What Camera

brianregan09

Hey all we're starting up an amateur production company to make short movies and such and basiclly i'm the one thats going to be getting the equipment and I want to know whats the best camera to get my budget is about 100-300 Max and also the best editing software , we only have a toshiba satelitte laptop so it'll need to run on that

We're already on the case for a H1 sound recorder and we're going to need a boom pole and mic too so please guys give us a hand and point us in the right direction

landsleaving

You'll get very, very little for that money.

Best camera I could recommend is a second hand 1100D and kit lens, which isn't great, but will give you 720p video. Here's one for 220: http://www.adverts.ie/digital-cameras/canon-eos-1100d-18-55mm-accessories/5220648

Then put the remaining cash you have into a tripod. Don't expect smooth panning and tilting, but for static shots you'll be grand.

For editing, lightworks is free, but complicated. You have a few free options and none are good, might be worth having a go with Adobe Creative Cloud and subscribing to Premiere Pro. But costly, again.

If you can push some more into the budget - 600D, 18-55mm, 50mm f1.8 will do you nicely for camera for now.

If you're all going into this company lark together, perhaps you shouldn't be the only one getting gear. It gets VERY expensive.

ScumLord

€300 max probably wouldn't even be a good minimum budget for what you're looking for, the best in film tends to cost tens of thousands.

I know people love using DSLRs for film and you can get some incredible results but I wouldn't rely on one for your main film camera, it's not designed for film so is going to have some awkwardness and to get the best out of them you should have a basic knowledge of how to use a manual camera.

You should be able to get a second hand Sony camcorder at a reasonable price, they can be easier to use and the media lasts longer and is cheaper per minute. A decent sony cam can cost well over €1000 even second hand, so you'll have to do some research and keep an eye open for a deal. You'll need to budget for a tripod like landsleaving said, but once you have that there are DIY steadicam rigs you can make for fancier shots.

The editing side of things can be very expensive too, a good editor like premiere pro cost used to cost something like €600 but they have a monthly plan now with their cloud service which makes things easier. Premiere is fairly straight forward so you won't need more than a week or two to learn it.

The next problem will more than likely be your laptop, editing requires some serious grunt in a PC. My PC has 16gb of ram for that reason. You'll need a lot of hard drive space for your video files too.

brianregan09

Just a little further development on this we have decided to push the boat out that little bit more for a Canon 600DLSR its what most of the amateur film makers down here in Limerick use so we're going to use that

Also we have a 2nd camera person on board and they also have the same camera so for editing and stuff for us it'll be a lot easier if we're both using the same gear,

Editing wise what about AVID is that expensive or what ?

landsleaving

If you already have access to a camera, put your money into sound gear. Good sound is MUCH more important than having all the pretty pictures. You could shoot on a phone and make something good, as long as the audio is good.

For editing, you might have some resources locally, worth asking around. I know in Dublin there's fairly cheap access to editing computers in Rua Red, so maybe there's a similar space in Limerick? If you're not editing a huge amount it might be a cheaper option. Plus it saves you buying a computer for editing on as well.

Avid is expensive. They're all bloody expensive! Premiere's subscription model is probably the best value.

You'll also need to think about syncing sound if you shoot on a DSLR, so you may need to buy something like pluraleyes if you don't feel like wasting hours doing it manually. If you can't afford that, buy a cheap clapperboard and mark your shots well.

Fionn

Lightworks is ok for free! if you want to buy editing software you could do a lot worse than something like Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD 11 you could get it from CVP in the UK for around €40 or so, or Sony Movie Studio Platinum 12 which is a bit dearer at €75. Also consider Davinci Resolve Lite it's a free version of resolve 11 - a very competent colour grader very good skill to aacquire too.

As already mentioned if your using DSLRs you'll need an audio solution, you could try and source something like a Yamaha C24 (discontinued) or Sony ICDPX333 (about €60 or so) Zoom H1 Portable Pocket Digital Recorder.
you'll get away with less than perfect video, but if your sound is poor, it really drags down the whole production.
Try get a tripod with a video head rather than a photography one.

also the lens choice will have an influence on the image quality of your work
and finally you'll need storage, you cant have just one card for productions, you'll need several and perhaps lighting, the list is endless really, all adds up.

and http://www.hollywoodcamerawork.us/sd_index.html handy app for designing your shots

good luck

off.the.walls

Save up a bit more get a canon 650d or a 600d if you're feeling really really tight on the cash check out adverts.ie for some of the second hand cams. When you get it instal magic lantern on it and you will be able to monitor sound levels and use a few different iso settings available on the likes of the 60d and stuff like that.

If you are serious about getting a business going with a production company look into enterprise ireland or any assistant grants that are available for start up companies friend of mine got 6k for opening a studio. So you would be in with a good change of getting something.

In terms of audio the tascam dr 40 has two ext mic inputs aswel as the onboard ones. its about 50 quid cheaper than the zoom h4 but i've found it better to use!.