Need Sugestions for Camcorder with mic input under $300

At your price point, it is a challenge to find a 1080p camcorder (or even a point and shoot) with a mic jack. If I were looking for a low cost camcorder with a mic jack, I would try the Toshiba Camileo line - either the $179 X200, with 12x optical zoom, or the $230 X400 with 23x optical zoom.

But the Toshibas get mixed reviews, so you may want to try a better-reviewed camera like the JVC GZ HD10 with 10X optical zoom for $300 used at Amazon.

And yes, you will need a tripod. The $40 Dolica ST-650 works well for me.

Good luck - and please post your video, it would be great to see how it turns out.

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

Great find, techspark. I agree - if you want something with a mic input, 1080/60p, unlimited video clip length, and RAW stills, the FZ150 is a real bargain if you're willing to stretch your budget a little!

($364 used at Amazon)

I bought the FZ150 "for my wife" and a TM900 for myself - but when I have the choice and don't need headphones or 24p or a 3 hour battery, I borrow the FZ150. It is a fabulous little still/video hybrid camera.

Here are a few videos that have been made with the FZ150:
From the pros at Panasonic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62Pt1cpGvCE
And a couple of creative amateur videos:
http://vimeo.com/38233231
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFNfvCS01nI

I think you'll like this camera. Easy to use in Intelligent Auto (IA) mode, but with full manual control when you want it.

Good luck,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution
Seeking the still/video singularity

t.s. - I have used my Azden SMX-10 with the FZ-150 with good results. The SMX-10 is $85 at Amazon and $62.50 at Adorama (used, in new condition). As with all Lumix cameras, you'll need a $6 3.5mm to 2.5mm adapter to make it work (setup pictured below - still photo taken with Panasonic TM900 camcorder):



I sometimes also use the Zoom H1 as an external mic on my cameras, using a Sescom cable and the same Hosa adapter (you can get one that goes straight into a 2.5mm input and works without an adapter, but it would only be useful with Panasonic cameras). Here is a blog post I did on this last year. I figured out later that the Zoom H1's output level in this video was too low - but you may find it useful nonetheless:

Using the Zoom H1 recorder as an external mic for the GH2

As for the battery, an hour and a half of straight recording may be a stretch. For long continuous recordings, you can plug the camera into the wall with an AC adapter kit. You can get a 3rd party adapter kit from Amazon for less than $20 shipped.

With the AC adapter, you pull the battery out and replace it with a DC coupler. You can plug the battery into the separate recharger and charge it up while you're running the camera on AC power.

I did another blog post on using the DC coupler with the Panasonic GH2, which shows how Panasonic couplers work (be advised, the GH2 uses the DCC8, while your FZ150 will use a DCC6):

No-solder external battery solution for GH-2

Hope this is helpful!

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution
Seeking the still/video singularity

Since you already have an h1, why do you need to plug a mic into the camera? I thought the point of an h1 was to record superb audio that will later be added to the video in editing software.

Have you looked at a Sony HX9V? It is currently under your $300 price point and takes great 1080p. It will capture audio on two channels, but compared to the h1, would be probably be pretty bad.

Search this forum, google it, search on YouTube and you will see the HX9V is highly regarded as a budget video camera with good iA performance.

Bill (too!)

I started on this video hobby a little over a year ago. I bought a Panasonic HDC-SDT750, which Panasonic's website said had all the same components as the TM900. It was supposed to cost more, but was being discounted below the TM900 because it included a really ugly 3D lens attachment. Reading posts here drove my curiosity level up to the point that, on an impulse, I bought the Sony HX9V at Best Buy. (Thanks markr!)

If I transfer videos from both cameras to my media player and rename them for menu selection, I loose track. I can't tell one from the other on a year old 55 inch Sony.

I had the same question you have and I was trying understand what 1080p is. So, I did a bunch of side by side test shots and took detailed notes on a trip to Hawaii so I could come back and start a thread here. I have way too much footage of flapping high speed birds in 1080p at the patio feeder! By the time I got around to it, the cameras were being replaced by newer models and it was no longer relevant, except to me. The quality, to my eyes, is indistinguishable.

If anything, I get better video from the little one because it is easier to have with me and it is less obvious that I'm taking video. Three of my four favorite "real" videos (with editing, effects and titles) were made with the little one.

Good video comes from planning, thinking, where you point the camera and gluing it together. How many buttons, features and menus you have on the camera mean little. 1080p and AVCHD have leveled the playing field, maybe turned it upside down.

I watched a team of two pros shoot some wedding stuff in Italy a few months ago. I know the 1080p from their huge camcorders is no better than what I got shooting them maneuvering the bride into suggestive posses. Mine might even be better because I caught the drama of the silly bride getting her ego pumped and the shooters doing it. In fact, they probably thought I was taking snap shots of the public castle so paid no attention. If they had shown up with HX9Vs or FX-150s the bombshell bride would have fired them!

A few weeks ago I was with a friend that has a Suburban full of audio and video gear. I think you would consider him a "DJ". He mentioned he was considering a new camera. I pulled the HX9V from my pocket, took a couple of 1080p shots, and HDMIed it to his big TV and pressed play on the camera. He thought I was trying to trick him. He was in disbelief.

Just don't tell anybody your fantastically clear 1080p is coming from a point-n-shoot and you'll be OK.

I didn't say the FZ-150 is as good as my Sony! I might have to buy one and find out!

