spudhead Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I work as a college technician, and am looking to improve the quality of the video we produce of our shows here. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a sub £500 HD digital video camera that works well in low light levels with a decent microphone (or external audio input). Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 That's not a lot of money - what kind of spec? Record to card, or output in HD, lens requirements, 720 or 1080? What exactly do you want to use it for? There are some excellent little handicam types, with auto everything, or proper cameras with manual controls - at all price points? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spudhead Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 Thanks for the reply,Ideally to record to card. I'm looking for a quick, handy workhorse camera that can shoot shows to produce montage sequences for promotional purposes, and for students to have a record of their work. This will primarily be in use in the theatre, shooting from up to 12m from the stage. If anyone can recommend any particular models, I'd be grateful.I know there are more specialist video camera forums out there, but they don't always understand the particular dark/bright light combination, and speech-from-a-distance mic requirements you get in a theatre, so I was hoping you guys could help more.Cheers, in hope... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 sound is always going to be a problem, and distance is a killer really - for both sound and vision. Have a look at the HC-V770EB-K Panasonic. I have an older version for odds and ends and it's pretty useful. The only snag is that autofocus is a bit unpredictable - especially in low light with red lighting - it has trouble verifying it is in focus, so drops out, then sharpens up to check. Manual controls are available but not that easy to manipulate. Sound is good - close to. Not that expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spudhead Posted September 28, 2015 Author Share Posted September 28, 2015 Thanks for the suggestion. It's a model I hadn't come across in my searching so I'll certainly take a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave m Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 for record keeping type stuff of theatre, before the show, set the camera to manual and focus on a well lit object in the centre stage, or a bit upstage of that. Then keep autofocus off. ideally with XLR inputs so that you can run a mic from a distance, although there are tricks that can be done with black boxes to get a distant mic into a camera with a 3.5mm jack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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