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A good day to you all...

At the moment I'm looking at purchasing a camcorder. It will be used for vlogs or vodcasts, and I'll probably be in public places or indoors a lot.

So I've worked out I'd want a shotgun mic, headphone socket, and a camcorder thats good under natural indoor light, in various locations as I don't want to be carrying video lights around.

I've been looking at the Panasonic NV-GS500 and the Sony HDR-HC3 which can be purchased within ?100 of eachother (NV-GS500 is ?100 cheaper).

The HC3 has high definition, is better in low light, and has a headphone jack; but I'd have to use Sony's own shotgun microphone. With the HC3 I'll have everything I want, apart from the manual focus ring (though there is manual focus) and I lose the ability of using a clip on mic.

The GS500 doesn't have HD, but does have 3CCDs, a manual focus ring, and a 'mic in jack' so I could use a much better mic like a Sennheiser, or even a clip on mic if I want. The downside is that there's no headphone jack on the GS500 which is kinda stupid from Panasonic. Whats the point of being able to record decent audio when you can't monitor the audio coming in from the external mic?

The manual focus ring and option of choosing different mics does point me towards the GS500 but the lack of headphone jack & poorer low light performance makes me consider the HC3 which is better in low light, and I can monitor the audio whilst recording.

I just wondered if anyone on the forums has any advice? Whichever I choose I'll be making some concessions when it comes to features, so what do you guys think?

Hi Paul,

The XM1 looks like a great cam, unfortunately the video diarys (or vlogs) may be following the subjects to cafes, & nightclubs etc. I wanted something that was a little more discreet & I can put in a large pocket, out of harms way.

If I was a budding pornographer it would be great though! Sadly I'm not a budding pornographer !sad!

The subjects know I'm filming them lol! I'm not a 'sneakyographer' lol! I just doubt a nightclub doorman would permit me entry with a XM1 -or anything of that size- and if they did, I wouldn't like to carry that around with 200 drunkards barging into me carrying 4 pints of Stella. Something thats palm sized, thats easier to protect, would be ideal; hence the HC3 & GS500 appealing to me.

Sam,
Don't forget David Bailey worked with an ordinary camera and was very successful. You don't need a shotgun mike just an affordable Sony mini DV Handycam which has a zoom mike. A shotgun will pick up all the background noises which is the last thing that you need. Go to Ebay where you will see hundreds of affordable mini DV camcorders to fit your pocket and remember that content is the most important thing.
Be Lucky.
Mike Freeman.!teacher!

Thanks for your input Mike. I'll have a gander around eBay before making my decision.

I must say that the new Sony HDR SR1E's have everything I'm looking for, but they're a little noisy in low light, and then there's the editing software when it comes to AVCHD.