OT Video Camera Preference

joeby · Sep 27, 2016

My wife is considering making video tutorials for some of the projects she is working on. I know some of you have some experience at this with YouTube and such. I need a direction to go in as far as what type and/or brand to look for to get her started. I have been looking at GoPro cameras to start with, but this stuff is all new to me.

Any opinions, or suggestions on where to start?

Thanks,
Kevin

Mooner · Sep 28, 2016

GoPros are very wide angle. Great for action and first-person type view, but may not be appropriate for tutorial type stuff. I'd suggest a video capable D-SLR (removable lens type camera) and expect to spend a little money on lighting if you want high quality video.

Probably should spend some time on video/photo blogs... This guy is usually pretty helpful:

Beginner’s Guide To: Producing Your First Youtube Tutorial - Hongkiat

ewlsey · Sep 28, 2016

I just picked up a used Canon Vixia. We'll see. Reviews are very good.

Forestgnome · Sep 28, 2016

I have both the Canon Vixia HV20 and HV30. They are awesome, especially if you want to do cinematic effects. My HV30 will hold about 6 hours of HD footage. The only thing I don't like about the HV30 is the mini hot shoe. The shotgun mic I use on the HV20 doesn't fit on the HV30, and I don't think the HV30 hot shoe will pass an audio signal, so you have to use a seperate cable. That said, the Canon DSLR cameras out now will do near studio-quality movies. You probably don't need that for machining videos.

joeby · Sep 28, 2016

Thanks for the link Mooner, will be checking that out. I was figuring on having to come up with some lighting, we need to do that anyway for taking pictures.

Ewlsey and Forestgnome, the HV20-30 appear to be discontinued. How do the newer Vixia cameras compare? I've got some learning to do to try and make any sense of camera specs.

Kevin

Milacron · Sep 28, 2016

If being able to alter depth of field (i.e. foreground in focus with background not so much) doesn't matter, an iPhone 6S or newer will take amazingly clear high definition videos for Youtube purposes. I think the new iPhone 7 will even do depth of field to some extent.

Below I took with iPhone 6S without any special prep, lighting or editing..... Could have used image stabilization....which the iPhone 7 has I think

1999 Myford MG-12 HPM cylindrical grinder - YouTube

Bill D · Sep 28, 2016

The cannon slr digital cameras use the same lens mount as the old film cameras. So there are a lot of lens out there.
Bill D.

EPAIII · Sep 29, 2016

The old film lenses may physically fit, but they were made for film which had a lot lower resolution than modern digital cameras. You will probably be disappointed with the majority of them. And the better ones will cost a lot more.

If this is her first video camera, I would look for an all in one style that has the features she thinks will be useful. Definitely look for a zoom lens. Iris control is a consideration if you want to control depth of focus. What about monitoring while shooting? How close can the camera focus? This can be absolutely critical to illustrate some types of work. What other features will be useful for her work? What resolution does she plan to work at? Will more than one audio channel be needed? It is often useful to mix the audio after shooting instead of just relying on a single microphone for proper pick-up. Etc.

Look for features that are needed and useful.

Don't spend too much on a first camera. After some experience, she will probably find that another one, with more features, will be very desirable. But she needs the experience to know what those additional features are.

Bill D said:
The cannon slr digital cameras use the same lens mount as the old film cameras. So there are a lot of lens out there.
Bill D.

Yan Wo · Sep 29, 2016

EPAIII said:
The old film lenses may physically fit, but they were made for film which had a lot lower resolution than modern digital cameras.

I think you are incorrect about this.

tnmgcarbide · Sep 29, 2016

don't know shit about a SOTA modern canon or nikon with the same bayonet mount as a 35mm slr , (but correct me if i'm wrong)

DSLRs have a much different range of lenses - say...5mm to 100mm , wheras 35mm typically uses 28mm(VERY expensive) to 300mm

for the same focus . so.. the 50mm prime lens that is most commonly used on slrs becomes a 10x telephoto instead of a med-wide

angle .

as to film itself.... A DIGITAL CAMERA WOULD HAVE TO BE 156 MEGAPIXELS TO GIVE YOU THE SAME KIND OF DETAIL AS 35MM FILM.
( you won't see any difference in scanned photos , because the scanner is just another digital camera itself......)

but unless you are going to invest $50K for an ARRIFLEX movie camera + another $20k + for lenses, plus about $100/minute for
film, processing , telecine transfer and editing....plus sound and synching and lighting costs....plus a crew to facilitate all
of it ......a few thousand $$$$ for a pro video setup starts to look pretty damned good.

