Topic: looking for first cam - what to buy [bought the Canon ZR500]

[beefstew]

im getting my first Mini DV cam this christmas

my parents saw an ad in our local paper for the Samsung SC-D363 for $179
does anyone know anything about this?

all i know is that it has 30x optical zoom, 1200 digital zoom
2.5 inch lcd screen, and mic-in jack

good deal?

[firmdragon]

it all depends how much you want to pay.  almost always you get what you pay for.

[BayTaynt3d]

If it's MiniDV (and not DVD or MPEG) and it has an audio-in jack, that's not bad for $180 no matter how bad it might suck. LOL!

[beefstew]

well my mom bought me this = http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Canon-ZR500-Camcorder-Review.htm
small, lightweight, mic jack, awesome low-light performance, and it was only $199 at Sears

not too shabby is you ask me

[ind2belo]

I would advise against the Samsung recorder. I had it for about a week, and it's the WORST in low, hell, even medium light. I ended up with two hours of video going rapidly in and out of focus, and sound that overloaded quite a few times - I'm guessing it doesn't handle unbalanced mics very well. Ended up sending it back and trading for a Canon ZR500 - much better.

[firmdragon]

generally, for consumer use, you shouldn't be considering anything other than sony, panasonic and canon

[guitard]

If you work it right, even a cheapo cam can produce decent results - nothing that would compare to a really expensive cam - but decent none the less (in terms of shooting boot tapes of concerts).  You just have to keep a close eye on the exposure and adjust it accordingly on the fly, don't ever use digital zoom, and use a tripod to get a steady shot.

Don't worry about the cam - if it's all you've got - it's all you've got.  Practice with it and learn its functions inside and out.

[kuuan]

hey, that Canon has a Mic-in port, that is good!
and selectable Wind Cut feature on/off
and you can alter the audio bit recording rate 12 or 16 bit, you won't need the 12 bit though.

You won't be able to bypass it's built-in A/D and preamp, only with expensive cams you can do that.

Have you used it yet?
and tried to record audio using external mics?

[beefstew]

hey, that Canon has a Mic-in port, that is good!
and selectable Wind Cut feature on/off
and you can alter the audio bit recording rate 12 or 16 bit, you won't need the 12 bit though.

You won't be able to bypass it's built-in A/D and preamp, only with expensive cams you can do that.

Have you used it yet?
and tried to record audio using external mics?

ill do some tests when i get it on Dec. 25th

[kuuan]

mmmhh, not much longer to wait!

for recording loud music you may have to look into how to attenuate the mic level.

[beefstew]

mmmhh, not much longer to wait!

for recording loud music you may have to look into how to attenuate the mic level.

i have a radio shack attenuator to put between the mics and the cam
works like a charm on my hi-md

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102975&cp=&origkw=headphone+volume+control&kw=headphone+volume+control&parentPage=search

[kuuan]

yes, that is exactly the same piece many video people use...

[beefstew]

yes, that is exactly the same piece many video people use...

yeah i probably wont even use the mic-in on my cam anyway

ill do my mics to my hi-md
then ill dub it over the video later

then ya got 2 audio sources anyway

[kuuan]

yeah i probably wont even use the mic-in on my cam anyway

ill do my mics to my hi-md
then ill dub it over the video later

then ya got 2 audio sources anyway

a very good way to do it, using the 'inferior' audio recorded from the built-in mics of the cam only as reference to syncronize.

Sometimes a good audio recording from the cam itself could be a real advantage for mixing in the edit, e.g. somebody says something funny/important asf., - a good mic on the cam still makes for a good additional audio source, a card or hypercard mono woud be enough for that!

[guitard]

yeah i probably wont even use the mic-in on my cam anyway

ill do my mics to my hi-md
then ill dub it over the video later

then ya got 2 audio sources anyway

a very good way to do it, using the 'inferior' audio recorded from the built-in mics of the cam only as reference to syncronize.

