Q: My first camera..

My suggestion has two parts:

1) ask yourself if you really need  laptop. If you don't, then the new iMacs are cheaper and work well with fcpx.

2) ask yourself what kind of video are you really interested in. I am a home user and just put video on YouTube. YouTube video can still look really good from a lower cost camcorder. One can get too "professional" and spend way too much money when they are starting out. But if you want to explore the professional world, that will cost you.

I very much agree with the decision to go with fcpx. Lots of fun when you get the hang of it, and lots of low cost plugins are appearing for it. But Apple makes its video on high end equipment that costs a ton. I have the macbook pro retina and though a really low income person, found that the investment was worth it, but you can save hundreds by not going retina.

Oh, my other suggestion is to wait until after the WWDC convention next month. Apple might announce new stuff, though usually it that meeting involves software.

How much do you figure you have to spend of the computer and for the camera/camcorder? Pretty much anything made by Panasonic, Canon, Sony or Samsung will make video much better than the iphone.

And of course, probably the best advice one can give to someone starting out is to look for a low cost hands on course in video production and fcpx. I gained a lot of confidence from a small course I took at the local library.

Hugh

If you mean the Audi track footage, that was shot on an Arri Alexa. The media used in the demo is QuickTime ProRes 720p24.

Some more thoughts:

Apple today added flash memory to the new iMacs. For $300, you can get an iMac with really fast ssd.

Apple has perfectly fine refurbished computers which they sell on their site. Fcpx costs $300 and works with the latest AVCHD2 standard that lets you use cameras that record at 60 frames per second.

Do you have craigslist where you live, or the equivalent, where you can buy used? There really are a million fine cameras for under $700. When you whittle down your choices, I suggest going to YouTube and looking at the videos shot with that camera/camcorder to look at the quality. Also suggest you go to Amazon.com and look at user reviews to see if it works with macs.

I have a fine Panasonic camera, the fz200, which does fine video, but not pro of course.

Also have a really nice Panasonic hcv700, which is a camcorder. The new version, the 720, does wifi and lets you stream over Ustream, if that is of interest to you.

But I warn you, if you are truly just getting into this, that just as a hobby it has gobbled up my "free" money.Every six months them come out with better cameras and computers.

But fcpx really makes life fun, when you take the time to learn it.

Hugh

Ribs2312 wrote:

…  it looked amazing. What camera did they use? …

wrong question.

not the camera makes the pictures, the artist using it does.

so, who was 'they'?

spend 90 min watching this award winning, 3 part documentation

http://www.zacuto.com/shootout-revenge-2012

(don't miss the first movie, a year before....)

the Alexa was part of the test, but - spoiler alert! - an iPhone too.

plus a few hundred years of expertise and a million dollar studio full of equipment/light ...

then, and only then, you get 'quality'.

Not with a camera .......

My 2 cents:

Grab a camera that has useful features such as Optical image stabilization when not tripod mounted, earphone socket to monitor audio and an external mic input.

One of the weakest links on cameras is the built-in mic, these are useful up to about to 1.5 metres or so, after that you require a decent mic purpose built for the audio task at hand.

Another feature that makes quality video is three chip/cmos sensors to capture the image.

Most cameras with three sensors have quality glass and a raft of useful features as above.

My advice is when you have a short list of two or three cameras, go to your local camera store and test drive each cam looking for balance in the hand, where controls are located and anything that just annoys you in operating the thing. The test drive will help you buy wisely rather than just hearing some sales jargon.

AVCHD cams will provide you with quality footage and all round ease of use with FCP X.

Al

Ribs2312 wrote:

…  I don't want to fiddle around with lenses for it, also. I guess I'm looking for a camera that has a similar or better picture quality, fps and functionality to the iPhone …

the fps of an iPhone is terrible! in terms of movie making, because it has, under low light conditions, no constant rate, but a variable! FCPX will stumble upon that .......

camera recommendations are almost impossible - too many, too different needs.

make a wish-list, what you need.

not necessarily in tech-terms, just descriptive:

• what about audio? (better devices offer a mic-in)

• what about tele (to caputure Big Foot)

• what about wide lense (to capture Grandma's smile in her cottage)

• what about slow-mo?

• …

… and don't say "I want it all!" no such thing …

so-called System Cameras allow flexibility, due to interchangeable lenses, better glas for better pictures etc. Sony NX/NEX, Pana GH2/3, Samsung NX, …

'Pocket/Point 'n Shoot  Cams' meanwhile offer superb quality, and are as convenient as a phone, but offer no 'cinematographic'/manual control, Canon G, Lumix LX, Sony RX, Nikon Coolpix, …

DSLR for video started a big hype, … only in the hands of a whiz, … expensive. Nikon 5200, Canon 550D/6xx

Camcorders … finally! Made for making movies; the cheaper ones with a fix zoom, expensives with interchangeable glas; my cam is a Pana707 (now:727); others prefer 3-chippers (Pana909); best bang for my few bucks and my needs … from 400-40.000.

btw: the best camera is the one you use. not the one with the best test-charts.

Ribs2312 wrote:

.  so im not going to rush in to buying something that I don't need. …

you get toys for any need

your demands will increase rapidly with every movie done.-

don't get irritated by the nay-sayers and pixel-peepers - no company willl try to earn money with a product of bad reputation (I'm using 30€ devices, as 'sacrifice cams' in the goal - crazy perspective)  .... it really depends on what you want, what criteria YOU have for 'quality'.-

… it's a never-ending hobby, and the moment you unpack your latest investment, another 'better' device gets announced!

Happy Movie Making!

This is an interesting question…and it's always fun spending other people's money.

If I were starting out on a tight budget, I know I would prioritize acquisition – and put computer power and post-production considerations way down at the bottom of the list.

I would want to ensure that I got the invaluable production experience – learn from my successes and failures and not have an equipment  gap in my acquisition capabilities prevent me from achieving that. So, for example, I would invest in a good tripod. I would invest in a decent mic…and a camera, with the necessary connections, that could support that mic. The camera would have at least the minimum selection of manual controls…because those controls offer an important path to developing control over your desired production results…enabling you to achieve your creative vision (and if not, to learn from disasters).

There are many people in this world who are true gearheads and they have the means to update their equipment to the latest-greatest (really, the fastest) computers and software in extremely short upgrade cycles. (They are Apple's and Google's dream customers).  That creates a great opportunity for those who realize that they can do quite excellent work with the second-hand equipment they trade in or re-sell. That includes cameras, mics, lenses, computers and more, at a fraction of the price of machines with retina displays or SSD's. Check out Mini's; as long as they are Intel, and have a respectable amount of RAM, they can handle most post workloads. You might have some overnight rendering i your future – but so what? It wasn't that long ago that  overnight renders were SOP.  Ideally, buy this stuff from a local source, where you can inspect and test it first hand – or from a reliable vendor that will stand behind their product.

Good luck. And sometime post back and let the community here know what you decided to do.

Russ