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looking to upgrade my camcorder for recording higher res stuff


chile

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I'm not very clued on camcorders but I know a few people here are so yeah.. I'd like to record higher resolution video than Im currently able to. The camcorder I use is a Sony HDR-CX190E, and while it does a decent job, I'd prefer something more up market as I plan to start making tutorial videos soon that will connect to a scratch book project I have in the works. I don't want to record the book videos on my current camcorder and down the line have to rerecord because of quality issues. I'm planning on using the book to acquire a masters in future, so its important that everything looks professional.

 

should i be looking at DSLR cameras instead of digital camcorders? Any tips on what I should be looking for spec wise or suggestions of stuff to buy would be great.. My budgets upper limit is £800, but ideally £600 would be better on my wallet

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Guest petesasqwax

Personally I'd look at DSLR. I got a Canon 600d imported from the US (where it's known as the T3i Rebel) for the money I made from selling my phone upgrade (iphone 5). which was something in the region of £350 if I remember rightly. I got a 50mm lens for about £65 as that's my personal favourite and the quality of that combination is a beautiful thing. all in all it'll do everything you need (1080p video as well stunning stills photography) for somewhere in the region of £400, depending on whether the 50mm lens is suited to your needs.

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That sounds cool and defo a nice price range.. I dunno though, I'm thinking now about getting a canon EOS 70D on finance because then I have something high quality, that I don't think i'll be upgrading and I could use it in future when i get a hang of it, to possibly earn a bit of pocket money shooting local bands.

 

EOS 7 seems expensive but then i can easy cover it in a 6 month finance deal

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Ok after a bit of researching I found this page ( http://entry-level-dslr-camera-review.toptenreviews.com/ ) which compared entry level DSLRs. Since the Nikon D5200 came out on top, I had a look through a couple of videos of people testing it.. Looked good so I decided to go with it. Got it new with the standard lens kit for a bargain £390, which is £87 cheaper than was listed on the DSLR comparison site!

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Guest petesasqwax

yeah seems cool man. I've always had a thing for the EOS cameras ever since they came out and a mate of mine has a 7d (or a 5d I can't remember) which is fucking beautiful... and which has lenses that fit my T3i that he lets me borrow whenever i fancy. i've heard really good things about the Nikon too though and the price sounds superb!

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Arrived yesterday and I'm pretty happy overall. The picture and video quality are what i was after. The only big negative is the weight and size compared to my previous camcorder. I ended up having to modify my camera stand as there was some wobbling, and i had to raise the height of the stand a bit to get the right distance to record, but thats pretty much sorted now. Oh another small negative is I have to acquire an AC adapter for it as it only comes with a battery and battery charger pack, which is understandable since its more photography orientated.

 

This is a pic i took of my cat with the standard lens on auto mode -

 

1524572_10151915901701567_1143912582_n.j

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I do video shoots quite often with work, using a proper video agency and they shoot all their videos on 5D and 7D.

 

I've been told (but no idea how important this is) that once you get to a certain resolution what matters is the lens and the sensor. I take this to mean you could have a 4K resolution but if you've got a poor quality sensor or lens then it's just a lot more image, but of the same poor quality.

 

Could be completely wrong though.

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  • 1 year later...

I got a mint of a deal on a GoPro just over a year ago. I think it is a 3+ or something. Anyways, super tight and the price is great. My handheld video camera before shot crappy indoors and was a pain because it was internal storage. GoPro gives you an editing software, had fisheye, is waterproof, 4k, removable storage, etc etc for well under your budget.

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