Simon Moore Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Hi all I've been doing railway photography now for quite a number of years & I've decided I would like to capture my day trips with video too. I thought now is a good time as we are expecting a child & I would also like to capture those moments too. I'm no expert with cameras so I would like to get some advice from everyone on here. I'm looking for something that won't break the bank but will be good for railwayss as well as at home. My budget is about £150 Cheers Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 I was reading some stuff on making videos for business use recently, so mainly talking rather than action, and was surprised that the recommendation was to use the video facility on a digital "still" camera, in preference to an actual video camera. I've used mine for video a bit, but always considered it a convenience, as I don't have to carry so much stuff around, but not the way to go to get good results. They recommended a £500 Canon, plus extra for lenses, a mic etc, so not cheap, but it made me wonder whether just having one camera for stills and video is now a good choice. My 10 year old Fuji cost around £150 new, and the video isn't bad. I assume the quality is vastly improved by now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium ColinK Posted March 11, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 11, 2015 Hi, i take video using a Panasonic camcorder, which is fine. Before you buy your camera, I suggest you think about video editing software (especially check for compatability with you camcorder). You'll also need to think about the capability of your computer for editing (editing uses lots of computer power) and memory as video files are very big. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkeNd Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Looking in John Lewis on Friday I would say that your £150 budget is going to be a challenge since £300 seems to be an entry level price. I consider myself a competent still photographer but my efforts at video have been frankly poor. Maintaining focus, sound, and continuity between clips are all new challenges. My iPhone 5 attempts have been better than those with both a DSLR and a compact system camera to be honest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweasel Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Recently went down the same road. My DSLR doesn't do video, so I started looking at camcorders. Ended up with a Canon G25. Not cheap at £600, but the quality is certainly there. Anything below £300 will give you a picture, but quality and versatility will suffer. So will you.The on line Canon Shop sometimes has some good bargains. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny777 Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Looking in John Lewis on Friday I would say that your £150 budget is going to be a challenge since £300 seems to be an entry level price. I consider myself a competent still photographer but my efforts at video have been frankly poor. Maintaining focus, sound, and continuity between clips are all new challenges. My iPhone 5 attempts have been better than those with both a DSLR and a compact system camera to be honest. I am beginning to agree about the iPhone video. I took a 40 second video of my grandaughter indoors yesterday, not expecting too much quality due to the low light levels, but I was amazed at how it turned out. The colours are bright and sharp, and I didn't have to bring my old bulky camcorder with me which is a bonus. The video took up 90mb on the iPhone, which is not bad as it is a 32gb phone, and although I have a lot of memory taken up by audio, I still have 6gb free. My calculations (may be a bit dodgy) tell me that 10 mins of video would take up 1.5gb, so I could probably take 40 minutes worth with the space I have left. As the iPhone is easily linked to my laptop by a usb cable, I could upload the 40 min video to my hard drive and start again. However, I have only just discovered this phone ability, and more experimentation is needed to judge the outdoor/distance quality. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 I hope it's okay if I chip-in my sixpence.I've been practicing videography since late 2011, although my efforts suggest I started yesterday.When I started, I was on a very strict budget. I began with a Toshiba Camilio S30, which cost around £70. Picture quality wasn't the best in the world b any means, but it was the sound (or lack of) that really let it down. However, it did allow me to get to grips a little with recording videos, so it wasn't all bad I suppose. It didn't lack in the toy department (Time Lapse, Slow Motion, and one or two other things), but it was like ramming a V12 engine into a Mini. It felt as if the options and Toys, were a bit useless as the camera hadn't exactly been designed for it.In April of 2013, I upgraded to a Panasonic HC-V500. About £250-£300 retail value, but it really can punch among the big boys. Unlike the Toshiba, as this was designed as a Low-Mid range camcorder, it does lack a little on filming options. However, it does make up for it in other areas.Picture Quality:1920 x 1080/50fps or in English, very good picture quality as well as very smooth when panning.Features:Exceptionally clear and focused zoom (50x I.zoom)Hybrid O.I.S (Optical Image Stabilizer). Essentially, helps to reduce shaking when filming. I am quite unsteady-handed, so this is particularly helpful.For sub £300, it really is great value for money. A shameless plug (Best viewed in HD, full screen). A video taken with the V500: Regards, Matt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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