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Professional Camcorder for Indie film
  • club_irateclub_irate

    I am planning an indie film and would like to have a 'DV look' type feel to it (example: Festen, Norikos dinner table, Visitor Q etc.) But i would like to go for something which uses a SD Card and not DV tapes yet gives a DV type look and feel and has the 24p option and atleast FULL HD if not higher. Really liked the look of Panasonic DVX 100B but thats a Dv tape cam too.

    Alternatively, is there any other way to achieve that look via some plugin? I own a panasonic Gh4.

    Thanks!

  • 10 Replies sorted by
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    You can try http://www.redgiant.com/universe-tools/vhs/ with light touch.

    Or just emulate look with oversharpening and playing with curves (to make it look like it is very low DR).

  • club_irateclub_irate

    Thanks a lot Vitaliy will try this out. What is Light Touch BTW? I am unaware of it.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Setting that makes only small effect :-) Of course you also need to close aperture and can try to use shorter shutter, as this is like camcorders are doing outside.

  • club_irateclub_irate

    So you mean f4 and beyond?

    And shutter if i am at 24p then you mean i should be at 1/100sec or something?

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @club_irate

    Normally, F4 is not enough for m43 sensor to look like DV.

    About shutter, outside you can try shorter than 1/100 for 24p.

    As DV camcorder can not close aperture much with tiny sensor, so it makes shutter change.

  • club_irateclub_irate

    Ok got it. The higher shutter should make it look like Videoish DV as you suggested.

    Thanks again.

  • IronFilmIronFilm

    Perhaps get an old tape camera but record its output over SDI to an external recorder, thus giving you the handy advantage of file format over old fashioned tapes.

  • eatstoomuchjameatstoomuchjam

    Alternatively, you could buy one of the older Canon Vixia series - the HF10/20/30 used SD cards and I'm pretty sure the older Vixias all hard a "cinema" mode that would do 1080/24p. They're pretty cheap used as well - I'd check local craigslist and/or pawn shops.

  • hempo22hempo22

    Just do yourself a favor and get a Sony PD150 on eBay together with a a couple of tapes. You can only get the look you want with a DV camera. You will not get it with an HDV-camera or on one that can record to SD-cards. It will be cheaper than any other camera + plus external recorder + what not...

    You can try to replicate the look all you want in post, but it'll be just as realistic looking as the security cameras on Hawaii 5-O.

  • CFreakCFreak

    Yes, but, once you have been editing your 1080 HD 24p material anything interlaced and Std. def. just looks terrible (IMHO). So to get that look be sure to also shoot interlaced and either 25.00 PAL or 29.97 NTSC.

    You could try it on a camera you already own in different resolutions, with VK's suggestions of less DR before buying a SD camcorder.

    OT: I was watching the season 2 opening scene on "Hell on Wheels" (US Wild West show w/a train robbery scene) last night and for some reason that scene looked like it was shot in 30p or 29.97p, it just made a great cinematic scene feel terrible, the freq. change doesn't affect the "look", just the "feel" of the images. I was relieved to see the next scene and all others were back at 24p all originating in HD or higher.

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