doug8cat · Sep 29, 2016

I am sure that all suggestions made so far, work very well for their owners. However depending on what you are attempting to capture the camera will differ.
Personally I have several video cameras with different lenses. Same for digital stills, of witch I have four.Yes I like to by tech, but there is much more than that. when say at the Zoo with my family, I want something simple point shoot, i.e. catch the elephant as it pees on my mother in-law. For close shots like pics for E-bay or to send parts pics to customers it is the Nikon Cool Pics, and so on, you get the idea.
Suggestion go to store and try them all with your application in mind.
Maybe OT but there is a chap Mr. Carlson, he does videos on electronics on you tube. Not sure and still trying to find out what camera he uses, cause the quality is hands down the best I have EVER seen. Even if you have less than no interest electronics check out Mr. Carlson's lab you will be astounded at the quality.
I realize I have not suggested a camera, but just ideas to help in your selection: TRY before you buy.

PS If you are do your own repair work on electrical equipment check out a few of his videos. The guy is a dynamo, not only is VERY knowledgeable he explains everything he does in excruciating detail + the theory.

Marty Feldman · Sep 29, 2016

doug8cat said:
...check out Mr. Carlson's lab you will be astounded...

Was this meant to be a clickable link? I get nada when I click on it.

-Marty-

StefanG · Sep 29, 2016

If the camera will only be used for video go for the obvious: A hd camcorder (Sony/Canon).

Yes, a dslr will produce very cinematic results but they are a bit of a pain to handle.

I use an older Sony cx11e for almost all of my video and the dslr only for still photography or when I need a second video camera.
Also I dont see a reason for a gopro if you are not going down a mountain on a snowboard....

John Welden · Sep 29, 2016

Even an iPhone is good enough for Youtube video.

The content of the video is 900x more important than having high quality video. The sound quality is more important than the video.

traditional-tools · Sep 29, 2016

John Welden said:
Even an iPhone is good enough for Youtube video.

The content of the video is 900x more important than having high quality video. The sound quality is more important than the video.

^this

However, the Logitech cameras are very good and decent resolution.

I have a JVC video camera with a hard disk, but use my iPhone most all the time as I have it with me.

rons · Sep 29, 2016

The last camera with video you need to buy:

http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/d4.htm

tnmgcarbide · Sep 29, 2016

i have done many great instructional videos with a $100 fuji finepix that shoots 720p hd video . it has a 5-90mm lens plus
cose and very close macro , which is enough for anything i've needed to do . audio is adequate , but for real video production
you'll want an external digital recorder so you can use something like a USB SAMSON GO mic or better (like a stereo medium-
diaphragm condenser with omnidirecional and cardioid setting switches, a shotgun condenser, etc) or if there's a dslr which
has usb mic support, or adaptor for usb to 3.5mm mic plug........ you wouldn't have to edit the sound to the video timeline later.

the editing software is as important as the camera/mic . something like sony vegas (adobe premiere) has a big learning curve,
and might be more editing power than you need. there are easy cut/paste editors that are cheap/free that allow you to put
together a video without spending a month learning to use them.

good luck

Yan Wo · Sep 29, 2016

John Welden said:
... The content of the video is 900x more important than having high quality video. The sound quality is more important than the video.

I emphatically disagree.

Shaky and/or blurry video makes even the most interesting subject unwatchable for me. Same with inane background "music."

I know John's opinion is shared by many others, but I know of no one who is annoyed by steady, in focus video.

I find it ironic that the same people who (presumably) care greatly about the finish on a part that will never be seen when it's assembled, think video and audio quality is unimportant, compared to content.

I appreciate the efforts of experts like Adam Booth, who produce YouTube videos that have consistently excellent video and audio as well as excellent content.

Forestgnome · Sep 29, 2016

Another great video editing package is Cyberlink PowerDirector 14. Amazing what it can do without having a whopping gaming PC. Only problem is it has so many features it takes a while to get used to.

Steven-Canada · Sep 29, 2016

Add more light

Especially look at the colour on light in Kelvins

The CFL lamps in 6500K are very daylight like
Feit Electric 15W Equivalent Daylight (65K) Spiral CFL Light Bulb-ESL4TN/D - The Home Depot

Don't look at saving watts, look at the lumen output and the 6500K colour of light in Kelvins

The more light you throw at the subject, the less important the camera is.

It's cheaper to upgrade lighting than it is cameras, so start there and go way overboard.

OT Video Camera Preference

Cast Iron

Aluminum

Diamond

Stainless

Cast Iron

Administrator

Diamond

Diamond

Stainless

Diamond

Titanium

Titanium

Aluminum

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Stainless

Stainless

Hot Rolled

Similar threads