OT: Best Camera/ Camera type for Weddings...

jrazz wrote on 7/24/2005, 8:09 PM

I have a couple of questions;

1. What video cameras do you who film weddings use and like?
2. How do you deal with the focus when candles are involved? If I leave autofocus on, it gets confused on what to focus on as the flames flicker. If I put it on manual, I have to continually adjust when people are walking down the isle and it is hard to tell if they are in focus due to the limitations of the viewfinder, or LCD screen.

Thanks for the information.

Comments

FrigidNDEditing wrote on 7/24/2005, 8:26 PM

I use DVX's but the Best light sensitivity is supposed to be the PD170's, with the Z1's running a VERY close second - both by Sony.

As for low light situations - I just shoot most of the stuff in manual if I can - if there's too much moving from close to far and so on - then I may just try and be careful.

Dave

Lingo wrote on 7/26/2005, 6:09 AM

One of the best wedding video camcorders is the Sony DSR300 series. Full size DVCAM tape for over 3 hours filming excellent low light performance with minimum noise at +6db gain. Very good limiter for sound recording and easy to hold steady. All manual . Focus and iris.

DJPadre wrote on 7/26/2005, 7:30 AM

hmm.. a shoulder mounted camera as a discrete method of shooting a wedding.. i personally disagree.. even though the 300 is an awesome camera in its own right, the choice of camera really depends on the environment in which youre shooting. I have many clients who ask me what cameras i use and when i mention that i can use either a dsr570 or handheld DVX100's, they all ask for the smaller units, simply for the small discrete form factor.
Im yet to find a client who prefers the larger cameras.
With regard to low light focusing, it again depends on the environmnet obviously, however the HDV units are in no way anywhere near the SD cameras in lux performance. In any situation, make sure u have a focusable light with diffusor.
with rack focussing, its best to do it manually

DCV wrote on 7/26/2005, 7:42 AM

I use the Sony PD170 and it's great for weddings. The candle situation can be difficult indeed. This is the one complaint I have with my 170. Anytime bright light sources come into the frame (candles, sunlight through leaves, Christmas lights, stained glass windows, etc.), it can have major problems auto focusing and will hunt. The best I've been able to do is to use the push-auto button to get close and tweak with the focus ring. I've come to accept this as a limitation of the camera and I do everything I can to keep it out of these situations when possible.

Although we spend a lot of time talking about what our cameras can do, I've learned that it's just as important to know what your camera can't do. Even a well rounded camcorder like the PD170 has its limitations, just like every other camera.

John

Randy Brown wrote on 7/26/2005, 7:43 AM

If I put it on manual, I have to continually adjust when people are walking down the isle ...
Try focusing on the furthest point you need to shoot and everything in between should be in focus unless you zoom in tight. You may also want to invest in a small (5" or so) camera-mount lcd monitor.
Randy

jrazz wrote on 7/26/2005, 3:29 PM

Thanks for all your help and the options that you provided. As for the mountable LCD screen, how much better are they? Where can they be purchased?
Also, anybody out there use the canon camera's? Just wondering how the results are on those.
Thanks for the replies and suggestions.

Anybody know of any good places to get cameras at a good price that are reliable? Thanks.

John_Cline wrote on 7/26/2005, 5:47 PM

The PD170 is incredibly popular with the wedding videographer crowd. Probably a pretty safe bet. There is no better (reasonably priced) camera in low light situations.

As far as mountable LCD screens are concerned, get one with the highest possible pixel count. The one on the PD170 is on the small side, but it is over 200,000 pixels and is sharp enough to use to reliably adjust focus.

About where to get one, B&H Photo is probably the most reliable and trustworthy of the on-line video retailers.

John

FrigidNDEditing wrote on 7/26/2005, 8:34 PM

People use the XL's and the GL's but the XL's don't have a wide lense naturally - in event work that can be very limiting. As for the GL's I know some people that swear by them, over a bunch of other cams including DVX's etc... and others that don't - the nice thing with them is that they employ pixelshift technology which gives you more bang for your buck than the standard 1/4" chip cameras that are out there.

Dave