Good Camera for Making Videos?

[justanothercamgirl]

Hi all,

I have been camming for around 3 years now and always make my videos on my webcam. However, I really want to make many more videos and would like them to be of better quality and I would like to get into video editing so I can make compilations etc. I was wondering whether anyone could recommend a good camera (and maybe a good lighting set up) as I am a complete novice when it comes to all this sort of thing.

Thanks so much,

justanothercamgirl

 

[SMuser69]

Before giving a suggest I have to ask.

1. Are you planning to video in other locations that were you cam (outside, other rooms, places of different lighting)?

2. A fixed camera (better quality webcam) or battery powered (camcorder or gopro style)?

3. Do you want a camera with lighting (camcorder with light mount, Webcam with external light)?

4. Is water resistance important (filming in a shower or near a pool or beach)?

 

[justanothercamgirl]

Hi,

thanks for taking the time to respond.

1. I am planning on videoing in different rooms in my house and in the garden.

2. I am using a Logitech HD webcam at the moment which is great. But I would quite like to have a proper camera (camcorder style) on a tripod to do a good job (forgive me if this sounds silly. I am not very knowledgeable about this and it is just a vision in my head that an actual video camera would do a better job than a webcam. But I might be wrong about this)

2. If you can get a cam with lighting that might be good. Or I was considering getting some back lighting. But this will be a bit faffy to move around and store.

4. Water resistance is not essential.

Thanks again x

 

[Zana]

Anything from the canon vixia line is highly recommended by many. I have the r700 one and the quality is pretty good. Plus it's only around $200 on amazon.

Lighting depends on the area you're filming in. I use soft boxes. And people swear by ring lights.

 

[Smores]

Invest in lighting. That looks to be incredibly important and many waste a good camera on a poorly lit scene. You need a key and fill light at minimum, preferably made soft by a soft box. Hair light would be nice if you can afford it. Dual background lights really pick up the back wall.

In terms of camera, the big decision is do you want a webcam or do you want a DSLR? Webcams tend to stay in focus over a long range, so everything in the scene is in focus. DSLRs tend to focus in a much more narrow range, so you can get extremely high quality resolution on your face and body, and the background fades into a blur. With a DSLR you can custom pick lenses as well. Webcams are cheap. DSLRs are quite expensive.