Expert: Jim Boyd - 7/2/2008

Question
Hi Jim,

I'm going out to California this month to shoot some content (b/g) for a website that I'm putting together but my limited budget has me confused on what camera to purchase..I noticed that in a similar question you had responded that you were partial to Panasonic's professional grade cameras but I would be looking to spend $1000 or less...I would like to do HD but not sure if it's necessary and I'm also up in the air about whether to stick with minidv or go with a camera that records to a hard drive. So I guess my main questions are: Should I be thinking about shooting in High Definition? Second, sHould I consider a camera with a hard drive or stick with minidv? And lastly, am I short changing myself in terms of how much I want to spend on my camera or is $1000 or less enough?  Also, I know that most professional cameras still use minidv tapes but do you see these types of cameras eventually making their way to hard drive recording? Thanks.

Answer
HI Chase,
Unfortunately, there is really no such thing as “quality porn production on a budget”….even on the internet. Thanks to higher connection speeds and the advances in PC technology, even internet porn (which used to be inherently low quality) has reached a level of quality that was never before possible. Those who can’t meet the high quality demand…don’t stay in business very long.

Q: Should I be thinking about shooting in High Definition?

A: Absolutely. Unfortunately, with an equipment budget of $1000 dollar you won’t even come close to getting a camera with HD capabilities. If fact, a $1000 will not even get you a professional quality still camera.

Q: Should I consider a camera with a hard drive or stick with minidv?

A: I would stick to minidv.

Q:  Am I short changing myself in terms of how much I want to spend on my camera or is $1000 or less enough?

A: If you want to shoot Birthday parties for the neighborhood kids then $1000 or less would be right on budget. If you want to produce quality porn that you can actually make a little money on….you are not even in the ballpark.

Q: I know that most professional cameras still use minidv tapes but do you see these types of cameras eventually making their way to hard drive recording?

A: I don't see that change taking place anytime soon. However, I suppose it could happen eventually.  

You also need to keep in mind that porn is NOT an “easy money “or “quick money” business. This is especially true of internet pron. Production cost, bandwidth, and other expenses are often very high, and one should not expect to see any kind of profit at all in the first couple of years.