Video Equipment and Video Quality
People often ask me, and I’m sure other videographers, what kind of equipment I use. In today’s world there is a lot of talk about HD video across the market from consumer to the pros. And to be honest, I can’t wait to buy my first HD camera. However, I’m not there yet. I purchased my current camera about a year ago, and I really do love it. The sad thing that since I bought it, Canon has come out with and HD camera that is the same price range for what I paid for a SD (Standard Definition) camera.
With all of that said, I still have a great camera. It is a Panasonic AG-DVX100B.
This camera is a work horse, and I’m sure that I will be keeping it for at least 5 years. It has XLR microphone inputs, and manual volume controls. In fact, the whole camera can either be in auto or in manual mode. This is great for shooting live events so that I can fine tune things on the fly. The picture quality on it is amazing. It may not be HD, but it’s as close as you can get with out being a big TV camera. I still record everything onto tape. This isn’t like VHS, they are MiniDV tapes. They record a digital signal that I later import into my computer.
After the camera, the most important piece of equipment I have is the computer. Like many video people, I am editing on an Apple computer using Final Cut Pro. I am using version 4.5 which came out about 2 years ago. The only thing that it is really missing are some newer codecs for rendering the final movie. I hope to have the new version (which was just announced) by the end of the summer.
For those that don’t really know what Final Cut Pro, or any editing software is, the important thing to know is that this software that I, and others in my field are using, is the same software that more and more Hollywood films are being edited on.
The final step is of course your copy. VHS is has died. It cost more to make VHS copies, and the quality and longevity is not good. DVD is the format that output too. The DVDs will last many more years than a VHS, and I can also print labels right onto the disc to make it more personal for each project.
I hope that this has answered any questions that you may have about my equipment and if you have more questions, please e-mail me keith@keithmichaelproductions.com.