Budget Digital Camcorders

[thomas]

Hi Guys!

I'm quite interested in having a video camera - but I'm not a video/photo expert in the slightest!

It would mainly be used for filming footage that would go online, via YouTube, facebook video, etc, so I am not so bothered with HD footage. Standard definition is fine.

The only requirement I would have is that some sort of microphone could be attached to people so that their voice is clear for use when interviewing. There also might be more than one person speaking. This would really be the cameras main task, and I hate it when watching videos and the person's voice is a little quite due to the inbuilt microphone not really picking them up.

I wouldn't need a boomb (is that what they're called...those massive hairy things), just something you could attach to someone with a wire to the camera (or even some type of wireless thing).

Soo, what would be the options? It's not something I'm in a rush to buy, but something that I am considering for the future so wanted to get an idea of price. Ideally, it would be in the few hundred quid mark (although I accept a few accessories might bump that up).

Cheers!

 

[ColinJ]

I've been looking into this but being hard up, my budget is lower than yours!

The Kodak Zi8 is top of my shortlist.

[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7qPzfjtDmI[/media]


You can pick them up for about £90 and can get reasonable mics on eBay for less then £10. If you are going to record outdoors, you probably will want a 'dead cat' type mic cover or your mic will potentially pick up a lot of wind noise.

Mic discussion on Amazon.com

 

[thomas]

I've been looking into this but being hard up, my budget is lower than yours!

The Kodak Zi8 is top of my shortlist.

[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7qPzfjtDmI[/media]


You can pick them up for about £90 and can get reasonable mics on eBay for less then £10. If you are going to record outdoors, you probably will want a 'dead cat' type mic cover or your mic will potentially pick up a lot of wind noise.

Mic discussion on Amazon.com

Oh wow! I only said a few hundred quid because I didn't think I'd be able to get anything for less than that. Will look into that camera...under £100 would be perfect really! And mean I would be able to afford it sooner

 

[beanzontoast]

FWIW... I've had the Zi6 since June - this is the 2xAA battery version whereas the Zi8 uses a built in rechargeable. The Zi6 doesn't have an external mic input. I used it in training where we did interviews indoors and out, in shade and bright sunlight and it coped fairly well. It benefits from the use of either a monopod or a tripod as hand shake is very evident otherwise. The mic is pretty sensitive and will pick up wind noise. Also, as you mention in your OP, relative volume can be an issue - I find if interviewing, you need to hold the unit away from you, else your own voice will sound louder than the subject's.

It does 720p at 30 or 60fps and can also do lesser resolutions and take stills. The Zi6 came with 2AA rechargeables and a charger, which comes in pretty useful when travelling, though I generally take 6-8 pre-charged batts with me when I'm away from base. I've never measured how long I get from a set of batts as I tend to stop and start the unit, sometimes turning it off and other times keeping it on standby in between takes, but in a 2 hour session recently I changed batteries once. A decent, fast card to use with it is essential.

I considered the Zi8 but in my case, being able to swap batteries at will for in the field interviewing and reportage was more important to me than the external mic. If the Zi6 had an external mic facility, it would be better IMO. If sound is really important to you, the Zi8 may indeed be the better choice of the two. My understanding from what I recall of the research I did at the time is that any external mic on the Zi8 has to be a powered one - worth checking up on this.