Filmed for 2 or 3 years pretty seriously probably 5 or 6 years ago. It got to the point where it became a chore, so I eventually went away from it. I started to miss it quite a bit this season, and the feeling has never really faded so I'd like to get back in to it. I've been scouring this forum as others, but looking for some advice on a new setup. I'll mostly be self filming, so no DSLR for now. Feel like I've narrowed things down pretty well to the canon G series, but wondering what comparable cams there are in the G20/30 price range? I for sure want something that is LANC compatible, but past that I'm open. This will be mostly for my memory, but since I was fairly serious in to this at one time and I know my way around editing, I know I'm going to want a setup that lets me make quality videos. One other thing I'm wondering about is the 10x vs 20x optical zoom. Seems like 20x is the general consensus, but as a bow hunter that mostly hunts hardwoods, is 10x a deal breaker? At what ballpark yardage is 10x not enough for a decent picture? I ran a XA10 for a bit at the end and really liked it, but I cant remember a ton about the 10x zoom.
I got into self-filming 3-4 years ago using a Sony handy cam & cheap camera arm. Now that my son is older (11) I really enjoy filming him. I’ve upgraded in the last year or so & use a Canon G40 with Rodemic & Varizoom on a 4th arrow Stiff Arm & Manfrotto fluid head. Highly recommend all of it. I’ve got an older Manfrotto pro fluid head I’d sell you at a great price if you’re interested. PM me for pics. I’ve got a friend that I’m talking to about it so he could buy it but I haven’t heard back from him yet. Let me know & good luck! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The G20/G30/G40 series of Canon's is pretty much the go to right now when you weigh performance relative to price within the casual hunt filming community. They shoot a great image for a great value. I ran a Canon XA20 (big brother to the G30) for a number of years. It was a phenomenal camera, but it also had features like XLR inputs that the G series does not have. The G series are 1080 cameras with no 4K option. When you consider all things, for the money today, I'd look at the Sony AX100 or AX53 (if budget is an issue). Head to head, I think the Sony AX series is more bang for the buck over the Canon G series in today's market, even though the price point is higher. Something like the AX100 is more future proof right now. 1080 will always be 1080. 4K will always be 4k, but can be ran at 1080 in camera or pulled down in a 1080 timeline in post. This is a complete 180 from my mind set a year ago. Now that I run a 4k camera, I see the value and power of it. Canon and Sony both have released their next generation of 4K video cameras as well, but the budget will have to be larger to get into those models. At the end of the day it comes down to what your budget will allow and what you have or are willing to spend on an editing machine/software when it comes to 4k over 1080 primarily. As far as your zoom question ... this is personal preference really. I loved the 20x zoom on my old Canon XA20. It would reach out there. When I sold it and moved to a Sony A6500 with interchangeable lenses, zoom was a real concern. My longest lens goes to 105 mm, far far less than a 20x in a Canon XA20, which is about an equivalent of 576 mm. Even with Clear Image Zoom turned on I can only get to 210 mm. That being said, as a bow hunter, I can honestly say that I have not missed the extra reach this season. Most of my hunting is in thickets and timber pinch points, so 576 mm of zoom is way over kill for me. Yea there have been a few times when on a field edge that I have had a deer 200 yards away and I cannot zoom in tight, but it hasn't mattered to me honestly. I get long zoom for gun hunting, where you might be filming a 200 yard kill shot, but for bow hunting unless you are just desperate for long range B-roll and setup footage, I no longer see the need. If you can get it, great, but if you cannot I don't think it is all that big of a deal to me like I used to think it was. Just my thoughts. If you have any questions, let me know. I have filmed with video cameras, DSLR's, and mirrorless. Right now my go to is mirrorless.
Thanks, some good info there. I'll check out the Sony stuff. I'm more familiar with the canon cameras from using them before, but I'm not opposed to other brands either. As far as the 1080p vs 4K, I used final cut in the past and I'm pretty familiar with that, so that's likely what I'll stick with. I haven't used it in a bit though, so not sure what the 4K editing capabilities are like with it. I do gun hunt a little, but I'm a bow hunter first so most of my hunting is done in scenarios where I won't likely need 20x. It sounds like I could probably get away with 10x for now, but definitely something to keep in mind. What made you switch from the XA20 to a mirrorless? I did have a DSLR for a while and I liked it a lot for film, but since I'll be self filming now the camcorder with a LANC seemed like the way to go.
