NEW TO FILMING and looking to get a nice camera...

[CWpredator]

Anyone have any recommendations on a good HD video camera that is a decent price as well? I'm not looking to cheap out but don't want to break the bank either. Seeing as that I never draw tags and everyone around me (friends and family) always do I figure this is the next best anternative to shooting something some way or another. I've got 4 family members with elk tags this year. 3 early archery bull tags in 5BN and 1 early rifle 5BN cow tag. I know the unit like the back of my hand and want to get some good elk footage. Maybe even a few elk harvested on camera. Like I stated early I'm not looking to cheap out but dont want to spend 2000$... If any of you guys have a good starting point or recommendation in HD video cameras for me to look at that would be much appreciated! I'm looking to spend anywhere from $500-$1300 depending on features and the basic bang for the buck. Thanks again!

[BML]

Travis give be a call when you get a chance. I just went through months of research on cameras before we bought ours. I can point you in the right direction.

 

Blake

[JMP]

What I would do, is get two cameras.

 

I'd look into a Sony handicam, or a Canon with a high power zoom (the 55x extended zoom isn't bad at all, the CA is noticeable but pixelation doesn't seem to be) that you can grab for $300-400. Then I'd look into a Canon Vixia HF G20 for about a grand. Then get a really good tripod with a fluid video head.

 

At that price range you're sacrificing one feature for another. The high power zooms that let you get decent images at 4-500 yards can only cover very small image sensors. So your low-light performance, dynamic range, and color fidelity suffer. The cameras like the Vixia have larger image sensors which produce far superior HD images, but tend to limit you to a 10X zoom range and aren't much good past a hundred and fifty yards or so.

 

Getting both kind of gives you the best of both worlds.