Whats the best quality camcorder to buy for under $500-$700?

Question

Is there even one with good quality sound and picture for under $500 anyways? The best I've seen was 1000, but, yeah..

I want one that you can use when its windy and you don't get that obnoxious whooshing in the background that destroys the whole movie.

My friends and I are trying to make a movie for a summer project, and we need something thats worth making a movie with that won't seem like were just using a camcorder.

(Meaning I don't want it to be obvious that were not using a professional camera, or that its a homeade movie...)

Sorry if this was confusing! And I'm willing to go for anything around 500, so if its a little more thats ok too I guess..

Anything under $700ish...

Answer 1

http://aiptek.com/ has some high definition cameras for under $300. Im not quite sure what you're looking for but if you would like the best bang for your buck I suggest you check out that website. Hope this helps you. Good Luck!

Answer 2

to be honest, with my experience with camcorders, anything sony is top of the line for it's price range.

Answer 3

http://www.epathchina.com/digital-camcor... has many cheap ones, you can visit this siteweb to get more information.

Answer 4

Canon HV20, HV30, Sony HDR-HC7 or HC9.

They all have a jack for an external mic and they all have manual audio control. They are the least expensive cameras with both the mic-in jack and the full manual audio control.

For getting rid of the wind noise, watch the news and pay attention to interviews of people outside. Sometimes they use a foam windscreen - but they don't work very well - you will sometimes see people holding long poles ("boom pole) with a oblong fuzzy thing at the end - that is a shotgun mic inside a "zepellin" They work GREAT. Decent affordable mics: NRG Research SA-568, AudioTechnica ATR55, RODE Video Mic.

Use a tripod. Humans were not built to remain steady.

If you have to zoom, do that  s l o w l y.

If you have to pan, do that  s l o w l y.

Better yet, don't zoom or pan at all.

Use good lighting. Consumer camcorders just don't do well in low light.

Plan the shot using storyboards. Practice the shot, then roll tape and get the shot. Shoot it again. Shoot it again. And again. And just when you think you have the right shot, shoot it a couple more times.

Watch a couple of movies - but NOT for content... for filming style and technical methods. Watch for the zoom. Watch for the match cuts. Watch for the pans. Watch for the long shot, the medium close up and extreme close up shots. Everything should be planned and storyboarded.

Many times they use only 1 camera - so when two people are talking, you will take the shot many times... first with the camera on one person and all the dialog is going... then the camera on the other person and say all the dialog again... then you edit the back-and-forth... this is called a "reverse" - that is the "other side" of the conversation.

There's lots more... but this should get you started.

Answer 5

sony