Good camera for amateur video making?

[desura]

I've been looking into cameras lately for video making. Basically, something that could be like Vice News level.

I've mainly looked at M43 cameras like the Olympus Pen P5.

Any recommended video cameras for such work, that is around $300?

 

[BrainEater]

I have never liked the video from cheepo camera's. You wont get what you want.

Buy a Go Pro and start there.It took me 2 years to get 'camera-wise' with that one let alone anything else.

:thumbsup:

 

[Binky]

You should be able to find the (older) Panasonic GH1 for pretty cheap. It can be hacked for even better video quality.

The Panasonic M43 cameras generally focus more on video abilities than the Olympus cameras.

 

[gus6464]

Even an older Panny GH will be better than any Olympus or whatever M43 you are looking at. There is nothing that compares to the GH unless you want to spend a lot more money.

 

[guachi]

I'll echo the comments about the GH series. You can get a new GH3 body (current model is the GH4) for $550 and probably a GH1 or 2 for $300 or less.

I own a GH1 and like it a lot.

 

[guachi]

Adding to my reply above - I just purchased a G7 with kit lens (a very good kit lens, too) for $600 and it's a great video and stills camera.

It has 4k video and there is almost nothing that can touch it at that price that also has 4k video.

 

[luv2liv]

If you are OK with 1080p quality, there are plenty of used canon t3 or t4 rebel for under $300. With the money you saved, invest in better lens as needed.
Don't even mess with gopro

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I will not recommend Nikon or Canon for video. We shoot video professionally and 1080p on a Canon or Nikon does not give you 1080p resolution. Think about it - the sensor is by default greater than 1080p, so there needs to be some way for the image to be converted down to 1080p. The way Canon and Nikon do it result in a 1080p video that certainly doesn't resolve the level of detail that *should* be in a 1080p video. Panasonic cameras on the other hand give you a video file with *true* 1080p detail. You only have to compare their clips side by side of things with fine detail like hair, sand, etc.

The GoPro Hero 4 cameras also produce true 1080p levels of detail and have ProTune mode for extracting details from the shadows and highlights.

With video, you'll be spending the vast majority of your money anyway on good sound recording (do not skip this) and support hardware / motion control - fluid heads, dollies, electronic gimbals (not the photography ones).

 

[luv2liv]

I didn't know that about canon. Could you send me a reliable YouTube link of side by side comparison with Panasonic? Very interesting!

 

[slackerinabox]

As an aspirational amateur I think it's best to shoot with what you got and just focus on storytelling and lighting.

Shot this on a a $300 used t4i:
https://vimeo.com/149897916