HI. I hope someone can help me with this!! I work for a speech therapy dept. and we are after a camcorder for our sessions. It does not need to be all singing all dancing, just enough for what we need. The main thing we are interested in is the sound quality, i am told that an external mic is probably my best bet. Is this right? Alos been told that an SD card one will be best as they do not produce the low humm of hard-drive camcorders?

The picture quality does not need to be fantastic,just clear enough to see what's going on!

We do not have a huge budget, but whatever they cost they cost!

Thanks.

[A n d r e w]

Originally Posted by louise041184

The main thing we are interested in is the sound quality, i am told that an external mic is probably my best bet. Is this right?

Yes, and this narrows the options down, as consumer camcorders frequently don't have microphone inputs.

There are two main kinds of external microphone: those that mount the camera, and lapel mics that are clipped to your subject's clothing. The latter are the best solution if speech recording is the object (which it obviously is here!). There are relatively inexpensive wired lapel microphones, and more expensive wireless lapel mics.

Originally Posted by louise041184

Also been told that an SD card one will be best as they do not produce the low humm of hard-drive camcorders?

Tape-based camcorders are sometimes criticised for recording the sound of their own mechanisms, but I've not heard of hard drive noises being picked up clearly - still, I suppose it's possible. However, if you're planning on using an external mic, camcorder-generated noise shouldn't be a problem (as this sort of problem is usually limited to the onboard microphones). Camcorders that record to removable media in the form of memory cards don't necessarily mean that you'll simply be able to drag-and-drop the files to a computer unless you have the appropriate editing and / or viewing software.

Originally Posted by louise041184

The picture quality does not need to be fantastic,just clear enough to see what's going on!

I suppose it's safe to assume that you'll be filming indoors, and that you'll be relying on whatever ambient room lighting is available - not ideal circumstances, as good quality video depends on plenty of light, but as picture quality isn't your overriding consideration you should get away with it. What determines a camcorder's ability to give good results in mediocre light is the size of its sensor - a rule of thumb is to buy the camcorder with the largest sensor you can afford.

A further consideration is how you intend to edit, view, and distribute the videos. Any thoughts on that? There are basically two main species of camcorder: standard definition and high definition - with the latter requiring more computing grunt for editing. If you're simply planning on plugging the camera directly into a television set, then computing power needn't be part of the equation.

A camcorder that leaps to mind here is the Canon HF100. It's a high definition camcorder that records to memory cards, and it has an input for an external mic. Costs around the £500 mark.

Thank you so much for your help and advice!! We will be recording indoors, and as i said, the picture quality is not hugely important. As long as we can see the patient, then that's fine, it is sound quality that matters most!

With regards your advice about downloading the files, we would need to upload them onto the computer, so that they can be saved onto our central drive and shared with colleagues. Does this mean more expense of buying the appropriate software? I thought that if we went for either an internal harddrive or memory card that it would be a simple case of drag and dropping the files onto the appropriate file? Is this completely off?!
Thanks again.

We are also not hugely technically minded here, so any software needed to upload the videos would need to be as basic and straightforward to use as possible! Which is why anything that would allow us the simple 'drag and drop' method would of course be the easiest!!!!

[dave_bass5]

Hi Louise.
Ill second the Canon HF100 (i have a HF10), its a fantastic camera although there are many other good ones out there, and cheaper.
As your not to bothered about having the best image quality you could probably go for a cheaper one.

You are right, you can just drag and drop the files from the SD card but these files are in a format that not everyone can play without other software.
For example Widows XP/2000/Vista cant play these files without some extra software. Its free but still needs to be installed on each PC. Also older PC's might struggle to play these files.
Therefore you might find you need to convert these files to another format first before putting them on your servers. This can be time consuming.
The HF100 does come with all the necessary software though so you dont need to buy anything else.

[A n d r e w]

I'll second that (or third it?). Might be an idea to run the specifications (type of processor, clock speed in GHz, etc.) past us in order to check whether or not the computers your organisation uses might be able to handle high definition video.

If your PCs don't have the grunt for high def, there are reasonable standard definition camcorders around still, including some that record to memory cards, and similarly the files can be copied across to your harddrive and - by installing the appropriate codecs or free conversion software - viewed and / or edited.

There's no hard-and-fast rule as to camcorders and formats which will work on all computers, as its a matter of making sure the appropriate codecs are present, and that the computer can smoothly play the clips. But we're here to help, so do post back with any other questions you might have.

[dave_bass5]

If money is tight how about a Canon FS100?
This records in standard def MPEG2 so will be easier to play on various PC's without having to convert or use any other software.
It records on to SD card and you can plug a mic in.
All for £270.
Here's a short review.
SimplyDV Review: Canon FS100 SD-Video Camcorder

Hi guys

Thank you all for your comments, it has been a great help!!
We have decided to go for the canon fs100. It seems to do everything we need it to and has an external mic port.

Just one more query - where would i get a mic from?! is there a specific type that I would need to be compatible with the port on the camcorder?

Apologies for being so Clueless!!

thanks again

[dave_bass5]

Originally Posted by louise041184

Hi guys

Thank you all for your comments, it has been a great help!!
We have decided to go for the canon fs100. It seems to do everything we need it to and has an external mic port.

Just one more query - where would i get a mic from?! is there a specific type that I would need to be compatible with the port on the camcorder?

Apologies for being so Clueless!!

thanks again

You made the right choice IMO. You wont be disappointed.

As far as mics go i can only tell you about the one i use. Its an old Sony ECM 909. I only have this as i used to use it with my MD recorders but it does a great job. I think they go for around £50 now.
You need one with a 1/8th (or headphone sized) jack. there are lots around, best to google for a bit until you get an idea of price's etc then maybe let us know whats on your short list. AKG do some nice cheap ones as well.

Thanks dave

Will get back to you all with my shortlist as no doubt I will still have no idea what is a good deal and what is a rip-off!!

Thanks