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Expert: - 3/29/2011


Question
Hello.  

I'm getting ready to buy a camcorder to use for weddings.  I currently own a Canon 5D and my first inclination was to buy a Canon, but the more I read reviews on camcorders, the more confused I get. Hmmmm!  

Any suggestions?  What do you use?

Thanks.

Answer

Engagement Portraits C
Hi Alex,

Thanks for your questions regarding professional wedding video services as a wedding photographer. I'm hearing every other week or so from professional wedding photographers seeking to add wedding video services to their repertoire.

Glad to hear you are using a Canon 5D. Great still camera. Of course, it doesn't have video capability and that's fine.  In my opinion, you and I are better off having video cameras instead which offer great features, quality etc., without having to lose both anytime an otherwise video/still combination camera might need to be turned in for some kind of work. So I highly recommend purchasing a fully dedicated video camera.

The video camera we use was purchased nearly 5 years ago. While it is still available I would rather recommend something better. Bearing in mind this is for a professional wedding photographer who needs the convenience of a smaller light-weight video camera the photographer can easily and quickly alternate while shooting during the course of the day:

The Sony HDR-XR550V Camcorder with info at http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/671562-REG/Sony_HDR_XR550V_HDR_XR550V_240G...

You MUST have an external microphone (I currently use a wireless blue-tooth with 300 foot range) for making sure I capture the vows exchange in 5.1 surround sound).  I also highly recommend the wide-angle lens attachment when you get in tight spots or smaller rooms. Plus you will find the wide-angle lens also useful for creative shots and very close-up shots of wedding day mementos.

Take note this video camera also shoots in the highly desired MPEG AVC/H.264 format! This camera currently sales from B&H Photo Video for $899.00 which makes it a lot of great video camera for the professional wedding photographer.  When burned to blu-ray disc, you have video which is very high quality when played on an HD television.

As a photographer you probably already have a very good computer for working with Canon's RAW files and batch processing 12.8 megapixel JPEGs, etc.  But for high definition video processing you might need or want a lot more RAM in your computer besides a quad processor at 3GZ or faster.

You can do a great job in video post production with Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum. Unless you know you might want to get more serious about video production, I would then recommend Adobe Premier Pro. I think that runs around $700.00 at this time.

Also remember there are differences between still camera tripods and video tripods.  So make sure you get a great video tripod.  This is especially important to make sure you can have the video with a quick and easy level horizon and leave it unattended now and then during the wedding ceremony while you and your 2nd shooter capture stills.

Full fledged wedding videographers using dedicated pro cameras must charge around $800 or so just for one video camera shooting of the wedding ceremony. As you probably already know, a lot of brides care a lot more about photography than they do video. But there are those brides who wish they could also afford video - at least of the wedding ceremony.  This is where photographers who also offer video can provide for those brides.  While our video is not technically as high as those produced by the larger pro video cameras, our video work appropriately priced in our markets can serve the needs of the vast majority of brides. All of our brides have absolutely LOVED the videos we produced for them. While some were not so sure they really wanted video, after the video was done and delivered, some cry with happiness their Wedding Day video is so crystal clear and being able to hear the best wishes, toasts and especially their wedding vows means so much - AND it did not cost them an arm and a leg.

Video short examples of Wedding Photographics videos may be viewed on our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/WeddingPhotographics/  Of course, even the High Definition on YouTube does NOT come close to the actual High Definition video quality we burn to our wedding customers blu-ray discs.


Wedding Photographer John Wilson
Wedding Photographics
Chattanooga, Tennessee
http://www.weddingphotographics.net
423-468-9621
    Questioner's Rating
    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 10Clarity of Response = 10Politeness = 10
    CommentThanks John. The Sony looks great and I think I'll get one.


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Wedding Photographics

Expertise

I have over 30 years of wedding photography experience. I can comprehensively answer questions relating directly to the art, science and business of wedding photography. Photoshop and other photo editing software and wedding album design and assembly. My website http://www.weddingphotographics.net

Experience

Over 30 years wedding photography and wedding album design and assembly experience.

Education/Credentials
I have attended numerous wedding photography workshops, seminars and photography conventions over the years. I constantly self-study from over 100 books on wedding photography, wedding video, digital photography, photoshop, fotofusion and other photography and multimedia educational materials.

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