Can camcorders [in particular a hc-v500] do ready made time-lapse movies, a shot every 'x' seconds?

It depends what sort of "time lapse" you need. I made a time lapse video recording *video* for over 8 hours driving from southern California to northern California. After importing the video to my computer editing, the video was sped up - a lot. The rendered result is less than 8 minutes of video.

The easiest way to find out is to read the manual produced for the camcorder by the manufacturer. In this case, from Panasonic:

http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/HCV500-...

Recording still pictures starts on Page 33. You can also look for words like timer or interval in the menu.

Remember, video cameras - camcorders - are designed to capture video, not still images... and the process you want to use for time lapse is to capture lots of still images.

If you want a camcorder to capture still images so you can make that sort of time lapse video, the Sony Action cam series has interval recording. Check the regular camcorder manuals available from the manufacturer for free. GoPro, may have this feature, too. My old Sony HDR-HC1 has "Interval recording"; my HDR-FX1 does not (it does not even capture any stills), my HDR-AS30V does have interval recording, My HDR-AX2000 does not... and my NEX-EA50UH has an interchangeable lens system (E-mount), APS-C imaging chip and a hot shoe for a flash when using Photo mode, it does not seem to have any sort of interval still image recording system, either (unless I get an external intervalometer for it).

Interestingly, my Apple iPhone 4s has a time lapse mode... never used it, though...

A lot of action cams can produce time lapse video (or at least a collection of stills) but I don't know of any camcorders that will do it.

None that I know of.