I have been asked to buy a camcorder for a community theater group. The camcorder will be used to record performances.

One of the requirements would be the ability to have the camcorder hooked up to a soundboard's output - if we try to use a camcorder's internal microphone, the sound from on stage does not pick up well. Therefore, we want to capture the sound from the soundboard while recording. Also, it would be important for the camcorder to be able to be mounted on a tripod.

The type of camcorder (miniDV, DVD, HDD, flash) is not that important, though price is (approximately $600).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

I think the Sony VX2100 would be hard to beat for your use. It is not Hi Def, and may be hard to find at your price range, but I would not be surprised if, in a year or two, you may well want to go to a multi-camera production unit. We are using three VX2100's in a permanent setup for recording church services, and three VX2000's in a transportable unit, on casters, I haul in my pickup. You have already found that a camera microphone picks up a lot of ambient (audience) noise, coughing, babies crying, airplanes and trucks going by. . . I often use a wireless remote microphone for single camera portable recordings, with very good results.

Best wishes.