Been out of the game as far as equipment wise for a few years. Me and my crew have 3 Canon HFM30s, a R900 and a Sony NEX 7. All circa 2012/2013 cameras. Been good to us, but next year will be time to upgrade. I dont want to spend much more than $1000-$1500 if i dont have to, so suggesting 2k-3k setups is unnecessary. Suggestions?
I'm not saying this is the best camera on the market, but this camera is probably the best bang for your buck hands down if you are looking for a camcorder type camera. JVC GY-HM170UA 4KCAM Compact Professional Camcorder GY-HM170UA An A7S II is on my wish list due to the low light capabilities, but it's way too rich for my blood.
I'm running the G30. You can buy the refurb's off Canon's website. They seem to come in and out of stock every few days, and right now they are marked down to $449. I've had two of them now (ended up breaking one ), they are a great deal and camera for what you guys are doing. https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/camcorders/refurbished-consumer-camcorders
For your budget I believe you're hard pressed to beat the Sony FDR-AX100. It's small, compact, light weight and best of all packs a 1" sensor and films in 4K. The large sensor is great in low light, gives amazing color and clarity, and the depth of field rivals many DSLRs. The one drawback is that it's only a 12x optical zoom where many cameras in this category are 20x. Although for bowhunting in the woods it's rarely an issue for me. Myself, Dusto, Tyler Rector and a few other guys on our team are all using this camera. I happened to be searching to see what else was out there in a similar price/feature range right now and I couldn't find anything even close. Although be forewarned, if you drop your backpack out of the tree with your camera in it, and it lands on the frozen tundra, it may or may not jack up your lens and you'll have to pay $500 to get it repaired. Don't ask how I know.
Great post and just what I want to hear boss. The 12x zoom is less than desirable but I can live with it for bowhunting.
The G30 has always been on my radar since were very familiar with Canon. Any examples of videos from it?
HB uses them and I believe some of Jim Shockey's stuff is shot on them as well. Sent from my Turbo 2.
It works - there's just a bug in Chrome that stops the space bar from working when you type under the Quote. If you type above it everything works ok. Tons of people out there complaining, but nobody seems to want to come up with a fix. To answer your question, plenty of folks out there filming with RED cameras. HB, Shockey, etc. I don't believe they use them in the field exclusively, but they do use them.
If you're going to ante up for a new camera, do yourself a favor and buy 4K. I really don't see the value in buying a 1080 HD camera when that technology is on it's way out.
Sometimes when I hit reply with quote, it only quotes half the previous post, and doesn't end wrap it. Also...cool to know about HB and Shockey. When is BH.com gonna make the jump?
