Finally pulled the trigger on a cam today. I've been researching for quite awhile and think I found something I can be happy with for a first cam. It's a Canon Vixia Hf-M40, not top of the line by any means, but shoots full HD and is great in low light. The only thing that worried me was the 10x optical zoom, but in all honesty I don't think I'll ever need much more than that for where I hunt. I'll also be ordering a middle of the road shotgun mic, lens hood, and uv filter here in the next week or two. Does anyone use this cam or have any opinions on it? I'm going to be heading into the woods this fall without too much experience in the video department, but I am pumped to learn as I go.
Congrats on the new camera! Think I will be filming again with the Handycam but really hoping to get a new camera in the spring! Be sure to give us a review once you get to try it out!
Congrats on the purchase. I have to warn you though, this aspect of hunting is very addicting (and expensive). Good luck. I look forward to seeing your footage.
Good luck, I'll be filming with my handycam again. I would like to get something better for next year.
Maybe we can find somewhere that will cut us both a deal for buying two camera's next year! On a side note Hoyt 'N' It give me a ring in the next few days if you get a chance!
I've used and still have a Canon Vixia HF11. They shoot great video and are very light and packable. You'll definitely like the video you take with it and the zoom is just fine for most set ups. If you are interested I have a Canon DM100 shotgun mic that is designed for the Vixia model cameras with the built in audio shoe. Let me know if you are interested. Look at some reviews on them and if you are interested I can hook you up with a pretty good deal on it.
So I took the camera out tonight to a few fields around the house to get a little footage. So far it seems to shoot great video. The 10x optical zoom hurt me as the buck I was filming was 150 or so yards out, but I don't see that being a problem when I'm up in the stand. So far so good, but now comes the tough part, editing.
I picked up cyberlink powerdirector, but haven't used it yet. I edited a little video together on the crappy one that came with the camera, Pixela Videobrowser. Once I get some footage and start putting a video together with powerdirector.
