Perci ([info]perci) wrote,
@ 2008-02-23 22:38:00
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I need to get a digital video camera. I need to record some stand-up sets. This means it'll need to pick up my voice from 10 or 20 feet away, and it'll have to put up with audience noise (hopefully laughter). I want a decent picture, of course, but it doesn't have to be, you know, cinematic. I need the video so I can see what quirky stage tics I have to eliminate, and also so I can cut out some clips to post to youtube or whatever for promotion purposes. I'd really rather not pay $1000 for a camera, but I'm also not expecting to get away with only spending $200 or something.

The only way I could be more clueless about digital camcorders is if I didn't know they existed. So does anyone have any recommended reading for me, either specific articles or just topics I should be looking up?

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[info]xythian
2008-02-24 09:13 am UTC (link)
If you need decent sound out of a camcorder, be sure to get one that can take an external mic (like a shotgun mic in a hotshoe).

I don't have specific suggestions because I haven't been paying attention for a while, but I suspect pretty much any digital camcorder would be fine for your needs since a) these places are mostly well-lit (right?) and you're not too picky about image quality (video cameras need ridiculous amounts of light to get really *good* video), b) you'll be shooting from a tripod (since you won't be holding it and shooting).

Where are these sets? Do they have sound systems? If so, see if you can hook into the um, console audio (?, there's some name for hooking into the PA that's there) -- that's the easiest way to get clean audio of you talking). Alternatively, a shotgun mic on the camcorder or a wireless lapel mic (I have no idea how much those cost, a wired lapel mic at radio shack that was halfway decent until I stepped on it and broke the clip was about $40).

With the exception of low light performance, which still varies, basically any camcorder is going to have decent video. Your point and shoot digicam probably shoots good enough video (though probably not audio, and a digicam can't shoot long enough probably). The key things you're looking for are, I think, a way to hook up an external mic, a hot shoe (for the shotgun mic option), and a good path to get the resulting video into a computer.

I dunno much about the current crop of flash or disk based camcorders, thought my aunt has a hard disk based JVC that seemed to have pretty decent video and audio and was around $350 (it was "obsolete" since a newer model was out, that's a good way to pick up cheaper gear when the last gen is good enough). Either way, disk and flash make it a bit easier to get the video into the computer, but Mini-DV based camcorders have been around a long time and (you have a mac right?) just plug into any Mac with firewire (a.k.a. IEEE 1394 or iLink) (also Windows machines with firewire, but those are less common) for easy capture and editing with iMovie. So I'd probably go with Mini-DV for optimal price/performance/quality tradeoff.

Going with a decent brand name will pretty much ensure decent video. So, my recommendation would be an inexpensive Mini-DV camcorder with a hot shoe and a compatible hot-shoe-mounted directional mic and an audio input jack (so if the opportunity arises you can get the audio out of the board). Your best bet for "inexpensive" is to find the "old" model, last generation, though to some degree *all* of the standard-def Mini-DV camcorders quality for that as everyone rushes towards HD and/or flash/disk based memory. Your best bet for "decent brand name" is to stick with Sony, Canon, Panasonic, or JVC. I don't know the state of hot shoe directional mics, except that I know Canon makes some that were around $120 because I was eyeing it for my own camcorder (I never bought it though, alas).

I probably should've edited this more, but it's late and instead I'm going to sleep. Also I see you asked for recommended reading and instead I rambled on for a long time. I suspect some terms that are worth reading about are buried somewhere in there. The sites I remembered the names of from my last foray into Camcorder Land are all spammy and/or squatter sites now so I'm no help there.

Edited at 2008-02-24 09:17 am UTC

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[info]perci
2008-02-24 02:09 pm UTC (link)
Hey,"rambling" rather than pointers is AWESOME--this is super helpful--thank you thank you!

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[info]cubes
2008-02-24 12:02 pm UTC (link)
Can't help with research pointers, but I can offer a couple of recommendations.

I don't know what the current crop looks like, but I have had good luck with several Sony camcorders over the past 20 years or so. They have useful feature sets, take decent quality video, have good battery life (esp. if you shell out for one of the extra large batteries) and last for-fucking-ever even with moderate abuse.

I'll second the mini-DV recommendation. Other memory formats may seem convenient (record straight to DVD? Whee!), but you lose either in quality or in the ability to pop in a new tape when you're recording something important and your hard drive fills up.

Beyond that, I'll give the same advice I give to people shopping for digital still cameras: unless you're doing some specialized work with it, there's not a heck of a lot of quality difference between the various name brands at any given price point. Go down to Best Buy or wherever and play with some different models. Find one you can carry & hold comfortably and that has controls that make sense to you and are located where you expect them to be. If there are specific features you think you'll need (inputs/outputs, manual focus, whatever), look for a model that has it. Read reviews on Amazon to see what sorts of glaring defects people have run into. Ask the sales guy for his opinion -- he may be dumb as a box of rocks, but he may also see which ones fly off the shelves and which are returned three days later. Finally, pick one, take it home, and enjoy it without tormenting yourself over whether you made the absolute best possible choice for your $349.

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[info]perci
2008-02-24 02:13 pm UTC (link)
That helps a lot--thanks!

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