New camera for a guy who knows a little about a lot

pjbagel

Member
Howdy - I've owned camcorders since I was a kid. I shot a lot of ski videos with my friends in my teens. I even work in video production now, mainly on the pre and post production side. Coworkers tell me I understand what makes a good shot. I have freelanced doing editing, motion design, and color correction. But for the fucking life of me I can never understand how aperture, shutter speed, and ISO work together in practice. I can never seem to take a good photo for the life of me.

Anyways, I'd like to start shooting skiing again and I'm looking for a new video camera that fits my needs.

Friends have recommended the ZV-E1 but it looks a little too vloggy and cinematic for me.

I've been following the recent thread on the cameras Magma shoot on because I love their style.

1) What is your budget? $2K tops

2) What experience do you already have with cameras? I've owned camcorders my whole life but never done a deep dive and become and expert.

2) What gear, if any, do you currently have? Camcorder circa 2011 that rocks and has been treating me right recently but has bad quality and no stabilization. Hilariously, I use a FX3 at work but I feel so out of my element using it.

4) What are you planning to shoot and how do you want to use your camera? I'd like to shoot skiing, but also just fun shots around the neighborhood and in my yard.

5) Do you want a camera that you can hand to your friends, that could or could not have film experience, and let them shoot you? or will you be doing all the filming? This will primarily be my camera.

6) When filming skiing, how do you tend to shoot? (follow cams, leave it on record on a tripod and hike, film from a tripod, etc) Follow cam and handheld.

7) What computer do you currently have/use to edit (if not currently editing, what would you most likely use)? If you can provide specifics, such as hard drive space, RAM, processor size, that would be great. I've got a powerful setup for work that can handle pretty much anything.

7) What program do you currently edit on? How familiar are you with it (1- just learning; 10- I can make tutorials and know the keyboard layout) Premiere Pro. I have used it for years. I feel very comfortable in it.
 
topic:pjbagel said:
I've been following the recent thread on the cameras Magma shoot on because I love their style.

Ngl I am biased toward panasonic. If you like the magma footage then it might be a good call to get a 4k panasonic cam. I've filmed with an ag-ux180 (never owned one though) and I found it pretty easy to use. Pretty sure u can get from ebay for under 2k.
 
There are a bunch of 4k servo cams these days, panasonic is the play for sure, the newer cams are out of your price range but as ^ mentioned, there are older versions for under 2k.
 
14608984:eheath said:
There are a bunch of 4k servo cams these days, panasonic is the play for sure, the newer cams are out of your price range but as ^ mentioned, there are older versions for under 2k.

eheath, I use to get into arguments with you on here as a teen. Glad we can come together all these years later.

It's been hard to explain to friends who are into photography/ film that I want a camcorder but I just really like the style so thank you both for the input.
 
14609030:pjbagel said:
eheath, I use to get into arguments with you on here as a teen. Glad we can come together all these years later.

It's been hard to explain to friends who are into photography/ film that I want a camcorder but I just really like the style so thank you both for the input.

good times haha, a mirrorless camera like a fx3 or gh5 has their benefits, but the allure of a servo zoom camera is pretty irresistible right now, i miss the days of having a hxv200.
 
14608984:eheath said:
There are a bunch of 4k servo cams these days, panasonic is the play for sure, the newer cams are out of your price range but as ^ mentioned, there are older versions for under 2k.

he could prolly find a HCX1000 or ux180 for 2k
 
I am obsessed with the show "How To with John Wilson". If you haven't seen it, go check it out. But he shoots on the Sony PXW-FS5. Any idea if that's a good ski cam?
 
14609214:Plymouthfreeskii said:
doesnt the fisheye look ass on these new 4k cams? obviously the zoom is amazing, but in terms of an all in one cam.

Can someone break this down for me? Is this true?
 
14609214:Plymouthfreeskii said:
doesnt the fisheye look ass on these new 4k cams? obviously the zoom is amazing, but in terms of an all in one cam.

pretty sure ecook films on an hc-x1 and his fisheye clips look good to me. but in my opinion no16:9 footage is gonna look as good as vx1000 with mk1 unless you have an xtreme
 
14609188:pjbagel said:
I am obsessed with the show "How To with John Wilson". If you haven't seen it, go check it out. But he shoots on the Sony PXW-FS5. Any idea if that's a good ski cam?

Mad funny to see him mentioned here, he lives in my neighborhood and i always see him around. You should check out his older stuff on vimeo.

Camera wise i just picked up a Sony AX700 which has been great so far. I’m on the same timing as far as having used many cameras in the past and having worked in production for years. I’m mainly a photographer but have stepped in to film occasionally when i was skateboarding a lot. Just started skiing and wanna transfer those skills over so picked up a video camera. I think any 4k is overkill when it comes to camcorders tbh so id suggest either this ax700 (4k but on sale at BH) or panasonic hmc 150 / hmc 40.

1092281.jpeg
 
14609214:Plymouthfreeskii said:
doesnt the fisheye look ass on these new 4k cams? obviously the zoom is amazing, but in terms of an all in one cam.

I'm not sure where you got this from, but the panasonic servo cameras are basically the same as they always have been, but now they have higher resolution sensors.

ive seen plenty of footage from these newer 4k cameras and the fisheyes looks the same.
 
14609349:ocklemmegetuhh said:
Mad funny to see him mentioned here, he lives in my neighborhood and i always see him around. You should check out his older stuff on vimeo.

Camera wise i just picked up a Sony AX700 which has been great so far. I’m on the same timing as far as having used many cameras in the past and having worked in production for years. I’m mainly a photographer but have stepped in to film occasionally when i was skateboarding a lot. Just started skiing and wanna transfer those skills over so picked up a video camera. I think any 4k is overkill when it comes to camcorders tbh so id suggest either this ax700 (4k but on sale at BH) or panasonic hmc 150 / hmc 40.

View attachment 1092281

holy spacer rings
 
14609389:eheath said:
I'm not sure where you got this from, but the panasonic servo cameras are basically the same as they always have been, but now they have higher resolution sensors.

ive seen plenty of footage from these newer 4k cameras and the fisheyes looks the same.

Yeah I was wrong, the discussion on reddit was about the focus through the fisheye on a dvx200 & my friend has told me the ux180 doesnt look ideal with fisheye due to the focus. Is this a valid or just lack of knowledge/ testing the cam?
 
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