Video Camera & Editing

bradcoffey

bradcoffey

Member
For next year ive been thinking about getting a video camera and make some edits with my friends.

this is what im thinking:
-panasonic pv-gs500 camera
-final cut express

i have a macbook pro, so would this be a good start?
and
i dont know too much about this stuff yet, but will the video format work with both camera and software?

Tell me what you think!
 
You should be fine. I have the gs500 and I love it. Its a great camera with good quality for the price
 
Meh......I have a gs320. If I was you I'd probably get the Canon HV20. For the pice you're paying for a gs500 you could almost have a really decent consumer camera.
 
Ya great start um i'm sure you will figure out your way with final cut express (what i use) and its easy to make nice edits and have fun.. :)
 
If your just starting filming and such, you'd probably be better off not trying to deal with HD or complex formats. Get the gs500, and just film alot to get used to all its features, and you'll be able to get some pretty decent footage for youtube, vimeo, or dvd. I own an HV20, and Ive found HD to be a huge hassle, so i'm saving up for a DVX :)
 
The gs500 is a great choice, there are a lot of manual features including a manual focus ring which is a sick plus and the quality is very good for the price
 
its a hard choice on what to get, i dont think i know now.
should i be worried on how good the picture will be? i want something that will look nice to watch.

i dont know if i should get a hd camera or regular camera? what makes the editing hard for a hd camera?
 
get final cut for sure

it takes a while to figure out

but once you do its by far the best program out there

and theres so much you can do with it

as far as hd camcorders go, i wouldnt shell out the extra cash for one,

i have a sony hd hard drive cam

but i never actually record in hd, the files are too big and it doesnt make much of a difference i find

sd seems to do a fine job, as long as you arnt playing your movies on huge screens

another thing to watch out for with sony (im not sure about other companies)

with my sony, it records files in .mpg format, which aparently cannot be read by a mac

quicktime doesnt recognize them, and no other programs do either

you can drag the files into final cut but you dont have audio with them

so check before you buy to make sure you wont have this problem

it sucks
 
gl2's are a sick camcorder,

the have most of the features of a pro cam at way less of a price

from my experience with them they have great picture and sound quality

and there nice and lightweight if your carrying them with you all day

by far one of the best consumer priced cams out there
 
Hey man, sorry about this vague post. My class ended so I had to log out. Like I said, I have a gs500, and I can make the picture look pretty good. You wanna make sure you use all the manual features (Shutter, WB, iris, focus, etc) and you can get some good colors. To maximize the information output from your camera (the amount of video info/quality that you capture to the computer), use a firewire. You can see the difference between my latest edits and my older ones. Go ahead and look if you want. Hopefully that helps man, feel free to PM me with any questions on the camera. Unfortunately I haven't worked with Final Cut at all, but if for whatever reason you decide to use Premiere CS3, I can help you on that as well. Good luck :)
 
thanks, your newer vids were sick i watch a few of them. i wasnt able to watch the wmv cause i got a mac and am too lazy to install wmv for mac..but i will soon
 
I personally hate the GL2. My university has them and you can borrow them for a week at a time. I've used them so many times that I really know the ins and outs for any kind of filming. It's an aging model, and its not really worth your money unless you find a cheap used one. But then again, I don't want to start an argument, but if you intend to make short films or anything like that, its not a good option.

If your a beginner save your money, get the gs500, get to know its features and you'll catch some great footage out of it. After that is when you should consider an upgrade.
 
i agree with this part of your statement.

but if you know the ins and outs of the gl2 its a good camera, not a good camera for making films for school though

looks true to life and not theatric

 
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