If you are located in or near central London, your church video camera operators might be interested in attending a free Sony EX tapeless recording seminar on how this new workflow can sped up video production for your ministry.
The video editing session will include how to setup the Sony EX XDCAM recording equipment, basic editing techniques with Final Cut pro and the benefits of using a tapeless church video system.
If you or any members of your ministry are interested, visit VMI for the dates, times and free registration.
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Selecting a church video camera.
A cheap church camcorder for those on a budget.
Cheap Full HD video mixer.
Saturday, 14 November 2009
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Affordable HD Church Video Camera
I'm always being asked to recommend good video cameras or camcorders that can be used to record church services, but this has always been difficult because while people want features like HD, reliability they always end their requests with 'it should also be affordable' as we have a very small budget and these two don't always go hand in hand especially if you are looking for new church video equipment, I never recommend buying second hand cameras as it is hard to know the history and repairs can be expensive once out of warranty.
I'm happy to say that Sony have produced a professional prosumer camera that will suit the needs of many churches looking to start a video ministry with a tight or small budget, it is the Sony HVR-HD1000U which currently retails at under $1600.
One of the unique features of this camcorder is that is has a shoulder mount design something not usually available in this price range of prosumer equipment, the advantages of that is you get more stable and steady shots while working in handheld mode (very useful during worship services to convey the atmosphere to the viewer of the intimacy). Being a Sony product, you can be assured of high quality and reliability something that has never let me down in over 15 years.
This camera records in 1080i HDV mode, but can also down convert to SD for those who only want to produce church dvd recordings for internal use. Other features include a x10 optical zoom (remember digital zooms are useless for professional video production), 1/2.9-inch CMOS sensor system which produces very good pictures and a Nightshot function which might not be used in a church setting, but could be useful for documentary production (think night homeless outreach coverage).
The other function which could come in handy is the ability to become a tapeless camera using an optionally available Sony HVR-DR60 60GB Hard Disk Recorder thus reducing your editing workflow time for church video productions of things like concerts, conferences and plays.
While I have not personally used one of these cameras, from the specs, and knowing Sony, I can be confident it will live up to its expectations and would thoroughly recommend you consider this if looking for a cheap professional prosumer church video camera for a ministry's needs.
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Mobile live church video recording equipment
I'm happy to say that Sony have produced a professional prosumer camera that will suit the needs of many churches looking to start a video ministry with a tight or small budget, it is the Sony HVR-HD1000U which currently retails at under $1600.
One of the unique features of this camcorder is that is has a shoulder mount design something not usually available in this price range of prosumer equipment, the advantages of that is you get more stable and steady shots while working in handheld mode (very useful during worship services to convey the atmosphere to the viewer of the intimacy). Being a Sony product, you can be assured of high quality and reliability something that has never let me down in over 15 years.
This camera records in 1080i HDV mode, but can also down convert to SD for those who only want to produce church dvd recordings for internal use. Other features include a x10 optical zoom (remember digital zooms are useless for professional video production), 1/2.9-inch CMOS sensor system which produces very good pictures and a Nightshot function which might not be used in a church setting, but could be useful for documentary production (think night homeless outreach coverage).
The other function which could come in handy is the ability to become a tapeless camera using an optionally available Sony HVR-DR60 60GB Hard Disk Recorder thus reducing your editing workflow time for church video productions of things like concerts, conferences and plays.
While I have not personally used one of these cameras, from the specs, and knowing Sony, I can be confident it will live up to its expectations and would thoroughly recommend you consider this if looking for a cheap professional prosumer church video camera for a ministry's needs.
More Recommendations
Mobile live church video recording equipment
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Panasonic MX50 4 channel mixer
I had the oppourtunity of using the Panasonic MX50 as a church video mixer over the last weekend because we had a major production with 3 cameras and a laptop as a video source and our cheap 2 channel mixer could not cope with the demands.
While the MX50 is an old device and no longer available in the shops, it is very widley used and is a very reliable workhorse when it comes to live video switching especially when HD is not required.
I loved the big chunky source selecting keys on the A/B bus bars, and the T-Bar was a joy to use for smooth disolve transistions and while there are other functions like grahics overlay, keying functions, these where not required for my live video production, so I didn't get to use them.
The panasonic MX50 has now been replaced by the more modern AG MX70 8 channel digital video audio switcher.
I'm not back to video directing using or church video mixer, but surely enjoyed the ease of use the MX50 afforded us over the weekend.
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Budget video mixer for new church ministries
Our church's Portable live HD Production studio
An affordable 5 channel HD video mixer
While the MX50 is an old device and no longer available in the shops, it is very widley used and is a very reliable workhorse when it comes to live video switching especially when HD is not required.
I loved the big chunky source selecting keys on the A/B bus bars, and the T-Bar was a joy to use for smooth disolve transistions and while there are other functions like grahics overlay, keying functions, these where not required for my live video production, so I didn't get to use them.
The panasonic MX50 has now been replaced by the more modern AG MX70 8 channel digital video audio switcher.
I'm not back to video directing using or church video mixer, but surely enjoyed the ease of use the MX50 afforded us over the weekend.
More Reading
Budget video mixer for new church ministries
Our church's Portable live HD Production studio
An affordable 5 channel HD video mixer
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