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

[mercer]

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

[BTM_Pix]

30 minutes ago, 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?

Sounds about right.

Only from the date that the rules have been finally thrashed out though.

So...end of December it is then.

[mercer]

Also, I know this is supposed to be for fun, but should there be some voting rules...

1. You can only vote once.

2. You cannot vote for your own film. 

3. So this doesn’t turn into a social media popularity contest, like Rode Reel, you must be a registered forum user with at least... X amount of posts.

[BTM_Pix]

6 minutes ago, mercer said:

You Can Only Vote Once.

I was struggling to think of what to shoot but I'm definitely going to use that title now to make a James Bond film where he goes after a deep state conspiracy to rig elections.

 

[homestar_kevin]

Checking back in...

Love where this is heading. I think focal reducers should be allowed but again, total camera set up/price combination will be revealed at some point and I think we all need to factor that in and keep it as cheap as possible to be in the spirit of the competition.

I've had fun looking around at bodies already, there seem to be a bunch of options right on the border line of that price, so I think we should get some good results.

Fun to think about

 

 

 

 

 

[Snowfun]

1 hour ago, BTM_Pix said:

I was struggling to think of what to shoot but I'm definitely going to use that title now to make a James Bond film where he goes after a deep state conspiracy to rig elections.

 

Good God Man! The last thing we need is for the majority of people in this country to vote even that many times... don’t encourage them!

(Far better employed painting models of buses - although in sunny Spain that reference might be lost?)

 

[Andrew Reid]

3 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

Last query from me then....

If the budget for the camera is £200 and a reasonable lens expectation would be another £70 can we use a £270 fixed lens compact?

Or, more specifically, can I use my LX100 or Cinelike D hacked LX15   

Oh dear! It's turning into Formula One! Rulebooks volume 1 and 2 have got longer than War & Peace and although agreement on the budget cap is progressing well, Alonso wants to use his CineLike D profile whereas some other drivers would prefer Magic Lantern!!

I reckon LX100 is a total bargain. However, it's a bit too good given the spirit of the rules aims to make us all shoot with much worse.

So a compact still has to be £200 or under with lens! Or, we could have another competition later where we rise to £300 and the possibilities of what to use changes.

For this contest, I think we really have to aim for total trash cams and somehow, with raw skill, make em look half-way decent.

The scoring should work on two areas:

1. The treasure hunt part

2. The end results

Say you have the luck and shopping skills to swoop on a 4K LX100 for under £200... That's going to net a good score in the Treasure Hunt.

Then if you make something really cinematic with it, that makes it look more like a RED than a small-ish sensor compact, that's a high score in the End Results.

So with just those two things to focus on, we can be free to use whatever camera and lens we like as long as the CAMERA is under £200 and the LENS is a relatively cheap favourite you already own. £500 modern lens not allowed, etc.

2 hours ago, 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?

I think that's WAAAY too long. The aim is not to go crazy on a multiple-day shoot, I think it takes a lot of cinematography skills to make the ordinary every-day and natural light look great, versus being a full on filmmaker putting all sorts of organisation into a project and a ton of effort over multiple days, that's not really in the spirit of a fun little competition.

Then again I appreciate that a fun competition-experiment isn't exactly going to be a huge priority for people with jobs inflexible schedules, so we should definitely give everyone, even the most busy, enough time to join in.

I'd say, if the main blog post marks the start of the competition this weekend, then 1 week to find a camera and 1 week to shoot something, even if only for 1 day, would be enough.

[Andrew Reid]

Scoring criteria:

Price
- Points for the price you bought the camera, the lower the price the more points

Technical quality
- Points for the image quality of your chosen camera... Points deducted for aliasing, moire, noise, smaller sensor, softness, lower than 1080p resolution, bad colour and dynamic range, etc. So if you do go super cheap, make sure you don't get something that's so terrible in this criteria as it would deduct the points you gained for the low price.

Artistic quality
- Points for how cinematic you make it look. Time to win the most points of all the categories and win back some of the points you lost for a few technical shortcomings like moire which almost all cheap cameras have. For example if went for a camera with a large sensor, and made the most of it with your choice of subject and lens, then that's going to overcome the points lost for that old large sensor perhaps not having the best dynamic range or resolution, etc.

I may add a couple more categories, but that is basically it... the challenge in a nut shell.

[Levi]

So looking at eBay in Canada almost everything ships from the states. Most of the items take 2 weeks to ship. So in places other than the U.S. and Europe a time limit of 2 weeks does make it more challenging

[Andrew Reid]

We can't all change the rules just to suit the Canadians

[BTM_Pix]

30 minutes ago, Snowfun said:

(Far better employed painting models of buses - although in sunny Spain that reference might be lost?)

Oh that it were.

Oh that it were.

42 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

Oh dear! It's turning into Formula One! Rulebooks volume 1 and 2 have got longer than War & Peace and although agreement on the budget cap is progressing well, Alonso wants to use his CineLike D profile whereas some other drivers would prefer Magic Lantern!!

And Brabham want to fit a fuck off big hoover on the back

[Snowfun]

Thought I’d found an interesting lens...

But just getting over excited.

