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General discussion

Camcorder for church

May 29, 2014 7:06AM PDT

What is the best camcorder for a church that has no windows and a budget of less than $1000 per camera. We currently have a canon GL1 and a canon GL2. The GL2 isn't terrible but the 1 is. We keep one camera on a tripod and the other on a TPZ with remote control. Thanks.

Discussion is locked

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"best"
May 29, 2014 7:26AM PDT

With that you make up a set of questions, ranking and giving each one weights then find what camcorders you think may do, then score them and rank them. My initial thought is another GL2 since you have that and like it.
Bob

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GL2
May 29, 2014 10:22AM PDT

I thought of another GL2 but it's not HD. That's the only thing. Also I was wanting people's opinions of ones they had used. I can look at different ones but it helps to know if someone has used one in a similar environment.

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Many find it hard to replace the GL2
May 29, 2014 10:44AM PDT

Not only are you moving to HD but your capture and work flow may be in need of major upgrades. Usually folk buckle under all that and just find another GL.
Bob

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Prepared
May 29, 2014 11:50AM PDT

We are prepared for that. We had already decided to upgrade everything. We were just trying to save some $$$ on cameras and try to find someone who knew something about them, hopefully who had used 1 before.

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My son on the shoots
May 29, 2014 12:08PM PDT
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Keep with Canon
Jun 7, 2014 7:41PM PDT

As you are comfortable with Canon then stay with Canon. You will have the confidence of the past to support your purchase.
Canon provide excellent cameras with some having large diameter lenses for low light. I had a Canon HV20 tape based camcorder for 5-6 years which performed well but, as my new PC had to be fitted with a FireWire card which proved difficult to get working, I moved to Panasonic SD card based cameras. I still like Canon and they are included in my research list.

You may do well to spend some of your budget on lighting. Lighting is still the key to good quality video. All the modern cameras have video amplifiers to "up" the gain in low light situations These amps are so much better now but will create "noise" when cranked up too much. My "new" Panasonic 750 boasts cleaner amplification in low light but it is still visible when I push the camera too far.

So if you are happy with Canon then go again with Canon.

R.Proffitt's point about "upgrading" to HD needs to be considered. At the viewing end most TVs have HDMI inputs so you can plug the cameras straight in BUT if you propose editing and production of a DVD then an up to date PC and decent video editor would be the best way to go. An editor would allow great flexibility - for example - should you decide to record the audio on an independent recorder fed, say, from your PA system, you could use the audio and sync it with the video in the editor - again an example - if you use more than one camera then a good editor allows easy switching between shots.
The editor I use is Corel's VideoStudio Pro X7 and covers the examples above. I use a Fostex MR16 and a Zoom H2 for audio recording.

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Sony HDR-PJ... series
Jun 7, 2014 2:41PM PDT

You can check the sony full HD Projector camcorders (the HDR-PJ... series) which do well under low light conditions with sony's exmor lens and also have a small built-in projector which comes handy as you can instantly project the recording on a wall for your viewing or for a small audience.