Reccomendations for a mini DV video camera that supports external mics?

Question

My friends and I are thinking of chipping in for a video camera to film higher quality movies. It is just a hobby, but we want to move beyond "backyard productions", which means buying necessary external mics that will pick up subtle sounds and possibly effect lens.

Problem is, I am a tad new to researching this deeply, and a bit unknowledgable. This is where all you come in! I'm looking for the cheapest miniDV recorder possible that has this capability and with good quality shooting in all conditions. I wouldn't want to spend more than about $800 (yikes?) for it if possible. Any reccomendations would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

What's wrong with backyard basics? This movie has had nearly 40 million views in two years:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjA5faZF1...

Ignore the technology and make something interesting. This might help you get round the technology:

http://hubpages.com/hub/digital-video-ca...

Don

Answer 2

The cheapest miniDV tape based camcorders with an external mic jack are the Canon ZR800 and ZR950 There may be some others in that ZR line that also have a mic-in jack, but the problem is that they don't have manual audio control. This will not be a big deal unless you want to record loud audio (like bands using amps or even a marching band...

Then there are the Sony DCR-HC28 and HC96. They don't have a mic-in jack - but you can connect Sony mics that work in the "active interface" shoe. There used to be an adapter that let you connect any mic

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/47...

but B&H was the only place that had it, and they are out of stock - you could not even get it direct from Sony... These two cams had a "normal" and "Low" switch in the menu - "Low" mic gain for loud audio.

The cheapest camcorders that have a mic-in jack AND manual audio control are the Canon HV20, HV30, Sony HDR-HC7 and HC9. These are in your budget range...

Answer 3

May start with this:

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/ratings.php

Answer 4

look for anything that has a cold shoe accessory and separate mic input. the rode video mic does a great job and should be pretty cheap (around AU$150).