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Looking for good easy to use basic camcorder that is suitable for indoor filming ?

I'm looking for a good easy to use basic camcorder that is suitable for indoor filming ?

I don't want any bells or whistles......I just want a good basic simple to use camcorder for indoor filming ?

2 Answers

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  • Mmm J
    Lv 7
    7 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Any camcorder can do "basic indoor video capture" - there is no "film" involved - film cameras do that, but we won't discuss that here.

    The problem with "indoor video capture" is that usually, the lighting is not very good. In order for a camcorder to capture good video under poor lighting conditions is that is needs a large diameter lens to allow as much light in as possible and a large imaging sensor to deal with the poor light. When a video capture device has a large enough lens diameter and large enough imaging sensor (or 3-sensor array), it is no longer an inexpensive, entry-level camcorder, so you get the bells and whistles whether you want/use them, or not.

    One possibility is to get something like a Canon HF R500. For the money, it has a decent sized lens diameter and a decent sized imaging chip. When you add light, you have a workable solution. Adding light can be as simple as getting a couple of work-shop lights on a tripod or as complex as PAR56 cans on light trees and trusses controlled by a dimmer system - or something in between. Even a video light will help under many conditions.

    Be sure to use some sort of steadying device - tripods are common, but a chair, shelf, desk or coutertop can work just as well. The additional advantage of the R500 is it has a mic jack so you can add an wexternal mic later when you discover how important good audio is to good video...

    Just don't use the camcorder handheld. This is not just for the R500 - but any camcorder.

    Of course, we hope you learn how to use an editor to cut the mistakes or crummy ports... and your computer needs to be able to deal with the AVCHD compressed video + you'll need a decent video editor, too... No need to use any "bells and whistles" on the camcorder. Charge the battery, point, record, stop, transfer to computer, edit... use the editor's features for fancy stuff.

  • 7 years ago

    Just a couple of points to add to Mmm J's answer.

    1. It's well worth leaning how to control the white balance in your camcorder - artificial lights will probably add their own colours. You may not notice a lot of the time but things like wedding dresses really stand out when they change from white to yellow.

    2. The verb to film doesn't imply the use of "film" :-) - certainly not on my side of the pond and US dictionaries seem to agree.

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