help - decent budget camcorder good in low light

[dansyr2514]

Ok....I am a complete newbie to camcorders. Can you recommend a budget camcorder that is good in low light. My main uses for it would be to video the pets and of coures WDW. I want something that I would be able to record the night time parades with.

TIA.

 

[photo_chick]

Panasonic has some great performing camcorders. As does Canon. JVC aren't bad either.

What kind of budget are you looking at? What kind of features do you want? HD? Hard disk, tape (yes, it's still around) or flash memory?

 

[Experiment_626]

Panasonic has some great performing camcorders. As does Canon. JVC aren't bad either.

What kind of budget are you looking at? What kind of features do you want? HD? Hard disk, tape (yes, it's still around) or flash memory?

I don't know about the OP, but I would like something at least 1080i, prefer 1080p, and as good as I can possibly get in terms of low light performance. I'm seriously thinking of going with tape, just for the ease of archiving what I shoot. At the moment, I can only create DVDs of what I shoot (some of those who would want to see what I shoot aren't tech savvy and couldn't watch HD video online), but one day that will change. I already have close to 75,000 photographs between three hard drives and am beginning to have to look at upgrading again -- no way do I want to start having to store HD video on hard drives as well.

Oh, and my budget is $700-$800 at the absolute maximum. I say that because every time someone anywhere online asks for a tech recommendation and gives a budget figure, the answers always seem to begin with "Well, if you're willing to spend just a bit more ..." That's not an option in my case; my dad wants to buy us a camcorder to shoot video of our boys, and the budget comes from him.

I hope that's not the equivalent of asking for a P&S camera that can shoot handheld in a cave, weighs two ounces and costs $100! Any good recommendations would be appreciated. For DSLRs, I am comfortable making decisions on my own, but I'm out of my element when it comes to video.

Scott

 

[dansyr2514]

Looking more of a budget of around $300. Looked at a panasonic that has a special low light feature. DBF is possibly getting it for me for a Christmas present. I started looking for some but I was completely overwhelmed. I have no idea what to look for.

 

[photo_chick]

Experiment 626--- As far as cameras in that price range... check out the Panasonic HDC-TM700or the Canon HF21, it just dropped in price from $800 to $500 right now. They might be along the lines of what you want, they might not. But with that budget and wanting HD, that's where I'd start looking.

They don't use tape, but you'll be hard pressed to find an HD camcorder that does. The industry is finally leaving it behind in favor of more stable media. Though there are still many SD camcorders that are mini-dv.

dansyr2514--- at that budget your biggest decision is HD or SD? Beyond that it's finding one of the major brands that fits in your hands well.