ust ten years ago, it took a crew of hundreds, a budget of millions, a theater-sized editing bay, and a 100 lb., 35mm film camera to make a professional-quality movie. Not anymore. High definition digital camcorders have opened up this once inaccessible art form to the masses, with several pro cameras going for under $5,000.
Whether you're planning to stream your movie in HD over the web, burn it to Blu-ray, or project it on a vast silver screen, all five of these Obsessable editor's choices will meet your needs and help you fulfill your vision. Sundance and Cannes await!
1. Canon XH A1S
Canon used to rule the indie filmmaking world with its XL1 standard definition camcorder. For years, it was the standard by which all other pro digital video camcorders were measured. Since the world has started adopting HD, though, Canon has taken more of a backseat. Regardless, the XH A1S is a fine camera with a great deal of customization. It records interlaced video at 1440 x 1080 pixels, so it'll look good on a large screen, even though it's not FullHD 1080p. Connoisseurs praise this camera for its lens in particular.
The XH A1S attempts to approximate the cinema look by recording in "24F" mode, an approximation of the 24 frames per second taken by most film cameras.
The big downside: no progressive scan (720p or 1080p) recording. 1080i is the most common standard for HD television broadcasts, but as an indie filmmaker you will likely be more concerned with Blu-ray and internet distribution. Generally, progressive scan is preferable for those media. You could do worse than 1080i for theater projection, though.
Available for $3,999.99 at Amazon.
2. Panasonic AG-HVX200
The Canon XL1 was the reigning champion of the standard definition digital video era, but it could be argued that Panasonic's AG-HVX200 is emerging as the new king of the hill among indie filmmakers who insist on HD. It's even part of big budget Hollywood productions. For example, it was used for many of the non-special effects shots in the monster disaster film Cloverfield.
The AG-HVX200 records in full 1080p HD with a large pool of choices when it comes to framerate. Most importantly for filmmakers, it can shoot at exactly 24fps. 1080/24p is the holy grail when it comes to professional filmmaking on cameras for under $10,000, so you simply couldn't do any better.
That said, there are some downsides — particularly when it comes to storage. The AG-HVX200 by default stores its captured video on digital P2 cards instead of a tape format or hard drive. On one hand this is good; P2 cards are lightning fast and extremely reliable. The problem is that they can be expensive, and their storage capacity is limited. You could easily spend thousands of dollars on P2 cards in addition to the cost of the camera if you need to shoot all day.
While a wired hard drive is available, most filmmakers purchase a separate storage drive that accepts P2 cards. Swap the cards out of the camera and back them up on this drive between shots and you're good for long shoots, but that will still set you back a lot of extra cash. Quality ain't cheap.
It's also worth noting that while the AG-HVX200 looks like a camera you could hold with one hand in the pictures, it's actually somewhat bulky and quite heavy. Your camera man could hold it with one hand for a short period of time, but if you're going for an exciting, ever-moving, constantly hand-held approach, you might think twice about the AG-HVX200.
Available for $4,639 at Amazon.
3. JVC GY-HM100U
Similar in many ways to the industry staple the JVC GY-HD110U, the GY-HM100U adds a fancy new feature; it records directly to the video format used by Apple's popular Final Cut Pro HD editing software. This speeds up your workflow, which is helpful if you're shooting and editing on a MacBook Pro on the same day, or if you're a lone documentary filmmaker without a whole editing crew to take care of the transfer for you.
The HM100U records in 1080p at 24 fps just like Panasonic's AG-HVX200, but it stores its data on much cheaper and more widely support SDHC cards. The catch is that SDHC cards can't store as much, so you'll top out at 64 GB. That's just a few hours of video, so be ready to transfer the data to a laptop or portable drive on the set if you're shooting all day.
Features are pretty standard for this one, otherwise, with XLR inputs for audio and so on. You could do much worse.
Available for $4,067.30 at Amazon.
4. Sony HDR-FX1
The HDR-FX1 wins high marks in image quality, and its HDV storage tapes are an excellent balance of storage space, quality, and affordability. With totally native 16:9 widescreen sensors, the image looks as crisp as can be. Like the Canon XH A1S, the HDR-FX1 records in 1080i, and all the same things we said about that above also apply here. Still, of all these cameras, the HDR-FX1 is arguably the most convenient to shoot with due to its intuitive controls, light weight, and oldschool storage format.
The most critical flaw we could find with the HDR-FX1 is a lack of XLR audio inputs. Without those, you'll have to record audio through separate hardware if quality is at all important. Chances are you'd do this anyway in a professional production, but if you're really strapped for cash or if you're a lone filmmaker without a crew, this could be a dealbreaker. The HDR-FX1 also lacks any kind of 24 fps shooting mode, so you'll always get that silky video look instead of the austere film aesthetic. This could either be totally fine or a no go, depending on what kind of film you're shooting.
Available for $4,129.95 at Amazon.
5. Sony HVR-Z7U
At a mere $10 shy of five grand, Sony's HVR-Z7U is the most expensive camcorder on our list. The case could be made that it's justified, though. It does full HD 1080/24p film-style recording like the AG-HVX200 and GY-HM100U, but it uses the same HDV storage as the HDR-FX1, so it's more convenient than Panasonic's camera for extended shoots, and it has XLR inputs, making it a viable audio capturing device unlike the JVC product.
If you prefer to store your footage on a flash card rather than the old tape format for easier transfer to a computer or editing bay, that's an option too, thanks to an included Compact Flash accessory. Most importantly, the HVR-Z7U supports interchangeable lenses. You won't find many other cameras in this class under $5,000 that do.
However, the HVR-Z7U is incapable of shooting 1080p video at 60 frames per second. Since HD television is 1080i or 720p, movies in the theater are usually 24 frames, and internet video services lack the bandwidth to serve 1080p at 60 frames anyway, though, we're hard pressed to think of a situation in which this would be problematic. Granted, Blu-ray discs are technically 1080p at 60 frames per second, but most content is transferred from a 24fps source anyway.
Available for $4,990 at Amazon.
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