Need help/advice about video camera

[lil ben]

Im looking to buy a new HD video camera. A 'compact' one
My budget is about £400
I want it to be able to take lens attachments (im going to be getting the opteka 0.3x 37mm fisheye and x-grip handle)
I would preferably like some sort of internal memory but with a memory card aswell
I would like it to have the functionality to change focus from foreground and background either manually or automatically (i dont know if all cameras do that)
I will mainly be filming skating and also editing/upload on a mac

I have been looking at a panasonic hdc-hs250
and also a sony hdr cx115 but im not sure if that can take other lenses

So yeah, basically suggest to me some cameras that fit my criteria. or any advice etc you have for me

thanks

[kmediavideo]

I want it to be able to take lens attachments (im going to be getting the opteka 0.3x 37mm fisheye and x-grip handle)
Neither of those will fit a 37mm. The sony is a 30mm, and the panasonic is a 43mm. You can buy step-rings, or you can choose a different thread of fisheye lens.


I would preferably like some sort of internal memory but with a memory card aswell
all good there with these two. Sony is 16GB internal, panny is 120GB. In reality, 16GB is more than enough for a weekends worth of skating. You'll just have to dump more often than the panasonic. But both can use memory cards as well, I believe.


I would like it to have the functionality to change focus from foreground and background either manually or automatically (i dont know if all cameras do that)
this is becoming more of a pain-in-the-ass with consumer cameras. To manual focus on the sony, you have to go through the menu, and it is using two buttons instead of using a wheel. I think the panasonic is the same. It sucks, but you have to pay more now to be able to have better control.


I will mainly be filming skating and also editing/upload on a mac
iMovie is so dumbed down it can swallow anything without flinching. you may need to do some converting to edit in FCP, but i'm not sure.

I'd say also look at the canon VIXIA series. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/682488-REG/Canon_4060B001_VIXIA_HF21_Dual_Flash.html
It actually fits all your needs, with a hard drive, memory card, 37mm thread.

Being not from the USA, are you worried about needing to shoot in PAL? In reality it shouldn't make a difference because most of what you do will end up on the web, but if some tv station wants to get a hold of whatever you're doing you may need to think about that as well.

[lil ben]

thanks for the feedback
yeah the opteka lens comes with adapters. i think its 30-37mm, 30.5-37mm and 35-37mm
but i could just find a different fisheye

If i get a fisheye that is the same size as the lens on the camera so no step up ring is needed. will that minimize the chance of having a blacked out ring around the footage as i really dont want that. I suppose i could zoom in a bit but then it wont be as wide a shot.

[kmediavideo]

well with any fisheye lens, the further the back element is away from the front of the camera, the more likely you'll get a vignette or see the lens housing (black ring). The cheaper the lens, the more likely that will happen as well.

Your best bet to avoid the vignette would be to get a bit more expensive or brand name lens, and specifically one that fits the thread size of the camera. the opteka is good, but again, the less you have between the camera and the lens (step rings) the less likely you'll have vignette.

[al dolega]

Pick the camera, then the fisheye. Not the other way around.