video editing software, digital cams, and microphones, ?

[Ziggy]

So I found a great deal on some cameras, but I need some advice...

Previously, I said I was interested in getting the Canon T2i. It's not too expensive ($650 for camera w/ lens) and I can get it on NewEgg and get 12 months no interest to pay it off. It's fully compatible with Dragonframe, and overall it sounds like a bitchin camera.

There's a camera shop close to me called Labelle, and I saw there ad in the paper today. Starting Sunday (tomorrow), and running all week, they have some killer deals. First off, they have a Canon T3i (with lens) for only $660, compared to $800 on NewEgg and Amazon. It's just too bad I don't have that kinda of money to drop right now. But they also have the Canon T3 (with lens) for only $400, compared to $500 on NewEgg and Amazon. The T3 is fully compatible with Dragonframe. But it gets better, all camera purchases come with a "deluxe" case, cleaning kit, full size tripod, screen protector, and apparently a 1 hour class (or a typo for hour glass?). Granted, screen protectors are like fifty cents, a cleaning kit is no big deal, and the tripod is probably cheap. But free is free, and it'd be nice to get a bag included in the price, especially since it's $100 lower than Amazon.

The thing is though, the T2i and T3i are 18MP, the T3 is 12.2MP. My question is, will I be good with 12.2MP? The T3 has a max resolution of 4272 x 2848, which seems fine to me. But I've also never done video editing. The T2i has a max res of 5184 x 3456. I know that with programs like After Effects (or similar alternatives) you can do cool stuff that requires cropping of the original image, so I guess the higher resolution really pays off there. But will I be good with the 12.2MP? Keep in mind that we're not professional video editors here, and we'll pretty much be learning as we go. I'm not really hoping for super insane video editing effects.

This deal just seems too good to pass up. $400 for the T3 plus the freebies. I might have to scrape some money up and get it! With my luck I'll go down there and they'll be sold out!

[Cronozilla]

Well, full HD video is 1920x1080. So, you'd either want to put the camera in that resolution mode, or shrink down the images when everything is said and done. (It depends on what resizing algorithm is used ... it would make sense, for best quality photo in the film, to set the camera to the proper frame size)

Video formats are much smaller resolution than still photography, mostly because print is significantly higher resolution. You're talking 300 dots per inch in print (minimum) vs 72-150 pixels per inch in a display device. The display element density for print (and thus still photography) is significantly higher.

i.e. it'll be fine. If you DO find a resizing algorithm that doesn't leave much in the way of artifacts, you could end up with a much more detailed image in the end.

[Ziggy]

Alright, so it sounds like I'll be alright with the 12.2MP Rebel T3 then. If I understand correctly, I can throw up a 16:9 (for example) mask when capturing in DragonFrame, then I can export it that way for post production, among other options. So it sounds like the 4272 x 2848 resolution is more than enough to work with, even if I decide to master it in full HD.

[Cronozilla]

Be careful. A Mask is usually something that eliminates content. Meaning it might crop it. If it alters the size, that sounds fine ... but you should really do some tests to see if it looks good or not depending on which combination you use. Either, allowing the camera to capture in the resolution you're going to export in (something 16:9), allowing dragonframe to do it, or allowing the video editor to do it.

I suggest trying all combinations to see which yields the best looking result, because they're not the same.

[Ziggy]

Yes, I'm actually dreading all the tedious messing around we'll have to do. Trail and error and whatnot. But really, I have no problem making many ~30 second test clip to play around with everything. Stop motion ends up being funny no matter what. Learning your way around new software can be a pain, but Lightworks claims to be very easy to navigate, so that makes me feel better.

I have another quick question. How GPU intensive is video editing software? I really have no experience video editing, but I've always assumed it's more CPU intensive than anything else. I know encoding is all CPU, but I've never done actual editing. I was just reading on the Lightworks website, "Lightworks has an advanced effects pipeline, utilizing the power of your GPU." So does that mean that I should have a decent GPU? I pretty much have a super computer, but I think most of the video editing will be done by my brother, on his computer, which isn't as good. Currently, he has a GeForce 7300 (some where around there) video card. Will he have to step up the video card for video editing?

I recently rebuilt his computer, but on a budget. The plan was to upgrade some things later on so the initial built wouldn't cost too much. For example, he has a Celeron dual core CPU right now, with the idea to upgrade to a Core 2 Quad once one can be had at a decent price. So I reused his 7300 GPU for the time being. But will he need a real high-end video card, or will something more average but newer be sufficient?

