Video recording a live gig

fastonebaz

I've always videoed my gigs, first with an old mini dv Panasonic camcorder, then with a gopro hero 5 black with reasonable results.  But now I want to get something that will really excel with low light video and decent audio capture. I don't want separate devices (eg zoom h4n) and I've looked at the looked of a zoom q8 but I don't think the camera will be better than the gopro.

It's looking like I need a proper camcorder, but not all camcorders are equal.  I have looked into them and my must haves I've noted.  Probably budgeting around £350 for it. 

Before I spend even more hours researching features etc, I wondered what you use for live gig video capture which gives sharp footage and usable audio?  Not looking for suggestions,  just examples of equipment you've used and would really recommend so I can look in to those.   Thanks

fastonebaz

Hmmm bump

PolarityMan

We palyed with a band a while back that were doing videos as a sideline, they were using prosumer level SLR's with lights and mobile tripodey things. The results were pretty badass (plus if you watch these you can prob see their kit if you look closely):

MentalSharps

In a very general sense, the bigger the sensor, the better the low-light performance (bigger sensor = more light hitting the sensor to expose the image). So DSLRs with larger sensors will probably give the best bang for buck for exclusively low-light filming than equivalent video cameras, but you might need to buy used in order to stay within budget. Something like a Nikon D3400 might be good.

When you say audio capture, do you mean with an external mic or the built-in microphone? I think it's a bad idea to ever use the on-board microphone, but most cameras should have a mic input and the ability to set the levels manually.

Modellista

I'm no expert on this, but I've used micro 4/3 cameras for ages for video and they always give decent results. If you have a look at some of the recent Jam/gig vids you'll get an idea of what's achievable with a Panasonic G6 and a wide angle lens. That's just using the built-in stereo mics. You can add a better quality mic on top but the built-in mics aren't bad at all. They're built from the ground up as a digital system whereas a DSLR has all sorts of legacy gubbins (like the mirror) which add bulk, complexity, and cost. 

fastonebaz

Cool tips thanks. I'm trialling one of those Tascam DR-05 gadgets currently.  Quite like it so far.