Earlier you said wrote you didn't want or like the complication of editing sound and video. I've been working at learning the $80 Adobe Premier Elements 10. Learning to use it is easy if you use about $25 for video training at lynda.com or buy a disk you can keep from video2brain. Premier Elements will mix and control up to 99 tracks. And it can do things to audio that I could not have imagined.

My suggestion is you buy one of the two training courses, skip to the audio part and see what you think. I suspect you will be blown away, study the whole thing and save up to buy the software.

To have both an h1 and camera without the software to take advantage of them seems criminal to me.

Sadly, the requirements for an attenuating cable are pretty specific if you want good sound. The Sescom LN2MIC- ZMH4-GH1 has 25dB of attenuation, which is specifically designed for the Zooms. The only attenuating cable I could find on eBay has 90dB of attenuation, which could make your recorder's output unusable. I'd go ahead and get the Sescom.


Unfortunately, no.



You will want an equivalent for the $42 Panasonic DMW-BMB9.
Here is one from a third party manufacturer for $15.



In case you have not seen, here is my unscientific side-by-side of the FZ150 and the TM900. The shot through the window screen isn't the greatest - but the color test seems to me to be a tie. You be the judge:

Short Side-by-side of TM900 and FZ150

Cheers,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

Bill - I had every intention of buying either the HX9V or an HX100V after The Harbour came out - I was truly blown away by what this little camera could do. But, like techspark, I really needed the mic jack (and the unlimited clip length), so I waited. And when the FZ150 came out and had a mic jack, I bought it. I wish Sony would start putting mic jacks in their entry level cameras. And I sure wish they would lift the silly 30 minute continuous recording limit outside of the EU.

I don't have an HX9V to compare the FZ150 to - but Graham Houghton in the UK has both cameras and posted this side-by-side:
Sony HX9v tested against the Panasonic FZ150 for both stills and video performance

If I had less than $300 to spend, I would definitely look at the HX9V - but at $300 plus, I'd get the FZ150 again.

Cheers,

Bill

I had not seen "The Harbour". It truly makes the point that it is not the camcorder, but the shooter that counts.

This forum focuses on pixels, bit rates and other important details. But, the current state of consumer video equipment is, utterly, amazing.

It is still the shooter, that takes the time to understand his equipment, that makes the difference.

It's a pretty good AGC. I have not heard any sound pumping.


The FZ150 and I are on the east coast this week, but I left my H1 at home on the west coast this trip :-( I do have an Azden external mic with me - so I'll try to use it to stress the AGC. I'll let you know how it goes.



Yes.


Not a stupid question. But the answer is no - you have to take the battery out to recharge it. Which is fine, because you have to take the battery out to use the AC charger anyway.



Sorry. Windows Movie Maker always seems to do that to my renders. Should have cut it in Vegas.

Cheers,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

In your first post you said you were going to "record local live concerts". I'm looking forward to it!

Bill

I don't have your camera. But, on mine the setting of record modes (compression and bit rates) does not change the battery life. Battery power is consumed by the screen, focusing, processor, etc.

Bill

Hi everyone,
I'm currently facing the same problem as techspark: I need to find a sub 500$ (in Canada... so everything is more expansive!) with a mic input to record interviews.

Since the FZ150 is discontinued, I believe I'll have to resort to the FZ200 (550$). However, I'm not exactly sure about the audio input; is there anything special about it except that it's smaller than regular mini-jack and needs an adaptor? Do you absolutely have to use the external microphone they're trying to sell you? Is there any (cheap) microphone you'd recommand to buy along the camera?

Thanks!

Why do you need an external mic?

Unless there is something unusual about your interview situation, I would try the Panasonic LX7 that is, at least temporarily, selling for $298 USD at Amazon. There is a long and current LX7 thread with lots of examples of what that camera does.

The Pentax K-01 body was selling for under $300 at a few dealers and as low as $315 with 40mm F2.8 XS lens. Here is a photo with Rode Stereo VideoMIc.

Hi remy - The K-01 is a good suggestion, they have a standard mic jack, a much larger sensor than the FZ cameras, and are well within your price range at $450CDN (with the 40mm f2.8 lens) at amazon.ca.

But if you still want the autofocusing zoom lens of the FZ cameras, have you considered a used FZ150? Here is one in Sakatchewan for CDN$340.

Sadly, the least expensive new FZ200 I could find was this one in Ontario for $580CDN.

Whatever you decide, you do not need the $169CDN Panasonic external mic. You can use any mic with a standard 3.5mm jack, but you will need an $11CDN Hosa GPM-467 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter.

Here is a picture of my FZ150 with the Hosa adapter and a $134CDN Azden SMX10 mic (same picture seen earlier in this thread):

For interviews, I would not put the mic on top of the camera - it's better than the built in mic, but just barely. You won't be close enough to your subject and you'll capture a distracting amount of room noise. Instead, I would buy a lavalier and clip it to my subject's clothing. I recommend the well-regarded Audio Technica ATR3350 lapel mic for $37CDN at amazon.ca.

Hope this is helpful - and good luck with your project!

Bill B. (the other Bill)
Hybrid Camera Revolution
Edited by brunerww - 3/16/13 at 6:18am

Hi everyone!
Many thanks for all your suggestions. I passed them along to my boss, my main suggestion being brunerww's (Pentax K-01). I'll keep you informed!

Hi Bill, would you recommend this $11CDN Hosa GPM-467 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter to use with the Audio Technica ATR3350 lapel mic ?
Thanks,
Christine

Hi Christine - If you mean the GMP-467, that's the one I use!

Good luck - and please let us know how it turns out,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution