Q. I am somewhat on a budget, but I will pay for quality. I am mainly wanting it to record live music in bars, so I want something that can handle that much noise clearly.
This part is not necessary but I'm going on a canoe trip soon, so if there is one I can take down the river too, that would be awesome. But I don't want to sacrifice video/sound quality just for that.
This part is not necessary but I'm going on a canoe trip soon, so if there is one I can take down the river too, that would be awesome. But I don't want to sacrifice video/sound quality just for that.
A. Live music = loud = camera or camcorder needs some sort of audio gain control. I would also expect that these would be night scenes - or poor indoor lighting. Hopefully, there is stage lighting for the performers.
Canoe trip = waterproof. Generally, there are housings available for waterproofing, so I think the long-pole is the audio control.
Step 1: Set a budget.
At the low end, there's the GoPro Hero or something from the Canon HF R line. With the GoPro's using an external digital audio recorder like a Zoom H1 and synching audio when editing the video. With the proper camcorder like the Canon HF R series, then use the "attenuator" mic setting for loud audio and a waterproof "bag". The camera is not expected to deep in the water, so an expensive deep-water housing is not needed. I think the Ewa Marine VLA would fit most of the Canon HF series camcorders. Sony has its line of underwater housings for Sony camcorders so any of the HDR-series cams can work for both your needs... Another angle is the Zoom Q3HD and not use it while canoeing (but after landing).
Canoe trip = waterproof. Generally, there are housings available for waterproofing, so I think the long-pole is the audio control.
Step 1: Set a budget.
At the low end, there's the GoPro Hero or something from the Canon HF R line. With the GoPro's using an external digital audio recorder like a Zoom H1 and synching audio when editing the video. With the proper camcorder like the Canon HF R series, then use the "attenuator" mic setting for loud audio and a waterproof "bag". The camera is not expected to deep in the water, so an expensive deep-water housing is not needed. I think the Ewa Marine VLA would fit most of the Canon HF series camcorders. Sony has its line of underwater housings for Sony camcorders so any of the HDR-series cams can work for both your needs... Another angle is the Zoom Q3HD and not use it while canoeing (but after landing).
What is a good digital camcorder to purchase for low light situations?
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.
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar