The Ideal Videocamera? (1 Viewer)

phyllosc

Well-known member

• Jun 27, 2003

• #1

An old friend of mine from Kent had been using one for years and showing me his footage of his trips abroad. When I asked him what kind of specification I would require he recommended the following:

OPTICAL zoom of no less then x20

Colour viewfinder

Image stabiliser

As such I bought the Canon MV550i

My rationale was to do most of my filming hand-held and I didn't want to attatch the camera to my scope. What I found disapointing with the range of modern DV camcorders was their low zoom ranges - x10 seemingly being the norm - when many of the old analog ones had much higher zooms.

How do other users rate their camcorders? Any recommendations for the ideal videocamera?

Dave

 

Chuck A Wulla

Member

• Jun 27, 2003

• #2

I've had a Panasonic 401 for better then a year. No serious complaints. I agree a 20X _optical_ zoom is a must. One feature I like about the panasonic is it's 1/8000 shutter speed. I've gotten decent hummingbirds shots using it. I also find infrared useful for dawn and dusk shooting of nighthawks, owls and even bats. As soon as I get my new ISP working I'll put some of my videos up.

 

esmondb

The fool that MrT doesn't pity

• Aug 12, 2003

• #3

I currently use a Sony TRV330:
20x optical zoom + 2x sony teleconverter - I reckon the 20x zoom to be roughly equivalent to 5x binocular magnification. With the teleconvertor I can film what I see in my bins.
I don't have a colour viewfinder, but find with the amount of panning needed when tracking birds that I use the colour LCD screen more.
Image stabilisation helps but a tripod is still an essential part of my kit, especially when filming raptors soaring and long, smooth pans are required.

 

Rob

Well-known member

• Sep 6, 2003

• #4

I am using a Canon XL1-s video camera. This camera has the advantage of interchangeable lenses, both for video and still imaging. I use a Sigma 50-500 APO lens connected by an EF adapter. The XL1 EF adapter multiplies the focal length by 7.2, so you get a 360-3600mm lens.
Downside of this equipment is the price and the weight.

 

Steve G

RAINBIRDER

• Sep 6, 2003

• #5

Hi Rob,
I too have a Canon XL1s but have not yet used it to any great extent. I had planned to get a Canon 100-400 IS L lens but would be interested in your experiences with the Sigma 50-500 EX lens. Have you any experience with image-stabilised lenses & the XL1s? & conversely is the absence of image-stabilisation in the Sigma lens a significant handicap in the field ( I'm sure the wider zoom range -esp. at the low end would be useful) ?
A number of "professional" birding videos have been made using this camera but it seems that there is no real agreement on the best lens for bird video.
Cheers,
Steve

 

Rob

Well-known member

• Sep 6, 2003

• #6

Hi Steve,
I have no experience with image-stabilised lenses. I do miss this option in the Sigma lens, it would be very handy. But, besides the wider zoom range, the Sigma lens has a big advantage to the Canon lenses. The focus ring is situated at the end of the lens (close to the camera) instead of at the far end as the Canon lenses have. Focusing with a strong magnification will cause less disturbance (camera movement) this way and I think this disturbance can not be compensated by a image stabilizer. The quality of the Sigma is good enough for video. I doubt if you can see the difference with a Canon lens.

 

Steve G

RAINBIRDER

• Sep 6, 2003

• #7

Thanks Rob, I'll need to give it a serious look.