I have been learning filmmaking and I am looking for a video camera that can film 60fps and 24fps at 4k and or FHD. I am hoping to not spend anymore than around 650. Any recommendations?
Looking for a beginner video camera less than ~$650
Aidan0098 on 29/12/2020 - 15:47
Comments
You need an iPhone 8 or X (10) or above to shoot 4k at 60fps. Movies are usually 24fps so that's probably how he did it on a 7 with that limitation.
Yes, and even the iPhone X is 3 generations old. We are at the point where 4k60 is just standard for anything above midrange phones. The iPhone SE is just a better iPhone 8, for example. The pixel 4a 5g also has 4k60.
The bigger question is why go for 4k60 at all? I don't know what set up the OP has but editing 4k60 is extremely resource intensive. It's fine if you just let the chipset do the work but then you are really just pointing and shooting - which is fine, but not really a "learning" experience IMO.
For $650 the best dedicated camera for video I can think of would be a lx100 mki, which gives you a (sort of) micro 4/3 sensor with a 24-75mm 1.7-2.8 lens (which is more like 32-100 due to video crop) and 4k30 with OIS. But as good as that camera is (there are plenty of excellent footage floating on YouTube) it is also 6+ years old, doesn't have any external audio capabilities and sensor tech has improved significantly since then. The zv-1 is well over this budget, and canon offerings in this price range are almost worthless for video. $650 for a lens + interchangable camera body combo would be much worse than the lx100.
GoPro
Honestly, a decently spec'd phone is probably sufficient for your needs (Steven Soderbergh has shot two films entirely on an iPhone - one on a 7 plus and one on an 8). Pay $15 for Filmic pro or a similar app to get Log (like) video so you can play around with colour grading.
I would argue that you will probably want to spend more on sound. You will need to consider the type of mic you want for the sound you want to capture, and whether you need an external recorder.