Hey, my friends and I looking to shoot a web documentary and I was wondering if you had any suggestions on cameras that do well for documentary footage?
It depends on what kind of documentary you are shooting. It also depends on what you will be doing. Are you shooting in HD or SD? Is the camera going to need to be durable, or are you mostly doing interviews in a comfortable setting? Are you going to be outdoors/indoors most often? Will size and portability be a factor?
Then you have to think about price. Are you buying new or used? What is the budget?
For me personally, I’ve worked with the following cameras:
Sony PD-150
Sony VX2000
Samsung HVX2000
Sanyo Xacti HD1010
Canon Rebel T1i
Canon HV20
Panasonic DVX 100B
These are all either consumer or prosumer cameras. For more professional work, I would probably go with the DVX 100B, or the PD-150 as they have lots of audio capabilities with XLR ports on the camera and they are versatile, albeit sometimes a little big and troublesome to carry around. For quick-hitting and easy stuff, I really like my Sanyo HD1010. It looks small, but really packs a bang for the buck (got mine for $325). It shoots in HD at several frame rates, it fits in your pocket and audio isn’t horrible. Also, if you really learn it, it has a slew of great manual settings, but those only come in handy if you know how to use them.
You can check out several of my videos in HD or SD, filmed with all of the cameras listed above by checking out my video page at http://www.vimeo.com/timbrown/videos
I hope this helps you make a good decision, and please feel free to holler at me with any more questions. - t
