Low light HD camcorder for under $1,000?

[jordanwesthoff]

I'm currently using a Canon Vixia HV30 for low-light shooting and it's sensor it absolutely fantastic. Low gain, high saturation colors, I am super pleased. It sells for about 600$ now on the open market and has all the specifics you said you required! Only downside is that it shoots HDV format to DV Tape

 

[boch82]

I'm currently using a Canon Vixia HV30 for low-light shooting and it's sensor it absolutely fantastic. Low gain, high saturation colors, I am super pleased. It sells for about 600$ now on the open market and has all the specifics you said you required! Only downside is that it shoots HDV format to DV Tape

You can always pick up a mid range camera and as long as it has a shoe adapter just get a shoe mount battery powered LED. Works great for quick on the go shots. Also will mount on a dslr. There is one, I think bescor makes it only about $80.

 

[mwilloam]

I second the Canon but get the HV40 (current model) over the HV30 (which I own and really like) or if you want to save money something like the "Canon VIXIA HF R100" for $300. Feature set isn't bad for the price. The HV40 for $650 new has 24p, mic input and manual control over exposure and focus. But tape can be slow for importing but is fast for editing because of the codec. If you have a faster computer check out the VIXIA HF S200 because it is basically the same as HV40 but uses SD cards and can be transferred to your computer faster than realtime but the codec puts strain on your computer to edit unless you transcode to an intermediate which can take time and HD space. So, trade-offs. If the comedy is good, a camera phone will be fine. That said, check out the canon camcorders $750 and under.