top camcorders budget image
Scott Elwo
I am planning to buy a camcorder for a website that I run. I will be doing various things with it, so it should be able to perform in various lightings.
The main thing that I am looking for in it though is computer compatibility. I will be hosting the videos I create on a website, and won't be using it for 'Home Video' use. So USB or Firewire or HDD are highly preferable.
Price range should be below $500, so any helpful tips on what to buy?
Answer
Recommend that you visit the cnet site. It has reviews of all the models, identifies which are the top sellers and provides a decent comparison between different makes and models. Based upon your budget apetite, you can narrow down the search too at this site.
http://reviews.cnet.com/Camcorders/2001-6500_7-0.html?tag=dir
Recommend that you visit the cnet site. It has reviews of all the models, identifies which are the top sellers and provides a decent comparison between different makes and models. Based upon your budget apetite, you can narrow down the search too at this site.
http://reviews.cnet.com/Camcorders/2001-6500_7-0.html?tag=dir
How do professional cameramen film in low light so well?
Teh Tarik
I've just bought a Kogan video camera (new Australian brand, not well known) that from my limited experience of camcorders is somewhere in the middle of the video camera spectrum (definitely not lousy, but nothing special either) and I"ve tried several times filming in a dark room with Night mode with very poor results. I can't actually tell the difference between normal and Night mode.
Do you have experience with video cameras that film well in low light? I made a bit of money recently and considering doing a trade-in somewhere.
Answer
Hi Steph:
Let's boil down this whole discussion into two things:
1) Your AU$399 (~USD$425) Kogan camcorder (which tells us your original budget range). That's no where near the "middle" of the $50 - $100,000 USD video camera spectrum.
2) The phrase "how do professional cameramen film... so well?"
It all boils down to spending good money for good equipment. The professional camera crews use equipment that costs thousands more than what you have now, plus --if you are not talking just InfraRed shooting in total or near-total darkness-- their cameras have multiple gain-boost settings for low light.
If you are trying to compare home camcorder footage of any kind with professional broadcast TV shows, just stop it. Their gear is way more advanced, plus (as others have mentioned) they also have post-production signal processors to help boost image parameters and quality.
The pro's also have access to "image intensifiers" they mount between their lens and camcorder (or on the front lens in cheaper cameras), like the AstroScope, which for around $6,000 USD will work for even a consumer camcorder or SLR. These can create an image using only starlight from the sky.
Your Kogan brand is not highly rated in picture quality to start with (see CNet Australia's review: http://www.cnet.com.au/kogan-full-hd-1080p-video-camcorder-camera-339293191.htm ). If you happen to have a more-expensive Kogan model, I apologize, but not much. A not-well-known brand that's in Australian K-Marts says a lot in itself. If you do trade-up, go for a name brand that's done this for awhile & has a track record for image quality as well as construction quality.
If you really have an interest in "Ghost Hunters" style IR shooting and not just poorly-lit parties, get a good used Sony Handycam that has true Sony "NightShot" features (the older consumer NightShot models could also "see" through certain garments, so Sony crippled newer Handycams' IR features).
The professional IR camera crews also use "bright" (but invisible to the eye) InfraRed spotlights mounted on the camera tops.
hope this helps,
--Dennis C.
Â
Hi Steph:
Let's boil down this whole discussion into two things:
1) Your AU$399 (~USD$425) Kogan camcorder (which tells us your original budget range). That's no where near the "middle" of the $50 - $100,000 USD video camera spectrum.
2) The phrase "how do professional cameramen film... so well?"
It all boils down to spending good money for good equipment. The professional camera crews use equipment that costs thousands more than what you have now, plus --if you are not talking just InfraRed shooting in total or near-total darkness-- their cameras have multiple gain-boost settings for low light.
If you are trying to compare home camcorder footage of any kind with professional broadcast TV shows, just stop it. Their gear is way more advanced, plus (as others have mentioned) they also have post-production signal processors to help boost image parameters and quality.
The pro's also have access to "image intensifiers" they mount between their lens and camcorder (or on the front lens in cheaper cameras), like the AstroScope, which for around $6,000 USD will work for even a consumer camcorder or SLR. These can create an image using only starlight from the sky.
Your Kogan brand is not highly rated in picture quality to start with (see CNet Australia's review: http://www.cnet.com.au/kogan-full-hd-1080p-video-camcorder-camera-339293191.htm ). If you happen to have a more-expensive Kogan model, I apologize, but not much. A not-well-known brand that's in Australian K-Marts says a lot in itself. If you do trade-up, go for a name brand that's done this for awhile & has a track record for image quality as well as construction quality.
If you really have an interest in "Ghost Hunters" style IR shooting and not just poorly-lit parties, get a good used Sony Handycam that has true Sony "NightShot" features (the older consumer NightShot models could also "see" through certain garments, so Sony crippled newer Handycams' IR features).
The professional IR camera crews also use "bright" (but invisible to the eye) InfraRed spotlights mounted on the camera tops.
hope this helps,
--Dennis C.
Â
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