Camcorder for indoor theater

[masterjedi73]

I've had a variety of cheap camcorders and none of them have worked well for indoor theater - high school musicals etc.

Without spending thousands, which cameras do you recommend?

Thanks.

 

[floh]

So if not thousands (understandable), how much do you want to spend? That helps a long way here in the forums.

I tried the "Canon HF G10" and found it to be pretty acceptable in low light. It is still at about $1250 though right now.

If you want very good low light capabilities at acceptable prices (that is a problem...), it might be worth looking into the DSLR section. A general, still applicable rule is: The bigger the sensor, the better the low light performance. And those DSLRs have very big sensors, compared to camcorders. I have never tried it myself but have heard good things about the "Panasonic Lumix GH2". It goes for about $750, but if you add a decent lens to that, you might also crack the $1000.

I did use some cheaper camcorders indoors for stages, but none of them really convinced me: Either lots of noise, very dark picture or terrible autofocus. Or all three of those. If you want to stay well below $1000, I would try to look into older model camcorders from 1 or 2 years back. The technology in low light has not advanced that fast in the last 2 years and you might find an interesting offer.

 

[joedemax]

HFG10 or HV40 should work fine for this.

 

[musique]

Sound?

Without going on at length about it, I'll just state two well-known sayings: (1) sound is at least 50% of video and (2) capturing sound on stage is not easy.

You may want to include in your budget microphones, a mixer, and, if you're going to use a DSLR, an external sound recording device.

Good luck with your camcorder pick.