An honest answer ... I was getting bored with filming and photo work. Firing up my XA20 and filming a deer kill or turkey kill got kind of easy. Video projects just didn't have the feel or look that I wanted. I've always loved the images that come with a DSLR, but to self film with a DSLR wasn't fun for me. I wanted something in between. I also wasn't happy with images from my Canon 7D, which were most likely me. That camera and I never got along well. I have some friends in the industry who film on Sony A7 series cameras and was intrigued. The turning point was on these forums when Skywalker pointed out that the Sony mirrorless cameras can be controlled with a Sony specific remote which closely resembles a LanC control, and that Sony has a series of Power Zoom lenses that the remote can control. So I literally sold everything I had invested in Canon and invested totally into the Sony A6500 and lens platform ... without ever picking one up. Honestly, it has been the most refreshing change for me. Photography is fun again. Video has not been without its challenges, but as of today I have all of the bugs worked out and am in love with the system. Photo images are absolutely stunning. Video footage is second to none. The camera is a low light beast as well. The platform is more complex to film with than a video camera, but gives you more user friendly control and in some ways more power than a DSLR setup. I love it. I am already debating on what I will do when the next version of the Sony A6xxx comes out or jump to the full frame A7r iii that came out recently.
I cannot stand when you and Sky post......always makes me wanna drop a couple grand in a new set up LOL!
Feel like after all the reading I’ve done, I’m still leaning towards the Canon stuff due to the LANC capability. I do like the looks of the AX33 and 53 that Sony has, but I’m wondering what their controller is like and is not having a focus control on the controller a dealbreaker?
There are actual LanC's that work with the AX series of Sony cameras. It takes two cables as I recall to get to their multiport. But it can be done. The Sony specific remote that works with most all Sony cameras, yea you cannot run manual focus through it. I have a local friend that runs an AX33. I helped him setup the camera and to be honest, I wasn't impressed with it. If I was buying an AX camera it would be the AX100, as it is a beast of a camera in a small form factor. Nothing wrong with the Canon gear at all.
Hoff1ck I’ve got the 2 cables you need for a Sony to work with a Varizoom. Let me know if you want them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've ran the Sony camcorders with the multi-USB port and the two adapter cables with a varizoom. They work very well for zoom, start/stop, power on/off. They work OK with focus. Their new line of cameras(AX700, HXR-NX80 and PXW-Z90) have a traditional LANC port as well as the Sony Multi-USB port. I will most likely be upgrading to the HXR-NX80 after the season. Several new features on those cameras that have my attention. I agree w. Derek about considering the 4K camera. Sony's cam's are generally 12X optical but offer Clear Image Zoom which is really a nearly loss less zoom that will take the camera out to 18X in 4K or 24X in 1080. On top of that, you can film at a wider angle with the 4K camera if you plan on outputting to 1080. You can crop the image in to get the closeup's you want without the risk of loosing the deer in the frame at the moment of truth. That's truly the biggest advantage you can find for a self filmer. 4K is essentially 4 1080 images so you have 4 times the frame space to work with. So when you actually think about it, at 12X in 4K, you could actually crop in to what would be equivalent to 48X when outputting to to 1080 and you wouldn't lose quality beyond that of 1080. Also 4K that is converted to a 1080 timeline is going to be sharper and of better image quality than video recorded at 1080 natively. Just some food for though.
The 4K does intrigue me for the reasons you mentioned. I have Final Cut, so the question would only be whether or not my 4-5 year old macbook could handle it. I haven't really dug far enough in to it yet to find that out. I was hoping to get the vast majority of my setup for around a grand give or take. I Those new Sony's you mentioned do look super nice though. I'm sure I'll end up upgrading at some point because I really did enjoy filming before, it just got to the point where it became more of a job and I lost some interest. Seems like I'm finding mixed reviews on the AX33 and 53, so I'm not sure how beneficial it would be to go with something like that over a G30/40 outside of the 4K upgrade.
Yeah, I'm not too familiar with the AX33 and 53. I would probably go G30/40 over those. As far as the Mac Book, I would think if you were using the sony consumer grade codec (XAVC-S) that computer would probably handle it without any issue. The more robust codec of (XAVC-L) would probably be pretty taxing on it. I run the PXW-X70 which uses the XAVC-L as well as the A6300 which is XAVC-S. There's a huge difference in the amount of processing power it takes between the two. My 3-4 year old MSI laptop handles both, but it's much smoother and basically real time with the XAVC-S. I'm used to my Sony's and love them. My brother-in-law has the Canon XA30 and it's a good camera but I have trouble navigating the menu's and understanding the logic of the layout. Probably because I'm so used to the Sony's. The great thing is these camera's are all so much better than cameras of 5 years ago.
You will hate the touch screen on the AX33. It flat sucks. Very hit or miss and very frustrating when navigating the menus.
That's definitely making it tough, seems like there are so many more quality options now. I stopped filming around 5 years ago and at the end of that I used an AX10 a little bit. I liked it a lot, but the 10x zoom has scared me away from that or a G20. The AX30 looks like it would fit the bill but just a little more than I want to spend on this setup. I have a little time before I need to make a decision though, so I'll likely dig in to the Sony stuff a little more before I make a choice.
