What is the best video camera...?

Question

for around $600-$900ish. it has to be good for indoors, and at night indoors because i need it to record a party. links would be awesome!

thanks

Answer 1

Your budget takes us to mid to high end consumer camcorders. There is no consumer camcorder made that does well in low light because the lenses are small and the imaging chips are small.

Your options are:

1) Using a consumer grade camcorder (Canon HV30, Sony HDR-HC9), turn on some lights.

2) Using a consumer grade camcorder, add a video light. NRG Research, Bescor, a few others make good ones.

3) Increase your budget to a "prosumer" level camcorder with bigger lens and imaging chips...

Sony DCR-VX2100; Canon GL2, XL2; Panasonic DVX100 series; Sony HDR-FX1, Canon XHA1... there are others, but this should get you started.

Answer 2

There are many very nice consumer-level high-def camcorders available in your price range. However, none of these will produce great results in the dark... but neither will a pro-level camera.

Your "in the dark" figure is a measure of light called lux. The best professional camcorder made in recent times and costing less than a compact car is the Sony VX-2100, which is rated at 1 lux (see the Wikipedia article on "lux" for more info). They achieve this by using three standard-definition CCDs, each 1/3" in size. Most newer pro models are using either smaller sensors (Canon tends to use 1/4" sensors) and/or more pixels (any high-def camera will have smaller pixels for the same sensor size).

Now, keep in mind, lux rating is something of a judgement call... Sony's 1 lux rating on the VX-2100 is claiming that under 1 lux illumination, you will get an acceptable picture (and presumably, at 0.9 lux, you will no longer get a picture they consider acceptable). There is, in the USA, a standard, EIA-639, which is an attempt to make the lux rating comparable across all camcorders and brands... I don't know how successful it's been.

Consumer camcorders typically use single sensors and/or small sensors. For example, Panasonic has a line of pretty nice standard def camcorders for consumers offering 3CCDs, but unfortunately, they're 1/6" chips... so you get less light in total with three than you might see with a larger single chip (see the HV30 review, linked below).

It's a bit tricky these days, too, because it's not common for companies to publish real lux numbers for consumer camcorders.. if you see anything like 0 or 0.2 or something, that's a NightShot number, not the normal mode.

I have two HDV camcorders, a Sony HVR-A1 and a Canon HV10. The Canon, with a single 1/2.7" HD CCD, is rated at 5 lux, the Sony, with a single 1/3" CMOS sensor, is rated at 7 lux. Neither is ideal in low light, but that's going to be case with most camcorders, and in particular, HD camcorders. Canon's XH-A1 is a sweet prosumer, 3-chip model, but only 7 lux (4 lux in 24F mode).  

Many consumer camcorders also claim to work at 0 lux, which curiously means "no light at all". They achieve this magic by using a built-in light.. unfortunately, it's not visible light. Many consumer models have a "Nightshot" or some similar mode. Ordinary imagers, whether you have three or one, whether they're CCD or CMOS, will be sensitive to light well beyond what's visible, and in particular infrared (ultraviolet doesn't really go through lenses well enough to be an issue). They include a filter to keep infrared out. When you engage Nightshot, you remove that filter, and (depending on camera and mode) kick in an IR light, built into the camcorder (IR LEDs offer lots of light for little power).

So in very dark places, Nightshot is an option within your budget. You've probably seen this sort of video... it's kind of other-worldly, since IR reflects from the body and objects in unexpected ways, and by default, it's green on some camcorders, and tends to be grainy, since even with this setting, your camcorder is probably near it's actual lux limit. This sort of video looks much better when converted to true B&W in a video editor. You'll have to decide for yourself if this is an option for you.

So anyway, which model? Well, you could up your budget and look at some pro models, which will probably get you a 2-4 lux advantage, but also more money, and a MUCH larger camera... you have to decide if that's what you want.

Otherwise, check out a couple different models and see what you like.. and you also need to decide just how important low-light is on your list of features. While they don't publish lux numbers, the Canon Vixia HV30 (HDV tape) has the same 1/2.7" sensor as in my HV10, which at 5 lux is usable under low light, if not moon/star light, and these do have a NightShot mode, and they're well within your budget. Also, as with the pro/prosumer models, the 24P mode allows a shorter shutter speed, and thus, better low-light performance (my HV10 doesn't have that feature)... the review below rated it at 3 lux in 24P mode.

If you prefer flash memory to tape, the Canon HF-100 (SD memory cards) is using a new 1/3.2" sensor, not quite as large as this other, but still managing to do 4 lux at 24P (based on the review below... they give a passing grade based on a peak brightness of 50IRE, which is half of the maximum brightness in a TV picture).

If you don't like these, the site referenced below is a good resource for you, since they do their own low-light testing in every full review.