I need a camcorder !!!!

Woodcamera

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To those who know a infinite more than I do, could one of you please assist me on the purchasing of an hd camcorder, it's truly a minefield out there , I'm stuck?? So I'm thinking I've got £600 to spend , I'd like it to be able to handle low lighting , have the possibility of external mics to be added, a good ish zoom , lens changeable (maybe)
I'm basically going to make ,mock documentarys,horror movies ,and silly little home movies .. So any advice would be amazing
Many thanks
 
Probably any camera from the big three Canon, Panasonic or Sony will do the job. Most of the high end HD consumer cams have the spec you have outlined.
You probably would not get a camcorder with interchangeable lenses at that price but they should all take add-on lenses, for example, I use a wide angle adapter lens from Neewer to widen from 29mm to around 15mm.
My choice would be the Panasonic HC-V770
 
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Nice one thanks for the advice terfyn, I'll check out your said choice , I'm itching to get going into the world of camcorders !!
Many thanks
 
So this throws a massive curve ball, wild card , a friend of a friend who is bang into his film making has suggested a canon 700d, yes a slr!! On further research it seems an option ..would never ever had thought that
 
You need to consider what you want. A camera that takes video as well as pictures- often used, or a camcorder that is designed to take video. Most camcorders also take very decent stills as well as video.
Normally the camcorder has more flexibility and gives more options than a SLR. The SLR has the option of interchangeable lenses but limited audio features which are important in video work. A camcorder also gives extra options such as slow motion and time lapse video.
There are many opinions on this but personally I use my Olympus for still photography and my Panasonic for video.
 
Terfyn is right enough - far easier to use a Camcorder . . . but from yr 1st Post ....
Why do you want to change lenses? It's a right-old game during which time you can get dirt in ( which will only show after you've got home ) and if it's "General photography" then you may miss something while changing from WA to Long-lens.
The only reason Photographers use separate lenses WAS there were no decent Zooms . . . but computer-designed lenses are much better . . . . and camcorder ( Usually) have a smaller sensor so the lens can be lighter with greater range. An HD movie frame is only 2mpx so the need for huge quality is missing. DYOR.
DSLRs have many strengths, but the sheer convenience of a camcorder ( & Size, weight, functionality ), means you need to be very experienced, IMHO, to go for a DSLR and enjoy the inconvenience.

For studio-sets then DSLR is king - if you want to take Ages selecting the Shots trying different apertures, etc. All this while the Actors are getting hungry and annoyed.

For Low-light there may be an argument, but my own CX410 ( with 55x Zoom and super Stab.) was indistinguishable from my NEX5 ( with APSC sensor ) . . . . in late-evening street-scene....where there isn't much colour about . . . . both at "wide" for best aperture. A bit of "noise" is good in a dark scene.

For "Horror" genre: Low-light - it's far easier to fix in Post - and there is less risk to Actors and Crew if they can see the Set . . . If they trip, they may sue . . . . Maybe something to allow for when Budgeting?
Ext. mic input ( & Headphone out), very useful BUT it's not essential as you can ( with difficulty) Sync an external digital recorder. I wouldn't be without mine as a collector of Sounds ( PalmTrack now discontinued), even through my camcorder has Jacks . . . the Audio-only files are FAR smaller, then I Edit, adjust etc. before adding to the V.Editor Timeline.
Terfyn is right that camcorders can make good stills - and with the long zoom you can have more pixels that a good DSLR that's been cropped. My own CX410 is 55x (~ 700mm eq.) and 9Mpx - so I can better an APSC DSLR with 135mm limit - also the stab means it works hand-held ( in daylight tbh ).
Good Luck
 
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Hi again
God there's so many things to learn about out there , I've not brought the camera yet , but is there a lot of difference with the Panasonic v700 and the v770, I think I'm going to go with one of them though , I've been watching you tube videos and looks a good enough camera on my budget
 
The HC-V700 is the 2011 model and the 770 is the most recent. There is the world of difference in the spec between the two cameras but not a great difference in the performance.
 

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