Sometimes a good audio recording from the cam itself could be a real advantage for mixing in the edit, e.g. somebody says something funny/important asf., - a good mic on the cam still makes for a good additional audio source, a card or hypercard mono woud be enough for that!

And sometimes the cam's audio isn't all that great by itself, but can still add to the overall enjoyment/quality of the audio when it's mixed with an audio only recording because they capture different parts of the sound spectrum.  Of course, if need be, you can always lower the volume of the cam audio before rendering an mpeg.

[beefstew]

yeah i probably wont even use the mic-in on my cam anyway

ill do my mics to my hi-md
then ill dub it over the video later

then ya got 2 audio sources anyway

a very good way to do it, using the 'inferior' audio recorded from the built-in mics of the cam only as reference to syncronize.

Sometimes a good audio recording from the cam itself could be a real advantage for mixing in the edit, e.g. somebody says something funny/important asf., - a good mic on the cam still makes for a good additional audio source, a card or hypercard mono woud be enough for that!

yep and im planning on building a set of mics [Wm-61A] and build a battery box

so ill run the WM-61A's into DIY batt box into the Hi-MD
then ill run the SP-CMC-19s into the attenuator cable, into the mic-in on the cam
Then mix both audio sources together for the final DVD
it should sound nice

[beefstew]

here a guy posted samples of the Canon ZR-500
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/t131848.html

[kuuan]

the colours really are amazingly good!

your mom deserves a real big hug, a very good choice, what a nice gift!
You'll have lot's of fun with this little beast.

Do you have experience filming? If not, just remember: less zooming and less panning than you want. and than less again. and next time, yes less again. Finally the tripod arrives and almost no more filming without it...

make your own mics? good on you!
Wm-61A panasonic capsules..
and you figure they even will be better than the CMC-19s?
what's your exact plan?, any links?

25th and the canon arriving .
 

[beefstew]

your mom deserves a real big hug, a very good choice, what a nice gift!

ya she treats me good - she got me the SP-CMC-19s AND the Sony MZ-RH910 for my birthday

Wm-61A panasonic capsules..
and you figure they even will be better than the CMC-19s?

the SP-CMC-19 have a freq. response of up to 18000 - and the WM61 go up to 20000

what's your exact plan?, any links?

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=11254&hl 

25th and the canon arriving .

ya i cant wait to test this bad boy out

[beefstew]

Im likin this new cam already 

the only complaint

if your recording in a quiet place, the internal mics pick up the sound of the camera's motor running, but that shouldnt be a problem for recording concerts

[kuuan]

Im likin this new cam already 

the only complaint

if your recording in a quiet place, the internal mics pick up the sound of the camera's motor running, but that shouldnt be a problem for recording concerts

yesss, finally, the cam is in your hands...
wish you much fun playing with it, but at least today don"t forget that there are family members around who want to have time with you...

onboard noise is a problem with any built-in mic, even of more expensive cams, not only of the motor, but also of handling the cam, e.g. using the zoom toggler asf. - so it could even be a problem recording concerts. Better to use external mics, and better not to use them attached to the cam. If attached to the cam use a shockmount, you can make one yourself easily with cheap PVC pipes.
( edit: took off the pics of the one I had made but gladly explain how to if interested )

enjoy!

BTW: just found a circuit for an electronic attenuation: http://www.electronics-lab.com/projects/audio/011/index.html

[beefstew]

heres a good recording i made with this cam a lil while ago

its my friend's band and the lighting in the place was atrocious! not only that there was orange and green lights on the bottom of each side and that was it - no light coming in the windows because it was 9:00 at night. but in my opinion the recording came out great for how bad the lighting was. also - the cam was new to me so i forgot to set the white balance =p oh well it came out good anyway

Oteli
Video: Canon ZR-500
Audio: SBD + Cam audio = Matrix

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-yPg4c5B0Kg