Although both a Panasonic GH4 and an A7S are in my arsenal, I am still a big fan of the good old GH2 (hacked, of course), because it is simply a good camera and an even cheaper one nowadays (you can get used ones in good condition for 200-250$). Just a few points:

• Image quality easily good enough for the big screen when well-exposed
• Support for 24p, 25p, 50p, 60p (nice enough slowmo conformed to 24p)
• Manual setting of shutter speed, aperture, iso, white balance possible
• With a hack like Sanity you can record 1:30 – 2h of video in one take with one battery with moderate bit rate
• Decent quality swiveling display (super-valuable in some filming situations, I miss it when I have to film without one)
• Tons of good lenses available with adapters (e.g. Canon FD)

So, if you are on a really tight budget and you want to fulfil your dream of sending your first short to a festival, here’s a good starter pack:

• Panasonic Lumix GH2 used 200$
• Adapter Canon FD – Micro Four Thirds new 12$
• Canon FD 50mm 1.4 and 28mm 2.8 used together 100$
• Rode Videomic used 40$
• SD Card 32GB new 12$

Total: 364$

Anything else (light, stabilization, boom pole) can be improvised if convenience is not needed but inconvenience should not stop passionate aspiring filmmakers. So, money is not an excuse for not trying and before spending a lot more money for something you don’t know you will continue doing, give the GH2, the heart of this starter pack, a try. It’s an absolute recommendation.

Some sample shots (all Canon FD lenses, Sanity hack, moderate grading in FCPX):