I need to pick up a solid camcorder soon, budgeting up to $5-600 max. The primary use will be shooting my band in low-light, LOUD situations. So a good low-light (w/ fast response to dynamic lighting) natural-color sensor and capable on-board mic (stereo or option for external mic feed preferred) are the most important features. Not too worried about size or gimmicky features, just want good video for concert contexts. Do they even make cameras with interchangeable lenses in this price range? Will be used for day-to-day life shooting as well but that's of secondary importance.

I'm a fish out of water when it comes to the realm of video cameras, so any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

8/27/2012 3:46:24 PM

Canon T3i with kit lens was just on sale for $410. Fits your bill and a great camera to shoot on. Rebel controls are wonky and never could get used to them.

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/79112/asavings-canon-eos-digital-rebel-t3i-18mp-slr-camera-w-1855mm-lens-canon-pro-9000-printer


Other then that, you can grab a canon vixia handheld that works pretty good for 100-200, then spend the rest of your budget for a zoom recorder. Might get lucky and find a used old 1080p vixia for less than 100. I think Canon had referb models for $80 in the spring time that I was thinking about grabbing as a dash cam for my bikes.

8/28/2012 9:38:55 AM

Thanks for the info. How is the T3i audio (or external options thereof) going to compare to a dedicated video recorder? That part is of equal importance to the sensor capabilities. This is a Nikon household where DSLRs are concerned but I suppose I have to diversify eventually

I'll look into the vixia + recorder idea, that could work. Hell I could put one on each side of the room and get true stereo for less than my camcorder budget...

good idea, and still open for suggestions

8/28/2012 9:57:56 PM

On board mics for canon DSLR's are mono and about as good as a cell phone mic... decent for home video crap, but anything that's meant for loud noise and it will band like a mother fucker. Since they are close to the lens mount, you will pick up every hand motion, lens zoom and focusing clutter.

An option I've done have been using a hotshoe shotgun mic with 1/8" audio plugged directly into the body. Works ok, but I still pick up way too much clutter than I want, but 1000% better than onboard. Then again, I'm using an entry level $200 rode mic from nick.

But honestly, if you are going to spend that kind of money, best to just get a dedicated zoom recorder to allow yourself way more options than the simple ability on canon's systems. H4N used should be around 150-250 depending on the condition, but you can get away with their more entry level recorders/mics like the H2 ($90-130), provided you don't need XLR input to use pro grade mics or plan on putting the recorder directly in a loud speaker.

I'm in favor of separating your audio from your video. Recorders give you way more options for recording, higher quality, plus easier to monitor live and adjust your audio on the fly. If you need to change audio settings on the DSLR, its a bitch and a half since you need to get out of movie mode, go into the menu, go through like 4 sub menus to get to manual audio mode and change your gains. By the time you adapt the audio to your environment, the moment could be lost. Plus its hard to judge in the field if what you captured is any good. Canon's don't give you a headset output unless you use an external lcd/hdmi feature to split the audio for playback, but those kinds of monitor setups are twice the price of an L lenses the last I looked.




As for Nikon, their video quality is pretty comparable to Canon's. I just like canon T3i since it gives you a flip around 3" lcd on the back which is a handy feature for shooting video for uber cheap. Nikon has their consumer lines with similar features, but I'm not the one to talk about what they have.

Just note, video + DSLR means pulling manual focus. Auto focus is a sham; always has and always will be. Specially in low light conditions. The way how the AF systems are built for stills, shooting video will bypass it as its all software dependent, just like a point & shoot system. Unless they adapt a 2nd set of AF sensors overlaid on the camera's main sensor, there will never be hardware based AF for DSLR's, specially in cheap, entry level consumer devices.

8/29/2012 5:14:42 AM

How do you intend to shoot your band? Will the camera be stationary or will you give it to a friend who will walk around and shoot for you? Are you trying to record the entire jam session or one song at a time? Are you going to edit these with a computer and then publish, or do you need something that you can edit in-camera and save for future playback? What is the general purpose of the video and who will watch it via what device? These are the questions you need to answer before we can help you make a decision.

If you are willing to deal with a bit of the learning curve, you only need to shoot one song at a time, and the camera is mostly stationary, and you have a console that a camera can plug into, T3i or a comparable Nikon is the way to go. You can also get creative with it when you need to, and it will slaughter a Vixia in the low light with the right lens (by the way, it will take Nikon lenses with a proper adapter, as well as a ton of old fast manual aperture glass, which can be had cheap and works very well for video)Limitations are mostly the clip length and the fact that everything is manual. You can forget about handheld shooting as well. Built in mic is much worse than what’s offered in the next two options.

If you want something more automatic, you need a better mic for those times when you can’t plug into the console, if your friend will be doing a lot of walking around with the camera while shooting handheld, then Vixia or a similar HD camcorder will be a better solution. Colors will look more washed out and the image will be flatter and grainier, but at least it will be in focus and properly exposed. Just don’t get the entry-level one. You can pick up a used HF-S series cam for well within your budget (if we are talking Canon). Most acmcorders do not ahve any length limitation, so you can just set it on the tripod and leave it runnign through the gig, although some people do not enjoy the AVCHD editing worflow. With the modern software and a decent hardware, it is no more difficult than editing any other video, and you can do a lot of editing in-camera.

If you are playing acoustic, there is no external mic, camera is mostly stationary, and the sound quality is paramount to you over everything else, then you may want to consider Zoom Q3HD. It is essentially a high quality (for the price) digital audio recorder like JBaz suggested, but with a video function built-in. Musicians praised the old Zoom Q3, and the new version shoots in 1080p. The lens will allow the least light in as compared to the DSLR or a proper camcorder, so I don’t know how well it will do in the conditions in which you are playing. You can always get a couple of cheap worklights from harbor freight and point them in your face at a dramatic angle that way you will feel like you are on stage even when you are practicing haha. When playing live though, that may not be an option. But for something like youtube video it should be fine.


[Edited on August 29, 2012 at 11:37 AM. Reason : .]

8/29/2012 11:31:26 AM

don't forget to do the kiwi crop to make those lines more interesting for any subject...

8/29/2012 8:13:22 PM