Julian Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 That's a whole lot of camera for someone that doesn't even understand shutter speed as it pertains to video. So what? If someone has the budget for it, why would they have to start with something cheap? I agree a cheap kit is fine to learn and make great stuff, but a better camera is not worse in any way. Let people enjoy their money / hobby however they want. Also it helps the economy ;) @zenpmd: check out the Vimeo Videoschool. Lots of stuff, can browse by category. One video that was really helpful for me is this one. It's about motion design, but handles a lot of things that are related to video. I also have a photography background, working with motion adds a new dimension of course. This video helped me out with basic things like how to cut from shot to shot and gives a good explanation of the message different kinds of fades/cuts send to the viewer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damphousse Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 So what? If someone has the budget for it, why would they have to start with something cheap? I agree a cheap kit is fine to learn and make great stuff, but a better camera is not worse in any way. Let people enjoy their money / hobby however they want. Also it helps the economy ;) I don't understand how increasing my country's current account deficit helps our economy. What I said is not controversial and is the advice most experts give to anyone starting a new hobby. Dave Dugdale said it in his GH4 review. And multiple people on this forum have said similar things to people decrying the depreciation of their cameras. The technology is moving so fast by the time a complete novice can actually take advantage of the features of the a7s the camera would have depreciated quite a bit. If you are patient you can literally go on ebay and pick up a mint t3i kit for peanuts, learn, then turn around and sell it for the same amount you paid for it. Meanwhile the depreciation on the a7s will be more than the cost of a t3i kit. Honestly until you learn a lot of the fundamentals and issues with the current technology you really can't make an informed decision about what camera is best for you to blow $2,500 (body only!) on. That's pretty prudent advice. None of these cameras is perfect and it takes quite a bit of experience for you to figure out what is worth your $2,500. And my advice was not designed to get the guy to sell his camera or feel bad. I posted what I posted so the next guy that comes along realizes that there is nothing wrong with starting small and it is actually probably the better way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ebrahim Saadawi Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 I do agree that starting the most basic steps in videography should be done with a low cost camera, as it helps learning when working around the shortcomings, and also does not depreciate as fast... But if one is in the position where money is irrelevant, I would say learning the first steps on a A7s, FS7 or even an f65 is not any less informative than a t2i, in fact it might be more helpful if later you work in high end environments. Anyway, just pick up a camera that's a little lower than your budget and start learning, then when you feel you have enough skill, get the best camera you can afford and produce the highest quality images possible. If you want to start with the best camera, I see no harm, learn... Shoot... Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinegain Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Don't forget, that if you want a kinda small camera with good low light performance... for stills, the A7S is not a bad choice at all. So, if he got it for stills already anyways and then found out it people love it for its video, you can imagine someone would look into that as well. I initially started caring about video with the Canon PowerShot SX1 IS bridgecamera/superzoom with CHDK (Canon Hack Development Kit). I was just amazed by the 1080p (in bright/well-lit conditions). From that though, I found out what kind of things I either loved or missed. Like, I'd want better lowlight: bigger sensor, lens choices (especially a manual focus ring, since pressing buttons or turning dials for focus sucks balls), great video mode, loved the tilty flippy screen, et cetera. So back then I decided to get a GH2. So getting a cheap camera is a relatively cheap way to find out what you need in a camera. Do you need something more compact? Do you need better low light performance? The lens line-up is not to your likings? You would like a bit higher resolution stills for hybrid shooting? That might be better than seeing what others are shooting on, then buying that 'because everybody else does' and perhaps turns out it isn't even suitable for shooting the way you intended. So you end up ditching one expensive camera and buying another. But again, if he already has a very capable camera, there's no need to downgrade. Best way to start is tutorials I guess! There are lots of YouTube-channels and Vimeo videos covering a bunch of gear and techniques to help out with filmmaking. I'll list some below that I like in particular (probably forgot about some). And just watch a lot of movies / series / videos that you particularly like and analyze why you like it as much as you do (warning, teach yourself to switch this off, else you'll always be analyzing scenes, lol). How did they make it work so well? http://www.youtube.com/filmriot | http://www.youtube.com/drewnetwork | http://www.youtube.com/drumat5280 & http://www.youtube.com/3DListings | http://www.youtube.com/Neumannfilms & http://www.youtube.com/Dod3032 | http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBasicFilmmaker | http://www.youtube.com/user/alanbesedin | http://www.youtube.com/user/devinsupertramp & http://www.youtube.com/user/devingraham | http://www.youtube.com/TheCameraStoreTV | http://www.youtube.com/user/DigitalRevCom | http://www.youtube.com/FenchelJanisch2 | http://www.youtube.com/philipbloom & http://www.youtube.com/user/philipbloom4k | http://www.youtube.com/user/dslrvideoshooter | http://www.youtube.com/user/NitsanPictures | http://www.youtube.com/onelonedork | http://www.youtube.com/knoptop | http://www.youtube.com/user/griffinity | http://www.youtube.com/user/thefrugalfilmmaker | http://www.youtube.com/eyepatchentertainmen | http://www.youtube.com/mike24p But I'd say, start out with this 5 part HDSLR series from AdoramaTV: . (PL: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvldk Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Windows. ---- Resolve, Premiere, Vegas, Lightworks.... and bunch of luts or FilmConvert (I'm not sure if it is compatible with Lightworks) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ebrahim Saadawi Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Sony Vegas Pro is such a nice NLE to use as a begginer to learn editing and cokour grading while also being suitable for the highest end pro work. It can do everything and is also very easy and intuitive to usd, designed for easy and fast operation. It feels like second nature when cutting as they make a very neat timeline user interface, where you crossfade clips you see them visually merging, when you put a black fade, you push it visually, when you cut you push it to the point, it's very natural and noob proof. The built in Color corrector tab (three colour wheels) + Luma and RGB curves tab + Sony Film grain tab + Sony Sharpen are more than enough and percise for manual colour grading. Also add the Neat video tab for a hundred dollars if you can, it makes such a huge difference in image artefacts and overall quality. I've been using it for all my video business for years. It does everything I need. All editing software (apple adobe avid etc) do the same thing but my advice for someone just starting is Sony Vegas Pro 13. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenpmd Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 Sounds great. And maybe as I used the a7s it might make sense to go with the Sony. Why is it s cheap on places like here?! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/321567456554?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&chn=ps&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108&ff19=0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.