A bit of a situation, might be stuck filming in SD.

[LynxFX]

You either aren't reading the replies or ignoring them, but you are still better off going with a high quality SD camera with a good lens than a cheap HD camera. Or renting good equipment with that $1000. I've mixed SD footage shot with an excellent camera with HD footage and only a trained eye could tell which was which.

If you are still gungho for getting a decent HD camera for that little then ebay or craigslist is your only choice. You should look at some first gen HDV cameras from Sony or Canon. Don't get any of those cameras you see at Best Buy that record to a hard drive or blu-ray disc unless you just want it to look like a home movie.

You also never told us your workflow. How are you editing this? Do you have an editing suit that can do HD? Also what format of HD? There are a lot out there and that could determain which camera you can use as well. Then you need to think about what WriteSimply talked about. Will you have equipment to view the footage in the field? Do you have the right lights? Is it being shot mostly outside, inside, dark or light? If it takes place in mostly lowlight situations then no camera in this price range will look good. What are you doing for audio? That is just as important, as the camera.

If you honestly have a distribution company interested, perhaps you can get them to invest some money into the project so you don't have to skimp on the quality right from the word 'action.'

[OrlandoEastwood]

This is the camera: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...88920&csid=_27

Sensor: 2.96 Megapixel

Size: 1/2.7-inches

Image Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Movie Resolution: 1440 x 1080

Storage Media: High Definition miniDV (recommended) (63min.) or miniDV cassette, MiniDV Cassette

Compressed Format: JPEG

Movie File Format: HDV, DV

Optical Zoom: 10x

Digital Zoom: 200x

Focal Length: f=6.1-61mm

Focus Mode: Manual, Instant AF, TTL - AF

LCD Monitor: 2.7-inches

LCD Pixels: 211,000 pixels

LCD Coverage: 100%

Shutter Speed: 1/2000, 1/500

Exposure Modes: Auto
Manual

White Balance Control: Daylight
Cloudy
Tungsten
Fluorescent
Shade
Fluorescent H

Movie Image Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Movie Audio: DV: 16 bit (2ch) 48kHz, 12 bit (4ch) 32 kHz, 4ch synchronous recording not possible

Computer Interface: HDMI type A

Video Out: Yes (Multi A/V)

Battery Form Factor: Proprietary

Batteries Included: Yes

Height: 3.2 inches

Width: 3.5 inches

Depth: 5.4 inches

Weight: 1.2 lbs.

Features:
* The Image Quality of HD
* HD Video Lens
* Canon Exclusive: Full HD CMOS Sensor (1920 x 1080)
* Canon Exclusive: DIGIC DVII
* Canon Exclusive: SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization
* Canon Exclusive: Instant AF (Auto Focus)
* Canon Exclusive: 2.7" Multi-Angle Vivid Widescreen LCD
* Brilliant Video
* 24p Cinema Mode
* 30p Progressive Mode
* Stunning Digital Photography
* Edit and Share Your Video
* HDMI & Advanced Accessory Shoe Terminals

For editing, I was planning on getting SONY VEGAS.

[Sussudio]

sigh, read the post above yours

you made a thread asking for advice and people are trying to help you out... LynxFX makes some very good points and if you can provide some more info it might make it easier to figure an answer, unless you are already deadset on the camera you specified in which good luck i guess

[OrlandoEastwood]

I was looking at that camera because it films in 24p, the cinema mode. Is that not a wise choice?

[Sussudio]

i would just watch out for cheaper HD cameras because while it would be nice to shoot in HD, it still might not look very professional if you go with that type of camera. if you're going to spend that much money on a camera, it MAY be worth spending a large amount on a good SD camera instead of an average HD camera.

i have used sony vegas, and it has a great editing interface. the only thing i would be wary of is the fact that it doesn't have 2 monitor windows like premiere or final cut. but for the price it will definitely be a worthwhile editing solution.

[OrlandoEastwood]

Yeah, I was talking with an editor out here in Hawaii and he told me that Vegas is about half the price of Final Cut and it's a PC editing program.

[OrlandoEastwood]

Yeah, my internet seems to be working fine now. But the place out in California that does DV and HDV to 16mm and 35mm film has a program to convert video that looks like a home movie to that film look http://dvfilm.com/maker/index.htm

[Sussudio]

be wary of stuff like that. i'm not saying it won't work, but you will never ever truly be able to get home video to look exactly like it was shot on film, especially for only $145. better to put that toward a better camera or lenses which will make a much greater (and less cheapened/unnatural looking) difference...imo.