November 1st, 2009 
pkinvest My boyfriend is looking into buying a Professional camcorder to record bands playing live at gigs, and neither of us know very much about them. He has been looking at this one “CANON DM-XM1 XM1E 3CCD SEMI-PRO MINI DV CAMCORDER” on eBay but I’m wondering if anyone can suggest a good ’starter’ camera for him? Xxx
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Some Are Proffesional
Heres a list:
Sony DCR-Vx2000
Sony DCR-Vx2100
Canon Gl1
Canon Gl2
Canon xl1
Canon xl2
JVC GY-HM100U
Canon XH-A1s
Panasonic AG-YUSC60H
Panasonic AG-DVX100B
Panasonic AG-HMC150
Panasonic AG-DVC20
Panasonic AG-HMC70U
You Can Find any of these video cameras at
B&H
Ebay
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=…
Moderately priced consumer grade gear…
I would be VERY careful with a camcorder that old – The XM1 is a great camcorder – don’t get me wrong – but dates back to 2003.
Please consider the Canon GL2.
You are wise to have the camcorder use miniDV tape. They capture the least compressed video (DV format). They do not have the vibration issues hard disc drive camcorders have – this can be a problem recording live bands that are loud because of the vibration the loud audio.
List of things you should be looking for – and why:
1) Already talked a bit about miniDV tape. Good choice.
2) Lenses larger than 60mm diameter. This allows more light in to the imaging chip and typically results in better low light video quality/recording performance.
3) Audio input(s). “Prosumer” cams typically have a 1/8″ (3.5mm) stereo jack. Pro-grade cams use XLR connectors. If the camcorder you have has 1/8″ audio in and you want to use XLR mics, the get an XLR adapter from juicedLink or BeachTek.
4) Manual audio control. This is a MUST for live gig recording. In auto-mic-gain mode, the audio track will get over saturated and sound really muddy – there can also be a “static” sound – this is known as peaking. This cannot be fixed after the recording is done. Using manual audio control lets you control the mic gain… the audio meter should be around the 3/4 mark.
Learn to use the white balance.
Use some sort of stabilizing device – tripod, SteadyCam/GlideCam vest system, SpiderBrace… NOT handheld.
MiniDV tape based camcorders require the video editing computer to have a firewire port. Transferring the video using USB will not work. If the computer has no firewire port, hopefully it has an available expansion slot so you can add a firewire port. Firewire, DV, IEEE1394 and i.LINK are all the same thing. USB protocol cannot handle the streaming requirements of video. USB-to-firewire cable/adapter/converter/hub things will not work.
Other camcorders to consider:
Sony HDR-FX7
Panasonic AG-DVX100
There are others – more expensive…
An additional high capacity battery from the camcorder manufacturer would be REALLY helpful. The stock battery included in the box with the camcorder typically has a 20-30 minute life, which is too short for a gig.
Pro and HD the Canon xha1 is amazing
sony hitachi video camera