leatricema
There is a shutter speed given for video cameras in low light conditions. (1/30, 1/60, etc.) Is this the speed of the lens at all times or just when the lighting is low?
Answer
The camcorder's shutter speed is in fractions of a second and the amount of time the shutter remains open to allow light to hit the imaging chip (CCD or CMOS).
1/30 is typically the auto setting when in low light. Smaller number in the denominator means the shuttr stas open longer. Moving objects will record with ghost tailing and possibly blurred. 1/60-1/125 is in daylight. In auto shutter mode, as the lighting get brighter (or the aperture is opened), the shutter speed can increase. Most camcorders also allow you to manually set the shutter speed. At about 1/500-1/1000, the aperture can't open any more and the image will darken unless lots of light is added to the scene. Be careful, though, at this speed or faster, there is an irritating "strobe" effect that settles in and can be very uncomfortable for the viewer.
(Remember, still photos capture is different from video - with stills, typically, the goal is to freeze the moment so faster shutter speeds are more common. Which video, motion is fluid, so each frame does not need to have everything in sharp focus).
The camcorder's shutter speed is in fractions of a second and the amount of time the shutter remains open to allow light to hit the imaging chip (CCD or CMOS).
1/30 is typically the auto setting when in low light. Smaller number in the denominator means the shuttr stas open longer. Moving objects will record with ghost tailing and possibly blurred. 1/60-1/125 is in daylight. In auto shutter mode, as the lighting get brighter (or the aperture is opened), the shutter speed can increase. Most camcorders also allow you to manually set the shutter speed. At about 1/500-1/1000, the aperture can't open any more and the image will darken unless lots of light is added to the scene. Be careful, though, at this speed or faster, there is an irritating "strobe" effect that settles in and can be very uncomfortable for the viewer.
(Remember, still photos capture is different from video - with stills, typically, the goal is to freeze the moment so faster shutter speeds are more common. Which video, motion is fluid, so each frame does not need to have everything in sharp focus).
What is the best camcorder to get for low light recording?
fahhkinahh
I'm looking for a compact camcorder (nothing larger than a MiniDV camcorder) that records really good high definition video, even in situations where there is very low light. I'm not looking for something that can actually see stars in the sky (although that would be great) but I'm looking for something that offers the clearest picture.
Sound is also a major issue here. I was thinking about getting the Zoom Q3HD and using just that, but I was also thinking that maybe I'd be better off with using a much better camcorder and connecting the Zoom to the line-in port of the other camcorder (if possible) that way I have the perfect mix of great picture quality and great sound quality.
What do you think my best approach is? I'm looking for something that would be good with recording during concerts and situations where the volume can be very loud. Most cameras distort horribly. Do you think the Zoom Q3HD would be sufficient even for low-light situations? I think the majority of video quality is dedicated mostly to the audio and not so much the video, although 1080p is really good.
Answer
The "best camcorder" for good low light video capture is one with LARGE lenses and LARGE imaging chip system. There is no pocket cam or consumer cam that has these.
The large lenses let light in to get to the imaging chip, the imaging chip processes and digitizes the image. 60mm lens filter diameter and 1/4" 3CCD (or 3CMOS) imaging chip system would be minimums. The Sony HDR-FX7 meets these criteria, but will not do well in darkness (as opposed to "very low light"). The HDR-FX1000 will do better.
The lens diameter on the Zoom Q3HD is smaller than 30mm and the single imaging chip is smaller than 1/6". It is designed to do well with audio (manual audio gain control) - and video capture capability is a convenience feature for decent lighting conditions. Since you are looking for good concert capture, your approach on the audio is good - but generally, stage lighting is good so low-light behavior of the camcorder is not so important... in which case the Q3HD should be fine.
The "best camcorder" for good low light video capture is one with LARGE lenses and LARGE imaging chip system. There is no pocket cam or consumer cam that has these.
The large lenses let light in to get to the imaging chip, the imaging chip processes and digitizes the image. 60mm lens filter diameter and 1/4" 3CCD (or 3CMOS) imaging chip system would be minimums. The Sony HDR-FX7 meets these criteria, but will not do well in darkness (as opposed to "very low light"). The HDR-FX1000 will do better.
The lens diameter on the Zoom Q3HD is smaller than 30mm and the single imaging chip is smaller than 1/6". It is designed to do well with audio (manual audio gain control) - and video capture capability is a convenience feature for decent lighting conditions. Since you are looking for good concert capture, your approach on the audio is good - but generally, stage lighting is good so low-light behavior of the camcorder is not so important... in which case the Q3HD should be fine.
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