Camera Formats

One of the many considerations that my production group and myself have had to put into place during the making of our documentary Beyond the Music is which type of camera we should use.

Firstly, we have to think about what is expected of us in terms of picture quality. For this module, we are required to have our video produced in HD quality (1920x1080). This means that a camera that can capture images in this resolution is an absolute must. 

Our University offers cameras that are able to achieve this. We can also book equipment such as microphones and tripods that are suitable for the Canon XF100s up for grabs. However, I find myself in a lucky position in terms of who I am in a group with. Both my teammates own Canon d3300 cameras. These are much smaller than the XF100s so they can be carried in our bags when we walk to the filming location which will add to our convenience. 

However, the d3300s do not have the best audio quality. We can't use the XF100s just to record sound as there is a chance that there will be a slight difference in picture quality which may be noticeable to the viewer. We are overcoming this by recording sound on our iPhones. This again is really convenient for us as they can be stored in our pockets.