 

[matthere]

If any6ne was looking for a €150 GH2 - here

[Andrew Reid]

1 hour ago, matthere said:

If any6ne was looking for a €150 GH2 - here

Shhhhhhh!

[kye]

I took my GF3, M42 to M43 Chinese SB, Super Takumar 55/1.8 and Manfrotto Pocket desktop tripod for a walk this morning and grabbed some shots as a sort of concept test.  The GF3 has terrible IQ, no controls in video mode except WB, and a fixed screen with no MF assist function, so focusing it when it was on the ground looking up was a little.... challenging.  Especially wearing full corporate uniform!

But, I shot something when I otherwise wouldn't have, so that's a good thing  

12 hours ago, IronFilm said:

I own a GF3 as well! Truly below average video quality. 

But for poor videographer who wanted a "D Cam" for his weddings, then a $50 GF3 back in mid 2010, it was a screaming bargain!! No regrets. Was dirt dirt cheap for its time, nothing else could even touch its bang for buck. And its MFT mount made it compatible with all my other video cameras. 

I think "below average" might be being kind!
But I bought it as a stills camera and for that it didn't disappoint.  Combined with the pocketable 14mm f2.5 pancake lens mine has racked up enough flier miles to go around the globe more than once.  I bought mine new with the kit lens, 14mm f2.5 lens, and all the extra batteries, filters, screen protectors, rocket blowers, and practically everything else available from china that might be useful for just under US$400.  When I dropped it and it landed on the corner where the touchscreen was closest to the edge the metal chassis took the shock and apart from a slight wrinkle in the body there was no other damage.

4 hours ago, Levi said:

So looking at eBay in Canada almost everything ships from the states. Most of the items take 2 weeks to ship. So in places other than the U.S. and Europe a time limit of 2 weeks does make it more challenging

2 weeks!  2 weeks!?!?  You're hilarious!!

Shipping to Australia often costs more than the item and takes MONTHS.  When I was buying lots of old valves/tubes from the eastern block the ebay feedback time limit would close before I received the goods in the post!  I had items take 10 weeks sometimes!!

I received a package on Monday that I'd ordered in mid-May from JAPAN.  A modern country with effective logistics infrastructure, strong trade relations, and is even in the same timezone as me!

2 weeks.....  

[tupp]

5 hours ago, Snowfun said:

Thought I’d found an interesting lens...  But just getting over excited.

 

Well, it's a Panasonic brand, so the lens might actually be made by Leica!

[webrunner5]

1 hour ago, kye said:

2 weeks!  2 weeks!?!?  You're hilarious!!

Shipping to Australia often costs more than the item and takes MONTHS.  When I was buying lots of old valves/tubes from the eastern block the ebay feedback time limit would close before I received the goods in the post!  I had items take 10 weeks sometimes!!

I received a package on Monday that I'd ordered in mid-May from JAPAN.  A modern country with effective logistics infrastructure, strong trade relations, and is even in the same timezone as me!

2 weeks.....  

About 4 years ago I bought a Horseman 4x5 Field Camera from Japan. I never paid much attention to the shipping on it when I bought it for like 400 Dollars. 2, yeah 2 days later it was handed to me in Ohio by FedEx. I bought it on ebay. I couldn't believe it. It was from a Dealer in Tokyo. It was packed amazingly well. I have Never had something come that fast from the far east. You never know.

[Andrew Reid]

1 hour ago, kye said:

2 weeks.....  

You don't need as part of this challenge to import from Japan or Asia, I am sure there are camera stores in Australia!

[kye]

1 hour ago, Andrew Reid said:

You don't need as part of this challenge to import from Japan or Asia, I am sure there are camera stores in Australia!

There are, they're just not what you'd call 'competitive'

Australia has historically been subject to the 'Australia tax' which makes new goods about 40-80% more expensive due to lack of competition through wholesalers having a monopoly across a geographic area, and while this is currently diminishing, I still get a lot of "this item does not ship to your location" on Amazon, and retailers here haven't really adjusted to internet pricing.  In terms of local second hand goods, shipping costs somewhat kills price competition:

People here who are spending even a few thousand on luxury items like electronics, fashion, or even art, often fly to Asia to buy and then bring things home in their luggage as the total cost is less than buying locally!

It's a good thing though, it somewhat curbs my bower-bird-like curiosity ???

[IronFilm]

15 hours ago, mkabi said:

Sweet!!!

But wait.... can I still work within the boundaries of $200 US and not CAD?

 And, this is just the body... lens is separate cost, right?

I reckon the amount should be expressed just in one currency, and we can convert it ourselves into whatever our local Pesos currency is. 

And to exclude shipping costs as well, which helps level the playing field a teeny tiny bit between those who live at the ends of the earth like myself and @Mattias Burling living in the golden paradise of Sweden. 

14 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

Competition will have a start and end date.

How much time should we take... 2 weeks?

Some people might spend a lot of time just researching and hunting for the right perfect bargain to buy! 
(not even counting the days/weeks it might then take to get the item shipped to you, if  you live far far away like myself. My Zaxcom Maxx recorder for instance still hasn't arrived)