Does good equipment matter? i think it does.

This week and last week we tested the Sony MC50 and the Zoom H2N. I remember i always wanted to own a camera like the MC50 but it was until a few years ago that i realised how horrible these camcorders actually were. These were some reasons why i didnt like it.
1.  The picture quality isn’t great especially when you take into account the file size per second (24mb)
2. It saves the video in a AVCHD format which is annoying to export onto the computer.
3. The one board shotgun mic is very bad quality and has lots of noise in the background
4. Interlaced video and not progressive
5. Its REALLY hard to find things in the settings menus

Compared to a DSLR like the Canon 6D (while i use), the picture quality doesn’t compare at all. Yes the 6D is a more expensive camera (by about $700), but the quality is superior (the shallow focus and tonal depth). You can change the lens on a DSLR where as camcorders have fixed lenses. I will not be using the MC50 for future projects

I have worked with an H4n before which made working with the H2n very easy. For others it might seem like a hard piece of hardware but I found that the simplicity of its design very user friendly . Its audio quality is pretty much the same as the H4n although it does have less inputs. I will probably borrow a H2n for the approaching Brief 3.

One thing that kind of bugs me is when people say the ‘equipment doesn’t matter its the plot/narrative that does’. I understand that plot is one of the most important elements in a production, but there needs to be some level of professionalism to accompany.

There are films which are solely filmed on iPhones but the only thing they have going for them is the message that anyone can make a feature length film.I think its an inspirational gimmick. If its an experimental film, sure thats fine. With student projects it does matter because the plot/narrative ideas are usually under developed which is why we need to overcompensate with good technology and practice. I’ve been filming my previous projects and exercises on my iPhone because the quality didn’t matter. It was more about the subject matter and the meaning.

The point i’m trying to make is that for student films, we ‘need’ the quality equipment because otherwise our videos quickly fall flat.

(I do acknowledge that as first years we deserve to get the lower end equipment and work our way up slowly. I also acknowledge that the equipment RMIT loans us costs a lot)