[Ixnay]

Hi,

I'm getting married in June, and we are taking a 6 month honeymoon travelling around europe. I was looking at photographers and videographers for the wedding, and found out how much these guys charge!!!

So figured I get a photo guy for stills, and for half the price of a videographer buy a camcorder and get some one to run a tripod for the cermony and "pass it around" for the remainder to get some fun video as the day unfolds. Is this a false economy for the quality of what an amatuer might acheive from say an HC7 and a tripod??

The second part of the question, is what would people recommend to take around for the honeymoon in terms of format (HDV, HDD (AVCHD), or DVD (AVCHD). We will be travelling by motorhome, so have plenty place for storage, but wondering what peoples opinions would be on what would work out most practical. Definately want to go HD though, and would be nice to be able to do some editing while on the road with the laptop....

Any opinions would be appreciated!

Well what about the sanyo xacti camera great pictures and it is really compact to carry around on the honeymoon
http://************/285xva
also they do it in HD trust me go in to jessops and ask to see one then buy it on ebay its a lot cheaper than in the UK

[redsox_mark]

Pro vs. amateur videographer - that is quite a personal decision and hard to say. If you go the DIY route try and find someone who is a keen amateur to do your main footage. I've videoed a few weddings for friends/family and I think they were happy with the result. If you are willing to edit yourself I think it can work quite well, as you can put your own style into it. Though some would argue you should use a professional.... and of course the quality of a pro job will vary from pro to pro..

For camcorders, well I'm a HDV fan, owning a HC1 myself. I see the attraction to a HDD/AVCHD cam, and the SR1 is nice too... but in my view if you are going to edit on a PC then the HDD advantages aren't so great. HDD is great if you don't want to edit as you can pick and choose clips from the camcorder. But if you are editing, you can do that on the PC. And for now at least HDV is much easier (more possible) to edit; you can't really edit AVCHD without jumping through a lot of hoops.

So I'd get that HC7.

[Ixion]

Just a few thoughts:

Get someone (With some experience, if possible) to record the ceremony using a tripod.
Maybe, with permission, have a practice ‘shoot’ in the church or wherever it is to take place.

Do not ‘Pass it round’ unless you want to end up with a lot of unwatchable rubbish.

One keen, dedicated and sober, video-photographer maybe best.

Use a mini-tripod on the table and or a monopod if a normal tripod is not possible at the reception.

Slow panning is possible hand-held, but static hand-held recording is a No-No.
Discarding dancing camerawork during editing is no joke. I have been down that road when my second cameraman decided he didn’t need a tripod for close-up shots when recording a concert. I do not think he will do that again after the xyzw&%+xyz I gave him!

As with everything, preparation and a little research pays dividends in the final outcome.
Wishing you A Great Day! and A Great Life together!

I’d second what Mark has said, “So I'd get that HC7”.

The HC7 will take your 6 megapixel Still photos on the honeymoon too!

[toadoftoadhall]

you could always ask here if anyone fancies doing it.

I have been known to photo a wedding for a couple bottles of Jamesons

Guess it would have to be someone local to where you are.

toad