Hi There -- Some assistance please?

[eastonch]

Dear AVFORUMS

I found this website in the search for a decent Camcorder review / suggestion website, i'm hoping you can help me.

I'm currently about to start off a youtube channel detailing in hardware reviews given to me by sponsorship from companies such as Corsair, Coolermaster etc.

But before I can do any of this, I need to have a very good camera & man to operate said camera. Personally, I have no idea about cameras, I could go for one of them 5 grand video recorders like they use on TV and still have no idea what it does, I literally need something which I can either hold, or get somebody to hold, with anti-shake recording, which can zoom in with ultra clear quality.

My budget is below £200 and preferrably under £150. I am not afraid of ebay and ill be using that for the item in hand if it is generally cheaper.

I hope somebody has a suggestion or a guide to follow when it comes to camcorders / video recorders.

Main points;
Must have internal memory with expandability.
Must be USB / FW / External Storage Connection
Must have a detailed zoom of up to 10M+ (Larger would be cool, I could use this at gigs & events.)
Must be highly recommended
Must be popular or parts easily found, such as, batteries, chargers, etc.
Has to be a reputable brand in this market.

Preferably; TV-OUT, Ability to take HD pictures in addition to recording feature, Medium sized preview screen.

I was looking at the handycams from sony, but they are quite old, and still quite expensive, I am hoping for an upgraded version of one of them, they look awesome, but they are clearly outdated compared to some of the newer cameras out here. My friend just used a Kodak playsport camcorder while at an event last night, he said it sounded better after extracting to the PC than it did when we were actually there. So, i've not listened to it but his rating was "OMG AWESOME".

I sincerely hope that somebody on these amazing forums can give me some insight, i'm based in the UK and will give credit to yourself on the website & youtube channel once everything is setup. (Credit for guidance).

Regards,
Chris

 

[12harry]

. . . . . . Budget way too low. . . . . . . .

YouTube content doesn't require great tech quality - Content is King, however the audio side is the biggest difficulty IMHO - v.few get that right.
+ Then there is a tripod, lighting, editing software, a PC to run it.
For many Presentations you'll need a camera with ext.mic-input - using on-camera mic is just not good enough. You also need a reasonably "quiet room" = no ticking clocks, PC fan, road-noise, etc.
- Whoever thought this was easy?

Music-Events can be dangerously loud, so maybe recording it is safer, but those devices are for fun...not serious work. I think you need to learn the craft of Video, including presentation, lighting, sound and then Editing. I recorded a Fireworks event recently and took my large-cup closed-headphones - to protect my ears - as you don't get a second set.

You'll find lots here and tutorials on YouTube . . . but expect to pay much more.
I'd also advise you use manual focus - as auto has a habit of "hunting" and that is bad for the viewer. However, many "manual" focus are little more than "features" and not like on a proper lens. Small cameras under £300, say have tiny lenses, so they don't like low-light and don't have shallow Depth of field (which make the close-up object jump out at you).
TV out - do you mean while filming? - most cameras can o/p to TV only after the file is taken. For an external monitoring camera, you are talking MUCH more money.


+Do you expect to be paid for this work?
- That might make the investment less painful.

Consider a stills camera that does video. but only DSLR's have mic i/p as far as I know - that's starting above £500, but maybe someone you know has some SLR lenses...that would get the focusing sorted! There is s/h as you implied, but be wary if you are starting-out, you may be buying trouble and frustration, just when you don't need it. FW is dead and USB is troublesome... put the SD card into the PC... far easier. Internal memory -use SDHC card - far less agro. 10x zoom on an expensive camera - Yikes!
Not needed, my own is 3x zoom. 95% of the time and I bought a 0.4x WA adaptor for £5 - they are rubbish, but fun for a 2-second shot.
Forget gigs - you need permission and there are copyright issues (esp with YouTube - you can be banned!). If this is a business-venture take extra care to keep within the law.

FWIW. Stick to quiet home-presentations, learn the craft and enjoy.

You can Mention this Forum, - but not individuals, - and not me please.