Q. I'm looking for a moderately priced digital camcorder that will record high quality footage in low level light situations, but also have really good sound quality. Mostly for recording live music in small club type settings. Geek speak is Greek to me. I get really confused when people talk about bites and pixels and whatnot. I just want something that can see in the (not completely) dark without being green. If someone can recommend a brand/ product name that would be great.
A. "Moderate" means different things to different people.
Good low light generally means either big imaging chips and big lenses to allow as much light in to hit those big imaging chips. The imaging chips are like the retina in you eye. They need light to work well - big lenses allow more light in. The good news is (I think) is *most* clubs have some sort of lighting and the talent is under those lights. That means the talent is not necessarily under "low light" though you might be at the back of the room and the camera will be surrounded by low light, it will be pointed at the talent - that is lit.
My opinion: There is no camcorder with good built-in mics. Whatever camcorder you get should have a mic-in jack so when you discover that the built-ins are not good enough, you have a recovery path.
DO NOT GET A DVD BASED CAMCORDER.
Since miniDV tape provides the best available video quality, that is where I will stay...
Low end:
Canon ZR800, ZR900, ZR930
While these camcorders do have mic in jacks, they do not have manual audio control. If the audio you record is loud, the camcorder's auto-mic gain circuit will not be able to handle it. There will be lots of clipping and the audio will sound very muddy. The best mic in the world cannot fix this and the bad audio cannot be fixed in editing. You can replace the audio with properly recorded audio from a field recorder (like those from Marantz, M-Audio or Zoom).
Mid range - some might consider this "moderate":
Canon HV20, HV30
Sony HDR-HC7, HC9
They are around or over $700.
All four cams have a mic-in jack and full manual audio control. These are the least expensive camcorders with both. They all shoot in standard definition (DV) and high definition (HDV), so you have a choice as to which format you want on the miniDV tape.
As miniDV tape camcorders, you will transfer the video from the camcorder to your computer using firewire (IEEE1394a, .Link - all the same thing). USB will not work to tansfer the video from the miniDV tape. You will need to add a firewire 400 port to your computer if you don't already have one. Macs have had them for years.
Since we have gotten this far, I will list the high-end recommended cams, too - Just so you understand where I came up with "moderate":
Canon XHA1
Sony HVR-V1U
Panasonic HDX200
These are all around or over $3,000.
Good low light generally means either big imaging chips and big lenses to allow as much light in to hit those big imaging chips. The imaging chips are like the retina in you eye. They need light to work well - big lenses allow more light in. The good news is (I think) is *most* clubs have some sort of lighting and the talent is under those lights. That means the talent is not necessarily under "low light" though you might be at the back of the room and the camera will be surrounded by low light, it will be pointed at the talent - that is lit.
My opinion: There is no camcorder with good built-in mics. Whatever camcorder you get should have a mic-in jack so when you discover that the built-ins are not good enough, you have a recovery path.
DO NOT GET A DVD BASED CAMCORDER.
Since miniDV tape provides the best available video quality, that is where I will stay...
Low end:
Canon ZR800, ZR900, ZR930
While these camcorders do have mic in jacks, they do not have manual audio control. If the audio you record is loud, the camcorder's auto-mic gain circuit will not be able to handle it. There will be lots of clipping and the audio will sound very muddy. The best mic in the world cannot fix this and the bad audio cannot be fixed in editing. You can replace the audio with properly recorded audio from a field recorder (like those from Marantz, M-Audio or Zoom).
Mid range - some might consider this "moderate":
Canon HV20, HV30
Sony HDR-HC7, HC9
They are around or over $700.
All four cams have a mic-in jack and full manual audio control. These are the least expensive camcorders with both. They all shoot in standard definition (DV) and high definition (HDV), so you have a choice as to which format you want on the miniDV tape.
As miniDV tape camcorders, you will transfer the video from the camcorder to your computer using firewire (IEEE1394a, .Link - all the same thing). USB will not work to tansfer the video from the miniDV tape. You will need to add a firewire 400 port to your computer if you don't already have one. Macs have had them for years.
