Planning: Camera Equipment

There is a wide range of cameras available to me to use when filming my music video. In my opinion, it is crucial that I choose the right camera to film with, as I want my video to look professional and aesthetically appealing. For example, the camera must be able to film in a high enough frame rate, as the performance parts of my music video will include lots of movement. It must also be able to film in a high enough quality in the darker scenes of my production. Because of this, I tested out some of my options to help me make my choice.

Camera 1- Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200

My first option was the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200. I researched the specifiations of the camera, and found a table which can be found here. 

This camera allows me to film in 1920 x 1080 pixels, which means that my recorded footage will be high definition. It can also record Motion for up to 100 minutes, which is plenty of time for me to use. It also offers a slow motion feature, which I may decide to use for some parts of the performance element in my music video. I decided to test out the slow motion feature to evaluate it's quality.

Here is the footage I filmed when practising using the Slow-Motion feature on the Panasonic camera. This means that if I want to use some slow-motion shots when creating my music video, then I know how to film it. It also gave me an idea on the quality of the footage filmed on the camera.
Clearly, the 200fps VGA footage is much darker and a different resolution than the 100fps footage. I am unsure of the reason for this, as I recorded the different shots one after the other, without changing any settings on the camera. Because of this, I will most likely use the 100fps HD MP4 mode if I decide to use slow-motion in my final product.

Camera 2- Canon EOS 1100D

Another camera available to me is the Canon EOS 1100D. This camera allows me to film in HD, at 25 or 30 Frames per Second. Although the Panasonic camera can film in up to 240 FPS, the Canon will still allow me to capture smooth footage to use in my music video. To get an idea on how the footage filmed by the Canon looked, I searched for some YouTube videos that demonstrated the camera in use.

Although this video only shows still shots, I feel that the Canon's quality is good enough for me to use in my music video. I think that that although the Panasonic films in a higher frame rate, the quality of the Canon is better.

Camera 3- Nikon D3200

The third camera available to me is the Nikon D3200. This camera also allows me to film in Full HD (1080p). This is important, as I want my music video to look as professional as possible. I then searched for a YouTube video of the Nikon in use, to compare the quality to my other options.

In conclusion, I think that the Canon camera offers me the best quality. Although the other cameras record in a higher Frame Rate, I think that 30fps is sufficient for what I want to use. The quality of the Canon's recording is very good, and will allow me to make an aesthetically appealing video,