While I am always well intentioned to keep my blog full of great tips and techniques for great looking video, reality is that we don't always have time, motivation, and of course we don't want to give away any secrets as to what makes a McKenna Video a McKenna Video. There are some days, er weeks, where I want to write blog after blog, maybe even composing a book of secrets for the home user, but you know when you are running a business that has paying customers sometimes those customers take priority. Imagine that!
Having said that, I will tell you this: the first thing to consider before ever shooting a single frame of video is to the camera. So tip #1 goes something like this:
BUY A GOOD CAMERA! In these days and in this economy more and more people are looking for more bang for their buck. Ok, fine. I do the same. But realize that there is a difference between getting good value for your money and just throwing it away on junk that you won't be happy with.
Such is the case with cheap video cameras. While most home videographers will never win an Academy Award for cinematography, they can do whatever is in their control for obtaining the best images. Sorry to say folks, but sub-$300 cameras will not get you a great image. In fact, any camera that does not include 3-ccd chips will not get you a great image. Adequate? Possibly. But you will need to make sure that if you want superior images that you get a 3-CCD or CMOS device with as big as chips as you can afford. The last home device that I purchased had 1/3-inch CCD chip, only 1 vs. the 3 chips that I recommend and it did an ok job for my home needs. But I also paid $500 for it too.
Ok, and now about the sub $100 camera market. Unless you are looking for the novelty or are just wanting to post the quick and easy to YouTube, my recommendation is stay away from them. You can always post high-quality video to YouTube, but you can't take low quality YT video and make it great. Just like you can't make gold from lead or turn trash into treasure (if you ever figure that out let me know).
Anyway, hope this article helps as you shop around. Please see previous post about types of cameras at
http://mckennavideo.blogspot.com/2008/06/quick-take-what-to-look-for-in-video.html For all your video needs, visit us at
www.mckennavideo.com and for photography at
www.chrismckennaphotography.com . Our specialized wedding site is
www.mvsweddings.com .
Blessings,
Chris.