Since we have gotten this far, I will list the high-end recommended cams, too - Just so you understand where I came up with "moderate":
Canon XHA1
Sony HVR-V1U
Panasonic HDX200
These are all around or over $3,000.
Can someone help me find a camcorder that allows for good sound quality?
Q. Hi!
I'm looking for a camcorder cheaper than £350 that has good sound quality, as I want to record live classical music. I know this means I need an external mic, so if someone knows of a camcorder which is good and allows for external mic, plus a mic worth spending money on, please let me know :)
thanks!
I'm looking for a camcorder cheaper than £350 that has good sound quality, as I want to record live classical music. I know this means I need an external mic, so if someone knows of a camcorder which is good and allows for external mic, plus a mic worth spending money on, please let me know :)
thanks!
A. What is needed is manual audio gain control and good location of the mic(s).
It also depends on what sort of classical music. Solo, duet, trio, quartet, chamber music, etc. will have requirements different than a full orchestra.
There are a few entry level Canon camcorders (FS series, maybe one in the MV series) that have a 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo mic jack. But they do not have manual audio gain control.
The reason you need manual audio gain control is that even acoustic - classical - music can get loud enough to overdrive the automatic audio gain circuit - the result will be muddy audio and "static" (audio peaking at the loud passages).
Just because a camcorder has a mic jack, that does not mean it also has manual audio control.
It is possible to use the camcorder's internal built-in mics successfully - but the location of the camcorder (hence the location of the mics) is important because of the stereo separation and balance. With external mics, they can be located away from the camcorder... But even built-in mics need manual audio control. I guess the point I am trying to make is external mics are not a "hard and fast rule".
There are some Sony camcorders in your budget range that have a very rudimentary "MicRefLevel" menu toggle for "Normal" or "Low" gain. I am not aware of any SOny camcorders in your budget range that have an audio-in jack. There are some Canon camcorders in your price range that have a similar "Mic Attenuation" toggle.
The least expensive camcorder - of which I am am aware - with a mic jack and more granular manual audio control is the Canon HV40.
Another option is to use whatever camcorder you want - but record the audio with an external audio "field recorder" like those from Zoom, Edirol, Tascam, M-Audio and many others. These generally have built-in mics - and can connect external mics if required. All have manual audio control. When you import the video for editing, import the audio from the field recorder, sync the audio, then mute the audio that came in with the video...
It also depends on what sort of classical music. Solo, duet, trio, quartet, chamber music, etc. will have requirements different than a full orchestra.
There are a few entry level Canon camcorders (FS series, maybe one in the MV series) that have a 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo mic jack. But they do not have manual audio gain control.
The reason you need manual audio gain control is that even acoustic - classical - music can get loud enough to overdrive the automatic audio gain circuit - the result will be muddy audio and "static" (audio peaking at the loud passages).
Just because a camcorder has a mic jack, that does not mean it also has manual audio control.
It is possible to use the camcorder's internal built-in mics successfully - but the location of the camcorder (hence the location of the mics) is important because of the stereo separation and balance. With external mics, they can be located away from the camcorder... But even built-in mics need manual audio control. I guess the point I am trying to make is external mics are not a "hard and fast rule".
There are some Sony camcorders in your budget range that have a very rudimentary "MicRefLevel" menu toggle for "Normal" or "Low" gain. I am not aware of any SOny camcorders in your budget range that have an audio-in jack. There are some Canon camcorders in your price range that have a similar "Mic Attenuation" toggle.
The least expensive camcorder - of which I am am aware - with a mic jack and more granular manual audio control is the Canon HV40.
Another option is to use whatever camcorder you want - but record the audio with an external audio "field recorder" like those from Zoom, Edirol, Tascam, M-Audio and many others. These generally have built-in mics - and can connect external mics if required. All have manual audio control. When you import the video for editing, import the audio from the field recorder, sync the audio, then mute the audio that came in with the video...
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