Been looking at some cameras and they are between the canon hf m50. Is this a good camera to start with or should I look for something else?
Things to consider. Low light is generally very important for filming hunts. Do some Youtube research and see how that camera handles low light situations. I'm sure there are tons of review video's out there. Also, 10x optical is the bare minimum, 20x would be better if you have the funds. I can't speak specifically about this camera since I've never used it. It looks as though it was introduced a little over 3 years ago. In technology, that's a pretty long time. I guess it really boils down to your budget. Tell us how much you are willing to spend, and we'll see what fits your budget. I started out with a Canon HF R300, but quickly realized I needed something better for low light and I upgraded soon after. There's lots or really nice options on the market these days.
Take a look at this camera. It has a pretty large image sensor for a consumers grade camcorder. That should reflect in much better low light video. The only thing I'm not sure with is whether or not it has the capabilities of adding a Lanc remote. Panasonic HC-V770 Full HD Camcorder HC-V770K B&H Photo Video
Yea I'm looking for good low light, adding a shotgun mic, and wanting it to be compatible with a LANC
A little outside your price, but this is a good deal on a really nice camera. Canon VIXIA HF G30 Refurbished | Canon Online Store
I'm not real familiar with it, but here's one man's take on it. [video=youtube_share;AJMOz7fLp5Q]http://youtu.be/AJMOz7fLp5Q[/video]
Haha. One of the most popular and best compact professional cameras is the Canon XA20. It's a great camera. Just about everyone I've know that has one loves it. The reason I mentioned the G30 is that it is basically the same camera as the XA20, it just doesn't have the pro feature of XLR audio. The low light of the G30 will easily surpass just about any single small sensor consumer camcorder. It works with a lanc remote and you can add a shotgun mic like the Rode Video mic. Bill Winke w. Midwest Whitetail speaks very highly of the G30, and several of their Pro-Staffers use them.
I would highly recommend the Canon G30 if you want to stretch your budget a little. I have the XA20 and I absolutly love it! No complaints thus far after one year with it. Before that I had a Sony CX550 and it was a great little camera to start off with. You can find them used on ebay for around $400-$500 but they are not the best in low light like pretty much all basic camcorders. If low light is a big priority like for most hunters, I would try to get the G30, I believe you would be very happy with it. Hope this helps!
Out of those choices, the G20 would be hands down the best option. It's a great camera, similar to the G30. Just realize that all these only have a 10X zoom and that is very limiting when trying to film wildlife. Anything that the cameras advertise that is not optical zoom will give you terrible footage. The digital zoom's are nothing but blowing up the pixels on these cameras, which degrades the quality of footage. The G20 will be almost as good in low light as the G30, it has a slightly smaller sensor.
This is what I just bought, if you have the funds this camera will not let you down! Very good advice from Skywalker. Manfrotto MAMT190X3 MT190X3 Aluminum Tripod 1 $179.88 $179.88 SanDisk SAUSD32GB 32GB Ultra UHS-I SDHC Memory Card (Class 10) 2 $18.95 $37.90 Canon CABP820 BP-820 Lithium-Ion Battery Pack (1780mAh) 1 $89.99 $89.99 Manfrotto MA128RC 128RC QR Micro Fluid Head 1 $104.88 $104.88 Canon CADM100 DM-100 Directional Stereo Microphone 1 $189.95 $189.95 Canon CAHFG30 VIXIA HF G30 Full HD Camcorder 1 $1,248.00 $1,248.00 Revo REVRSCL VRS-LANC Wired Remote Control for Camcorders with LANC Terminal
Man I wish I had the funds like you do at the time. This will be my first time ever filming. I want something that will fill my needs for now and that I will be happy with. Then I figured I would find me a good editing program and play around with it
Yes, absolutely. Optical zoom is what the cameras lenses will do. Digital zoom is done by software camera. Most digital zooms are nothing more than cropping the image and blowing up the size of the pixels. What you end up with is an image that is no longer sharp and crisp, but will look more blurred and blocky. Sharp edges will become jagged. There are some cameras that do a better job of this, but usually they are going to be in a higher end camera. For example my Sony PXW-X70 has what they call a clear image zoom. It's a 12X optical lens, but it can be stretched out to 24X using the clear image zoom with basically no image loss. This is accomplished by using a larger sensor than what standard HD requires, so it is already cropped on the sensor. When you zoom past the optical limit of the lens, then the camera uses software to actually increase the area of the sensor that it is utilizing.
Certainly understandable, most of us have been in the same boat and we are just talking from experience. I guess the real question is what do you want to get out of filming your hunts? You certainly don't need a high end camera to film and maybe starting with a low end camera is the right choice for you. Experience tells me that the majority of deer activity for me happens the first hour in the morning and the last half hour of the evening. Most hanycams w. small sensors just can't gather enough light to get quality footage during those times. My personal goal is to produce pro quality video, so I tend to look at cameras from that angle. I know that not everyone has the same goals, so their camera requirements are not the same as mine. Any camera will work, but if you aspire to produce higher end footage, they simply won't do the job. That's why I pose the question of what do you want to get out of filming your hunts.
Looking just for something where I can get some decent footage in low light without it looking awful and doesn't have to be the best camera footage but I still want it to look good since I will be filming for a hunting organization
I purchased the g10 and it is a awesome camera but after a year i upgraded to the g30 and the 20x optical zoom makes a ton of difference . I kept the g10 for running around shooting broll, interviews, 2nd angles that kinda stuff. The g10 is a great great camera though. A buddy of mind found a refurbished one on cannons website for 500.00 with free shipping and a 1 year warranty awhile back.
