many hours- but the batteries can only >> work for an hour or so- so I'd either have to have several (expensive) >> batteries or just get used to not recording several hours on any given >> day- >> this problem of course is true for any camera dependent on batteries. >> But, >> can these batteries be charged from a vehicle- as I can do with my cell >> phone? >> 4. My editing needs are minimal- some cutting and pasting- adding a >> simple >> title, etc. Probably doable with Windows Movie Maker on my Vista system. >> 5. Though I could get by with a non hidef camera, since I expect to get a >> hidef TV in the next year or so, I might as well get a hidef cam- even if >> my >> needs at this point won't require it- as I mostly want to produce some >> clips >> for YouTube or a similar site. >> >> Basically, my goal is to produce video clips- perhaps 10-20 minutes long >> which should look decent but don't have to have a highly professional >> look. >> Since my competition (forestry consulting work) is so backwards- few even >> have a basic web site- if the clips look decent, I'm light years beyond >> them- and will win many points with my possible clients. >> >> So, I want to conveniently do the recording without bothering with tapes- >> quickly move that video to my PC (a high end system with a 24" >> flatscreen- >> widescreen monitor and very high end video card- duel CPU - 2 gigs RAM)- >> do >> some basic editing- and move the clip to YouTube or whatever server >> (hopefully the server will cost little or nothing). >> >> I've read some good reviews on the Canon HD-20 (I think that's it's >> name)- >> and similar Sony camcorders in the $1,000 more or less price range. And, >> at >> least with the Canon, I'll need to get an extra microphone as the built >> in >> one sucks- maybe an extra lens or two (especially a wide angle for >> recording >> in forests). >> >> Presumably Windows Movie Maker can do the basic editing, titling and >> saving >> to the proper format to upload to the net? >> >> Keeping in mind that a few months ago I knew zero about video- I'm >> starting >> to "get it". Does my plan make sense or am I totally missing something? >> >> Joe > > You better double check on that hard drive camcorder. The ones I > have heard about transfer video at the same 1X speed as tape based > camcorders. Using tapes will be the least of your problems. Yes, > you should be able to charge your batteries from your lighter socket > in your car if you buy the right charger. I wouldn't assume that > you will produce professional looking video just because you have some > experience with taking still photos. How much interviewing have you > done? How are you at voice-overs. I think you are > underestimating the difficulty of producing nice looking video that > you can sell. Good Luck. > > Dave >  |
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