camcorder for outdoor “how to” vids

[Anonymous]

Looking for recommendations for a good non professional camcorder to record outdoor automotive “how to” (vehicles will NOT be running) and install videos and post them online. Should I worry about a wireless microphone or is there a camcorder out there that has good sound quality built in. If I do need a wireless mic, how do I know if the camcorder I get can support it? I am not a video editor, just a guy who wants to download some helpful, good quality videos to youtube.

Cost is an issue as my business is on a shoestring budget.

Thanks !!!!!!

-JR

[SafetyMan]

Almost anything will be of sufficient quality for YouTube bu the time it is encoded and compressed. Awesome audio can compensate for less than stellar video. For something extremely easy and ionnexpensive, I have recently come to love the Kodak Zi8 flash based camera. It is HD, records to SD cards, has an external microphone jack, and is very inexpensive and extremely simple to operate. The downside is zooming is not great, so zooming in to show high level of detail would not be ideal, so it depends on the level of detail you expect to show in your videos. Search for Kodak Zi8 on YouTube to see examples of the video quality.

Most consumer grade camcorders come with 1/8″ microphone jacks. This will allow you to connect an external shotgin microphone or mixer like this Beachtec http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/800677549-USE/Beachtek_DXA4S_DXA_4S_Audio_Adapter.htmlwhich will allow the connection of professional microphones at which point you can use wired microphones and save some money (if it will be convenient for you).

[Anonymous]

WOW

Thanks, great info, Ill look that up. Good to know

I really want to use a wireless mic as to not get tangled up while moving in and out of a car, can this camera support that?

Thanks

-JR

[SafetyMan]

Any camera with an 1/8″ adapter can support the beachteck to the best of my knowledge, although if you go with the Kodak Zi8, it will be rather awkward as the beachtek is intended to screw to the bottom of your camcorder, and the Kodak due to its form factor would make it rather awkward to hold unless you were going to mount it to a tripod.

[Anonymous]

Thanks again for the info, I think i will go with that camcorder and a wireless mic set up of some kind, possibly the beachtek.

-JR

[Anonymous]

I just wanna say this forum is great! I’m getting so many questions of mine answered!

[Grinner Hester]

I shoot these kinds of vids with a Sony FX1. Love it.

You can find em cheap on ebat now.

You can see the videos I’m talking about here:

http://ModdinArt.com/show.html

or here:

http://www.youtube.com/ModdinArt

Everything you see there is shot with one camera.

[Author]

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