[Cronozilla]

As far as I know it just means it will utilize the GPU if it can. Doing video stuff on the CPU is just slow, regardless of how fast it's going or how many cores it has, because it's general purpose. The GPU actually has hardware support for decoding video and things like that and is immensely faster with higher bandwidth than the CPU.

However, having a decent GPU won't hurt

[Ziggy]

I picked up the camera today!

I got the Rebel T3 and ended up getting a better lens. They had the T3 body plus the standard 18-55mm lens for $400, but the guy told us we can get it with the stabilizer lens for only $45 more. On Amazon, the camera with the standard lens is about $500, and the stabilizer lens is about $112. Granted you can get the T3 with no lens on Amazon for about $380, but the $445 is still a decent deal compared to the $492 it would have been on Amazon. AND the camera came with some free stuff: bag, cleaning kit, lens protectors, tripod stand, and a 1-hour class (that I don't plan on attending). The bag is small, it pretty much only holds the camera, but it was free and I definitely want at least something to protect the camera. The tripod stand is of course cheap, but at least it works (compared to the 3 busted up tripods I have right now that are older then me).

The guy showed us a Rebel XS to compare to. He said it had a better constructed body, which I agreed with, and it felt a little better when you snapped a shot. Same price. But luckily I was able to pull up the specs on the internet for it. Turns out it was only 10MP, I think the T3 is better overall.

The only thing I might have gotten ripped on is a filter cap. My father told me that a filter cap will also protect the lens, so that sounded like something I really wanted to get. The guy at the store showed us a "Commander" UV filter that was $25 marked down from $50. He said he had plastic caps that were 10 bucks, but the Commander was glass. Glass sounds better to me, so we ended up getting the Commander. I tried Google'ing for it to see how much it goes for, but I can't seem to find it. I see a Canon UV filter goes for about $50, but I can't find anything about this "Commander" brand.

Has any one heard of Commander?

I haven't messed around a whole lot with the camera yet, but it seems pretty bad ass. I mean, I've been using a shitty Canon PowerShot S50 (a 5 MP point and shoot) so the T3 seems like a God of a camera to me.

[Jrecee]

Vegas is the NLE that is least intensive on your CPU. GPU acceleration for editing software is a pretty new feature, at least for basic editing (certain effects will take advantage of it moreso) but CPU is really what you should be worrying about right now. The latest version of Vegas does take advantage of the GPU, but I don't think it's to the point where I'd spend the money to upgrade my software or graphics card to take advantage of it.

[Ziggy]

I'm probably gonna be going with Lightworks as a video editor, mainly because it's free. I installed it on my brother's PC yesterday and did a little messing around. His CPU can definitely stand to be upgraded, but that was the idea after all (keep the initial build cost low, buy a used CPU later on). Used Core 2 Quads aren't as cheap as I wish they were on eBay, and it looks like sellers are really stupid these days (pictures of CPU with no protection, just lying on carpet!). Anyways, it didn't run too bad with his Celeron Dual Core, but I wasn't doing much (only had a few clips open). Maybe I'll try and get him a nice CPU for his birthday in August.

Since I got the camera, I downloaded the free trail of Dragonframe and started messing around with it. It seems pretty awesome so far. I just did a simple test clip to mess around with the program. You're limited to 50 shots per take in the trial, but that's enough to play around. I'm just charging the battery and then I'm probably gonna shoot a few more test clips. I'll probably upload one later on. Nothing special, but I always get a kick out of watching stop motion. Even if it is only rolls of tape dancing around.

I need to invest in an AC adapter for the camera. Does any one know a trustworthy brand? I see two on the Canon website, but they're $65 and $95 ! That seems excessive for a power adapter, even if it is the first party brand.

And also, a decent tripod stand. A free one came with the camera, and free is free, but this thing sucks! Can any one recommend a decent one that wont break the bank? Keep in mind I wont be gigging with it, so it doesn't need to stand up to any abuse. It just needs to not suck.

[Ziggy]

So I posted this thread 7 years ago and never did what I wanted to do!

I suppose...

But I never stopped thinking about it over the past 7 years. And recently, I've decided I want to have another go at it. I already have most of the more expensive pieces I need. Although I still need to buy a few things.

My question for today is this: Can anyone recommend a good camera stand?

Being that I'm shooting stop motion, I will need a stand that I can really lock into position and not worry about it moving in the slightest. So I guess I'm looking for a more heavy duty professional type stand. I only have experience with the light weight tripods though.