Which camera would be best for making a short film?
Canon G12 10 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.8 Inch Vari-Angle LCD
http://www.amazon.com/...0041RSPRS/
Canon PowerShot SX20IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 20x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-Inch Articulating LCD
http://www.amazon.com/...B002LITT3I
Panasonic DMC-FZ150K 12.1 MP Digital Camera with CMOS Sensor and 24x Optical Zoom (Black)
http://www.amazon.com/...005HQ50SO/
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 24x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD - Black
http://www.amazon.com/...003WJR68U/
Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
http://www.amazon.com/...00114PN1U/
Nikon D5100 16.2MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera
http://www.amazon.com/...004V4IWKG/
To be honest these are just a bunch of cameras I got off a top 10 site. I have £500. I've been looking around for about an hour looking at cameras which seemed too expensive but were in dollars. So there's probably some better ones out there not on this list. If you know of any could you mention them.
Out of those, the best for recording video is the Canon HV30 (you can also look at the HV40).
The reason is that this is an actual video camera. The others are really just for still images and happen to have a video feature. Their CMOS sensors overheat quickly and they have a recording time limit.
£500 is maybe around $750 or 780$ so it should be in your budget.
None of these cameras can be used to make a film unless you have (very expensive) transfer from digital to film capability. For film you want either 16mm or 35mm cameras and film stock. Keep in mind that a good 35mm camera can be $70, 000. Put that with the other things you need and then a crew to run it all you could invest $150, 000 before shooting your first frame.
However, if you want to make a video (not film at all because film is a completely different media) then any good camera that shoots video will work. However also understand that camcorders are much better at shooting video (still not film) than dslr or bridge cameras.
Do you have a film or video editor? If a film editor it won't work for video and the same is true the other way around.
If you have a video editor and know how to use it and the camera, you can make very nice videos with it.
The best camera for shooting short films would be a 16 mm film camera. Motion picture = film
I get the impression from your list you want to shoot video and later convert it to film
For that you will need a camera like a Panasonic AG-HPX500 with 2/3" 3-CCD 16:9 P2 HD CineGammaTM or Sony XDCAM EX PMW-EX3
These video cameras have 3-CCD's to provide the best quality Full HD possible using a video camera.
They cost about £6, 500 plus VAT, so most "filmmakers" who shoot in video and convert to 35 mm theatrical releases, rent them.
Renting has a positive effect on both the budget (cost, expense write-off and no capital investment) and allows the production company to use rent the latest and greatest cameras, each time the start a new project.
If you are shooting from a script, the CMOS sensor heating up after a few, 5 minute takes should be tolerable, but you are only dealing with one sensor, using only 2 mp of what is there.
Link:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/camcorders/cam-cam.shtml
I know you are trying to save some pennies on the front end, but after you compile your whole budget, you will see that buying a $500 camera that is a still camera with only a "video feature", may not be the best use of your "film" budget. Of all those cameras listed, only the Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV is made to shoot video, so if you still want to buy a camera, that is the one I recommend from your list.
For future thought.
Of all the dSLR cameras that have a "video feature", only the new Nikon D800 or D4 can shoot uncompressed video (4.4.4).
You will want to forget any P&S cameras as a tool for shooting "short films". The sensors are far too small and there's very little in the way of focus control
I would recommend getting a second hand Canon 550D and installing magic lantern firmware this way you will get a £500 camera that would be equivilent to something £5000.
I would suggest to get Canon VIXIA HV40 HD HDV Camcorder
HDV format delivers high-definition video to miniDV tape
Genuine Canon 10x HD video lens; SuperRange Optical Image Stabilizer
DIGIC DV II image processor; 24p Cinema Mode, 30p Progressive Mode
2.7-inch Multi-Angle Vivid Widescreen LCD