I want to get a Video Camera, only thing is, I don't know what I want...

I want to be able to edit the vids, like blanking out number plates and general chopping etc. I assume there is some software I could download for nothing, but what do you guys use?

I also assume that digital vid cams are the best place to start, where is best to get one? Do I need a mega powerful PC, if so, I am screwwed?

Thanks guys

 

No you dont need a super powerfull one just about 120gb of hard disk space and about a 2.66Ghz processor. Thats what our media suite has at school Get software called Avid aswell

 

pinnacle studio 9 is a good bit of editing software that's easy to use for beginners as well

 

Half decent graphics card helps too, otherwise it'll either not work or be slow and drop frames.

 

Really depends on the length of the clips you are going to be dealing with and how many. But the general rule the more HardDisk space you got the better (normaly best to have just a dedicated drive for building the movies on) plus having lots of memory also helps.

Most software lets you use the camera to do some of the work for you for you so rather than making films to your HardDisk it does it to the camera, this can help if your pc is a bit low spec.

As for the camera all depends on what you want to spend?, make sure it is a minidv camera and get a pal one not a ntsc one. The way the movie is stored is different between pal and ntsc and not wanting to go into loads of technical stuff ntsc wont give you the best picture, so if you see any cheap internet camera deals make sure its a pal verison. The next thing to look into is the number of ccd's top camera have 3 ccd's one for the Red, Green and Blue colour channels but these cost ££££ so its all down to your budget.

Most cameras come with some sort of editing software, its pretty basic but enough to get you up n running, if you want to get something else then there are a couple of options again the cost of these can vary. Ulead media studio is a good package as is adobe premier pro. If you have a mid spec pc then don't bother with premier pro all adobe software sufers from needing a real high end machine to become just about usable.

For you pc then just get a second 128+gig HD for the movies a 2+gig processor and as much memory you stuff in there 1 gig should be fine. With current pc prices that prob wont cost to much, also you will need to have a firewire connection so you can capture from your camera. Some of the newer cameras also support usb2 but chances are if you pc has a usb2 input it will have firewire as it is pretty much standard on todays motherboards.