Get the right Video Camera with These 5 Tips
If you are interested in making your own video, it has never been easier than right now. You can even make impactful slow motion videos with a camera with the right speed. Cameras as often rated by the number of frames per second (FPS) that they can take. If you have a 1000 FPS camera, you can come up with some really great slow motion footage. Because there are so many great slow motion cameras out there, you may not know what the best one is for your project. It is possible to get the right super slow motion camera for your needs.
1. Do you want to rent your 100- FPS camera or buy one?
How many videos do you plan to make. If you are not going to make a lot or know you have just one project you are working on, you may want to start by renting a great camera. It if often possible to rent a 1000 FPS camera that would otherwise have been way out of your price range when you rent the camera. Usually, when you rent good high speed cameras, you can get the accessories that you will need to do your project right. You also will know that there will be no problems with your camera when you need it to work well. Most high end cameras are available to rent.
Consider renting the equipment you own. If you go ahead and take the plunge and buy a high speed camera, you can make some money back on it by renting it to other video makers. You should always have a good insurance policy for any photo or other equipment that you rent for other people to use.
2. Take a look at fixed lens cameras.
People tend to look for digital single-lens reflex camera for their video needs. These cameras are also called digital SLR or DSLR. You can get great footage with these cameras but, at the end of the day, they were developed for still photography and not so much for video. When you are looking at slow motion cameras, you should still look to more traditional video cameras so that you can know you are going to get exactly what you are going to need. You should look at features like optical stabilization, focus peaking, XLR inputs, WiFi capabilities and the optical zoom level.
3. Consider how much dynamic range your project will need.
The best cameras you can get for your video project are ones that allow you to change out the lenses and were developed to make good video. You should look at cameras that have ways to capture all of the shadows and highlight information. When this is in the right format, you will have the most dynamic range for your project.
4. Should you use RAW?
When you are using RAW, you will get the absolute highest quality video possible but you need a computer with an incredibly fast processor and a lot of storage space. You can get software that is better at processing the RAW video but you will still need a great processor. There is a definite learning curve for working with this kind of footage so be prepared for that.
5. Look at your smart phone camera.
Your smart phone will not be like a 1000 FPS camera but the footage is pretty decent .The iPhone 6 has a camera that shoots at 240 FPS, that can be used to create some slow motion video. Before you head out to the camera store and invest in an expensive 1000 FPS camera, you may want to play around with your smart phone and see what you can do with its camera. It might save you a lot of money.
When you are looking into buying or renting a video camera for any kind of project, you should first decide what you are going to need from the camera and what kind of computing power you already have. This is important because it will be hard to edit some footage if you do not have the correct computer equipment and software. The camera is just one part of the equation for your video project.
