MovieChat Forums > Filmmaking Gear > super low budget camera

super low budget camera

posted 8 years ago by bonnievanvugt
2 replies | jump to latest

Hello!

I'm interested in films and film making but I'm fairly inexperienced with all the pratical things like equipment and so on. I'm going to Hong Kong in a few months to do a research seminar with my study group (I'm studying philosophy) and I'd like to shoot some film in my free time there as a little personal side project (I'd like to make a little documentary, I'm just experimenting and getting started)

My budget is super low, around 250 euros. Does anyone have reccomendations for (hand hold) camera's, that have reasonably good audio and video quality for the price?
Help would be very much appreciated!

Bonnie

[–] ImReallyANarc 8 years ago

You're unlikely to get great video and great audio at that budget, but that's not a bad thing. Even if you were to get a used DSLR camera you'll be sorely disappointed with its audio capabilities.

Do you have an iPhone or comparable smartphone? The video quality of modern cell phones is vastly superior to video cameras that cost $1000 just ten years ago. Use some of that money for an external recorder, like a Zoom H1, maybe also one of those gorilla tripods, and a small LED on-camera light. More importantly, have fun! Once you get some experience shooting you'll eventually learn the limitations of your equipment and can start building to more expensive items one by one, rather than spending your entire budget at once on more of a camera than you need.

[–] Zilkin (401) 5 years ago

You might be able to get a used dslr camera for that money, I recommend getting a used one or renting a newer one. You can film audio with your celllphone and a small mic that can connect to it if you need.