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General discussion

Newbie looking to make a low budget documentary..help please

by maitai7432 Jul 6, 2007 2:15PM PDT

Hi, I'm 21 years old and I'm a media major at my school. I work with bands and for my senior project I've decided I'm going to attempt to make a short documentary about the band, other musicians, and industry people in the music business. I don't really expect to be making more documentaries but I would like to have a camcorder that I can keep and use for home videos too.

I've done a lot of research but I still need some help. Is it possible to find a camera that would fit my needs in under 600-700 dollars? I'd like it have some sort of low-light power or night vision option for fun when we're all in the dark. I suspect most of my shooting will be during the day. I don't need it to take pictures because I have 2 nice DSLRs for that but something that is low cost to buy discs or memory cards and stuff. The hardest requirement is finding something with a good mic that will be able to pick up what the person on the other end is saying without me having to be in their face.

What I was thinking:

Canon DC-40
Sony DCR-DVD405
SONY DCR-SR42

But I really need help! Can someone give me other suggestions that you think will fit my needs? Thank you

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2 Posts

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If you are a media major

by boya84 Jul 6, 2007 3:28PM PDT

you will find all three of these cameras lacking.

1) run away from DVD based camcorders.

2) The low-end SR42 will not be adequate - any of the better ones - just not this one.

Check with the video teacher - they will likelt recommend miniDV tape.

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Perhaps a look at the Pana PV-GS500?

by whizkid454 Jul 6, 2007 11:15PM PDT

Mic-in jack, good video quality, many manual controls, but you'll have to search hard to find this one since it is a year or two old.

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