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Question

Need good quality camcorder for short films under $400

Jul 24, 2011 4:52PM PDT

I need a decent camcorder for use for short films and things like that. It would be preferred if it was HD, because good quality is key, but if that would make it impossible to find at a good price then I guess standard is ok. It would be even better if it could have an external mic plugged into it.Unfortunately, my budget for getting a camcorder isn't that big, so I need something under $400... preferably under $300 but I know that's hard.I'd like it to have good battery life because I will be filming for long periods of time. A hand strap would be very helpful too.And here's the most important point: I have a PC laptop where I do my editing. There is not one Mac in the house, so I would have no way of using a firewire. So a camera that's USB compatible would be essential.And help at all would be great, I know finding a camera like that for a low price is hard and I've been looking for a while now, the reviews and such begin to become overwhelming.Thank you! Happy

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Windows and *nix based
Jul 25, 2011 8:11AM PDT

computers - whether laptop or desktop can have firewire. HP/Compaq, Sony and others make them - they are typically not the low end of the line. Look for a 1394 port in the specs. And if the computer has a PCI, PCMCIA or ExpressCard slot, then adding a firewire port is not a big deal (assuming one purchases a working card - I have found Belkin and SIIG work - Dynex and others have issues). And there are some Macintosh computers (some, but not all MacBook; all MacBook Air) without firewire - though most do have a firewire port.

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Thanks!
Jul 25, 2011 9:53AM PDT

Thank you for your reply.
In the short film I will be filming a marching band over several months, so the lighting should be pretty good since it will be sunny on the field most of the time. I will be using a tripod, but I'll be holding it without one only when I need to.
The laptop I use is an Acer Aspire laptop, and I use Windows XP. My editing software is Sony Vegas, but I'll upgrade to FinalCut at some point. I'm not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to ports, but I talked to someone at a computer store and he said using firewire on my computer is impossible.

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OK...
Jul 27, 2011 1:43AM PDT

Any camcorder can get decent video under good lighting conditions. The difference is that cameras with small lenses and imaging chip have a smaller opportunity window for what defines "good lighting conditions". Since your planned capture environment is daylight, then you have one less worry.

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Well
Jul 27, 2011 10:45AM PDT

I actually ended up going with the Canon HF R100. It's a good enough camera for me for now, and once I'm able to get a nicer camera, I definitely will get something in the $1000+ range.
Thank you for all your help, I really appreciate it!

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You're welcome.
Jul 27, 2011 5:51PM PDT

As for external audio capture devices - I like the Zoom H2 and H4 - but the H1 should do just fine. In the bleachers at mid-field. It does not move, but the camcorder can.

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Answer
Most is covered, but ONE battery?
Jul 25, 2011 8:18AM PDT

Sorry, get two, and one's in the charger while you use the other. You learn this trick fast.
Bob