Small cheap camera to make youtube videos.

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keriboi

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#177748 13-Aug-2015 09:34

I am after a small cheap video camera to make youtube videos. Something that will work well taking videos of the garden and my daughter. I have an iphone 6 which is ok but would rather something better. Not into gopro as that's too small. Needs to a decent mic and would like 720p01080p at 60fps. Do not need 4k
Any suggestions?

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#1365290 13-Aug-2015 09:52

Hi - AFAIK you won't get anything small and cheap that's better than your iPhone 6. You may get something like a point and shoot style camera that will shoot video and have a zoom lens... but I think you'll have to spend over $500 to get something better than the iPhone.
With an app like Filmic Pro or Vidpro on the iPhone you can make some manual adjustments and change settings... and if you got a mounting frame and a tripod for the phone I think you'd be impressed with the results. Even just practising with the stock video app and learning how to tap on the right part of the scene to adjust exposure/focus... slide up & down to alter exposure, or tap & hold to lock exposure/focus will give you great results.
The on-board mic of the iPhone is about as good as any simple video camera - you would need to use a separate microphone/recorder to get better results.
Even using the free iMovie app for basic editing (fade in, add a soundtrack, add credits. etc) - all on the phone, will lift your results hugely IMHO.

Cheers,
Mike

Photographer/Videographer clickmedia.nz

freitasm

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#1365350 13-Aug-2015 10:28

Perhaps consider the HTC Re camera?

dman

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#1365880 13-Aug-2015 20:53

Just use your iPhone. As to get a noticeably better image you need to spend I'd say at least four hundred ish or more. Then you could get a Sony RX100 mk1, or a Sony NEX-5N / Panasonic GH1 and a few cheapie lenses.

For sound with your iPhone, consider one or all of these:
http://www.smartlav.com/
http://www.rode.com/microphones/ixy
http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/irigpre/

https://www.youtube.com/c/SoundSpeeding

Batman

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#1365882 13-Aug-2015 21:03

are you serious? better than iphone 6??? it's as good as it gets for small, and outdoors.

mattwnz

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#1365885 13-Aug-2015 21:19

I would suggest something that does slow motion videos. You really need to put a budget, becuase I don't think you are going to get much that does 1080 at 60 frames, with a good lens for less than 1k. The sony rx100 iii, and canon g3x is supposed to be a good youtube camera with a good depth of field, but they are pricey . As others have said the iphone does a pretty good job if you already have one.
You have said you don't want 4k, but the benefit of 4k is you can capture a lot more detail and downsize the video down to 1080, so you end up with a very high quality 1080 video. If you are wanting something very nice and DSL sized, I would look at the panasonic fz1000 which has a great zoom and 4k, as it has a 1 inch sensor. They do also have some other nice models.

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#1365971 13-Aug-2015 23:58

My wife's iPhone takes better videos than my $5000 dslr.

mattwnz

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#1365972 14-Aug-2015 00:02

joker97: My wife's iPhone takes better videos than my $5000 dslr.

DSLRs tend to be crippled for video, as the camera manufacturers don't seem to want to canabolise their professional video cameras. I was looking at some DSLRs for videos, but they didn't even do 1080 at 60 fps, only 30fps. So I went for a bridge camera that does 1080 at 60fps, and 4k at 30fps. Don't think too many DSLRs do that, at least not in the 1k price region.

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clicknz

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#1366057 14-Aug-2015 08:15

BTW - the iPhone 6 does shoot at either 30fps or 60fps at 1080p (option in the settings>photos & camera), plus will shoot either 240fps or 120fps at 720p (option on screen).
The fixed lens could be limiting, but can be supplemented by add-ons (quality usually suffers though).
If you've got an interesting story to tell the viewer shouldn't really be thinking "ooh, if only this video was slightly higher def and shot at a different frame rate"...

Cheers,
Mike

Photographer/Videographer clickmedia.nz

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#1366066 14-Aug-2015 08:47

Hmm missus had 6+. I think hers does 1080p60

josephhinvest

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#1366080 14-Aug-2015 09:11

Perhaps you would be interested in a Shoulderpod.
I bought one and it is great, securely holds my 6+ with case on. Gives you a comfortable and stable handle to hold with good thumb access to the record button on the camera app.

Cheers,
Joseph

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#1366308 14-Aug-2015 13:00

Lots of standalone cameras that do offer 60fps on 1080 lose heaps of features when in that mode.

Also, if you want 60FPS be careful buying a "video" camera locally, most of the video cameras from panasonic and sony etc are stuck in the past and only offer 25 and 50FPS options because NZ used to use PAL video. That makes them totally unsuited for youtube where people will be watching it on a 60Hz display.

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RileyB

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#1412828 23-Oct-2015 14:28

Panasonic make most of the affordable "good" 4k cameras, but your still looking at over a grand for most of these. An external mic is pretty important if you want good quality sound so expect to cough up a good couple hundred for one of those too.

jeffnz

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#1413001 23-Oct-2015 19:34

I have an SJ4000 which comes with all sorts of attachments, is waterproof and takes great video. I use it when out mountain biking and have had no issues with it and it is really cheap for what it is.

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richms

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#1413017 23-Oct-2015 21:04

jeffnz: I have an SJ4000 which comes with all sorts of attachments, is waterproof and takes great video. I use it when out mountain biking and have had no issues with it and it is really cheap for what it is.

Plenty of fakes of it now tho. Some are downright aweful.

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#1413038 23-Oct-2015 22:18

richms:
jeffnz: I have an SJ4000 which comes with all sorts of attachments, is waterproof and takes great video. I use it when out mountain biking and have had no issues with it and it is really cheap for what it is.

Plenty of fakes of it now tho. Some are downright aweful.

The XiaoMi got quite a write up when it came on the scene. Sony sensor as I recall.

http://www.banggood.com/Original-XiaoYi-Ambarella-A7LS-BSI-CMOS-WIFI-Sports-Action-Camera-p-969228.html

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