Find the best video quality for under $200 - fun challenge

[Andrew Reid]

9 hours ago, IronFilm said:

If someone wants to try a really different tack to this challenge then video footage from a CCD sensor might be interesting? (as usually waaaay outside the budget if you're getting an ILC, needing to buy the likes of say a Sony F35)

As there are dirt dirt cheap P&S CCD from a long forgotten era to be snapped up for pennies with patience, such as the Panasonic LX3 which shoots HD video from its small CCD sensor. (not FHD though)

Ha, yes. I looked into trying to replicate the overall feel of the Kodak CCD in the Digital Bolex or the big-ass Sony CCD in the F35

I looked for weeks and couldn't do it.

The old compacts are really terrible for video  The CCDs in them did line-skipped 720p at best with the worse codecs known to man. Barley good enough for Facebook! None of them have the CCD look from the cinema cameras like the D16, they all have the Crap Crap Digital look.

If you can fine one consumer CCD camera from the past that actually looks cinematic, I'll eat my forum, and you'll win this challenge.

[webrunner5]

Yeah CCD sensors seem to have the best output by far, but are Really terrible in low light. I am surprised there is no real advancement of them after all these years. Seems mostly or all of the Mini DV ones are 720p or less. So even those now are pretty bad. At the time they were pretty impressive lol. I remember when S video was jaw dropping, all 550 lines of it. And spent thousands of dollars to get it. I am not sure why my wife didn't divorce me lol. I remember bringing home a Panasonic S Video editing deck used from an live auction for 1500 Dollars and saying guess what Honey! No sex that night trust me.That was like 1984. The money I have spent on video is staggering.

The equipment that my daughter has in California has to equate to 100,000 dollars easily in this day and age. I could open a studio with what she has even in this day of mine. From cameras to tripods all tucked away safe in cases custom built for them. Just too many businesses at once. There is only so many days a week. And now that i am retired I quit, end of story.

[Trek of Joy]

HDV and cameras that record on cassettes? Now things are getting really interesting.

Chris

[webrunner5]

I may be wrong but I can't think on Any camera that did 1080p on tape, even high end Sony Broadcast cameras. 1080i well yeah. The CCD ones did @ 24p maybe 25p, but not on tape. And I used and have owned a bunch of them over the years. Still have few. But I have been out of the loop for the last 10 years since I retired. Only talk to the old timers in Broadcast occasionally.

[Trek of Joy]

On 6/27/2019 at 2:44 PM, homestar_kevin said:

Just over budget, but the original rx10 as well, they even gave that one the XAVCS update.

I snagged a rx10 at the end of March for $245 during a KEH sale. 

These are two I was zeroing in on as well. 

[webrunner5]

3 minutes ago, Trek of Joy said:

These are two I was zeroing in on as well. 

I hope you have small hands. I could nor even use mine because the Aperture ring just about kills my finger on it.

[webrunner5]

1 hour ago, webrunner5 said:

I hope you have small hands. I could nor even use mine because the Aperture ring just about kills my finger on it.

But they have a very nice output. So go for it if you can get one for the right price. The original one, which I have, has a A7s look to if if you like that look. I find it more Filmic than the newer ones. It is Gritty looking, which to me is good. Sure the old CS is off, but that is what makes it great.

[Andrew Reid]

Friendly reminder! Try not to reveal your actual choices or purchases until after the voting (but by all means discuss the camera possibilities)

[Andrew Reid]

By the way the blog post should be ready tomorrow... That marks the official opening of the competition. Good luck everyone.

Timescale is 2 weeks to find a camera and shoot the video. Competition will close on 16th July and voting begins same day.

[kye]

Excellent!  I have two weeks to shoot like crazy and hope I can get lucky on enough shots to compensate for my camera!

There's a 'rule' in photography that one image in a thousand is good and one in ten thousand is great, so that means I only need to.......  oh crap.

[leslie]

On 7/1/2019 at 1:11 PM, IronFilm said:

If someone wants to try a really different tack to this challenge then video footage from a CCD sensor might be interesting? (as usually waaaay outside the budget if you're getting an ILC, needing to buy the likes of say a Sony F35)

As there are dirt dirt cheap P&S CCD from a long forgotten era to be snapped up for pennies with patience, such as the Panasonic LX3 which shoots HD video from its small CCD sensor. (not FHD though)

On it already, but not a Panasonic. Just need some luck to go my way

[heart0less]

12 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

Timescale is 2 weeks to find a camera and shoot the video. Competition will close on 16th July and voting begins same day.

Andrew, don't you think 2 weeks time is a bit short?

 

I liked mercer's idea more, to be honest.

On 6/26/2019 at 6:16 PM, mercer said:

I think this should be a 30 day challenge plus a two week treasure hunt for their camera... so 6 weeks in total?

 

On 6/26/2019 at 6:48 PM, mercer said:

Or at least 30 day total so people can find a camera, create a project concept, shoot and edit.

[Andrew Reid]

I'm open to suggestions... Maybe 3 weeks max... If we make it 6 weeks, most people will be bored by then... We can't all move at the rate of the slowest entrants. Why do people need more than 2 weeks? Source camera locally, 1-2 days, delivered, shoot some nice material (1-2 days), you're not shooting a feature film with actors and lots of people involved. Let's keep it simple, and make it a time challenge as well.

[Grimor]

I'll wait for the GH2 and Helios 58mm challenge. 

 

[Andrew Reid]

16 minutes ago, Grimor said:

I'll wait for the GH2 and Helios 58mm challenge. 

Why don't you just enter them in this one?

[kye]

I've just discovered how to make your normal camera look absolutely brilliant...  Dump your footage from this challenge into a directory that also contains clips from your normal camera - then open a file from your normal camera by mistake.  

The 6K 10-bit H265 file from my GH5 looked absolutely spectacular!!

[fuzzynormal]

 

On 7/1/2019 at 8:53 AM, Andrew Reid said:

If you can fine one consumer CCD camera from the past that actually looks cinematic, I'll eat my forum, and you'll win this challenge.

If we're going back in time 10 years, maybe pick up one of those 35mm adapters and mount it on any CCD camera...would that be allowed?

[Andrew Reid]

Competition is now open!

Find a bargain. Get shooting.

Then enter your videos here...

 

[leslie]

12 hours ago, fuzzynormal said:

 

If we're going back in time 10 years, maybe pick up one of those 35mm adapters and mount it on any CCD camera...would that be allowed?

The idea is  good, I think you mean a 35mm dof adapter?  There's been three on eBay but the price of each of them kills the idea of a cheap lens I think.

[Trek of Joy]

Everyone on EOSHD outbidding each other and pushing up prices on sub $200 cameras...