Picking a camera

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Permalink Reply by Zac Echola on January 22, 2008 at 3:06pm

Here's a cheap and quick video set up for PC that I recommend to very small papers looking for a cheap solution for producing occasional videos:

Any of the JVC Everio G hard disk cameras will give you some dead easy to use, bare bones equipment, but enough to get your video off to a start. (Only most expensive model has an audio jack, which is really important for many situations, but not always necessary for quick, low-production video). Look into other hard disk cameras, too. There are some increasingly awesome options out there. HD for the web is mostly unnecessary. If you plan on doing LOTS of video, it's worth it to find more expensive and extensible camera equipment.

Adobe Premiere Elements allows you to edit and upload to YouTube right out of the software. It's the best bang for the cheap price, in my opinion, and will do just about every editing trick you need (news video rarely requires more than simple edits).

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Myrick on January 22, 2008 at 3:23pm

Kyle,

I'd definitely NOT suggest using the camera I bought for the video I want to do on my site, the Aiptek 720HD Model they have (I can't remember the exact model number, but that's not as important.) The audio quality is so lacking, and it's lack of an audio-in port make it nearly worthless. The video quality is actually pretty good for how cheap it is, but unless you want to do audio with a separate recorder, I'd not suggest it at all. I know you and I have talked about what you should teach the staff about video editing, and the more I think about it I think Zac is right in suggesting Adobe Premiere Elements.

-Kev

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Permalink Reply by Marcel Levy on January 22, 2008 at 9:23pm

We got a lot of very nice HD gear as part of Gannett's move to online video. Having the high-end kit is extremely useful, and obviously you want to shoot the highest quality video you can. But to be honest, I would suggest consumer-grade digital cameras that can shoot video and some low-end video software (iMovie if possible). It's easier to get started both in terms of time and money, and it forces you to concentrate on the story, not the technical issues. Yes, the sound is going to suck, and you'll be limited to certain lighting situations. But if it's a good story your viewers won't care. Great production values won't save a bad story. I can't recall seeing many corporate training videos available for rent.

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Permalink Reply by Carlos Virgen on January 23, 2008 at 11:42am

We've just started to use the Canon HV20 which is an HD camera(the price has dropped some recently) with a mic jack. But really, the main thing is to find a camera with a external mic jack since crappy audio will overshadow any good video footage you get. For a while I was shooting with a Canon ZR800 which has the mic input and you can probably find for under $300.

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Permalink Reply by Angela Grant on January 23, 2008 at 5:11pm

Kyle, I founded a blog called News Videographer with multiple writers and we have a gear and software category. If you look through it you may find a post that can offer some insight.

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Permalink Reply by Kyle Hansen on February 6, 2008 at 12:57pm

Thanks for all the great tips. We went ahead and got a Cannon HV20, and so far, it is really good. We are still experimenting with video, it is new for everyone in our newsroom, including me. I think www.thespartandaily.com/media/storage/paper852/news/2008/01/23/Mult...">this is the best video we have done so far, although I have since fixed the problem of the poles going through the girl's head...

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Permalink Reply by Dan Telvock on February 7, 2008 at 10:46pm

I need help too. The newspaper just bought me a SOny SR-200. I love it but the darn video is not compatible with Movie MAker or my PC. Movie Maker will not read MPEG apparently. It only takes the audio.

What I want is a similar camera that works on Movie Maker. My mission is to be able to download and edit short video quickly for quick blogging and breaking news. I would also like to further edit video into larger multimedia projects.

Can anyone recommend something less than $800? USB ready. HELP

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Permalink Reply by Angela Grant on February 8, 2008 at 9:02am

How about ditching movie maker instead of buying a whole new camera? Movie Maker sucks! It's a freakin Windows product, what more can you say?

Sounds like you're using a PC. Look into buying Pinnacle or Sony Vegas. They both cost much less than $800. They actually feature professional video editing features, unlike Windows Movie Maker.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Telvock on February 8, 2008 at 12:50pm

Oh Angela. I am stuck with what I have software wise.

I think they are also going to try and make the SONY work somehow.

It's a pain in the butt because I haven't been able to get out there and use this camera and download it easily to my computer, which was the idea. All I wanted to do was be able to record a short interview and download it to my pc and quickly upload it onto my blog. So far, no good.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Myrick on February 8, 2008 at 12:54pm

Why don't you try finding some free encoding software that will take it from MPEG and put it in the WMV file so that way you can work with it still? That seems to be a good solution here if you can't get new software.

Also: if they aren't willing to fork out cash on Pinnacle or Sony Vegas, how about Premiere Elements? Obviously it's not as powerful as Premiere itself, but for what you're looking to do it could be a cheap solution that your bosses (and maybe IT could live with...)

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Permalink Reply by Dan Telvock on February 8, 2008 at 4:07pm

IT is working on the CODEC now. What a pain in the butt.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Myrick on February 8, 2008 at 4:09pm

Oh, the wonderful joys of not having the tools that you need... isn't it fun?

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