Camcorders forum: what is the best camera for filming in night clubs?!

having a healthy budget and doing research. Your list is good... I hope the mic budget is a different bucket.

Before I go to far, which Mac? Is there an available firewire port? How much RAM? External (non start-up) hard drive has how much available space? What CPU?

According to the exchange rate I found, your 3000 is about US$5,000

I think staying with high definition and dropping the standard def cams is a first step to cutting the list. That means dropping the Sony DCR-VX2100, Canon XL2 and Panasonic AG-DVC7.

You said you want the camcorder to be "light weight so that i can maneuver around in a busy club". I don't think the Panavision HD-900F meets that criteria. (It is not a Panasonic.) It is a fairly large and heavy shoulder mount - preferably tripod mount - cam.

I don't know what a Canon CHA1 is. The XLH series is good, but outside your budget.

Sony XDCAM is a family of camcorders, including six different PDW series camcorders and the PMW-EX3. The PMW-EX1 used to be part of that family - it is discontinued. I believe the EX3 is well outside your stated budget. Drop it and the XDCAMS from your list. I think the HVR-Z7 is outside your budget.

The Panasonic HMC150 HD is flash memory based and records to AVCHD compressed video. Drop it from the list.

The Panasonic PV-DV53 is a consumer camcorder that dates back to 2004. Drop it from the list.

The Panasonic DMC-GH1 is a Lumix-brand DSLR that takes HD video and has a stereo mic input. No tape. Drop it from the list.

We are now at:

Sony HDR-FX1000
Sony HVR-Z5
Canon XHA1
JVC GY-HM100

Now you have a manageable list.

The FX1000 is a "prosumer". All the stuff the Z1 and Z5 have - except: no XLR audio in (uses 1/8" - 3.5mm stereo audio jack. You *could* add XLR jacks by getting a XLR adapter like those from juicedLink (CX231) or BeachTek (DXA-6). There are other differences, but this is the most obvious. Or just don't bother and jump to the Z5.

The Sony HVR-Z5, Canon XHA1, and JVC GY-HM100 are all fine pro-grade camcorders. All have XLR inputs for good, pro-grade mics. All can be used with FinalCut and Premiere if they are relatively current versions and your Mac's hardware can deal with HDV format video.

and I hope to provide some, too.

First... what you said:

"macpro 17'' 2.8GHz intel core 2 Duo, 4GB 1067 MHz DDR3, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M"
A MacPro is a tower - so no 17" measurement. That sounds like an iMac.

"Better" (mac pro or an imac) depends on your requirements and budget. The current crop or iMacs can import HDV at real time (or better than real time - when I get to doing other stuff while importing, it may get a few % points behind real-time - then catch up. The current MacPro will do the same, the advantage for the tower will be render time whether titles, effects, DVD or computer readable video files.

The current crop of MacBook Pro laptops will also do real-time importing - and will have the same advantages of an iMac and the tower will still have the same advantages for rendering.

I have not used a JVC GY-HM100. Its specs look good - but that is all I know. It is not tape based, so expect all the same archive issues as with other flash memory or hard disc drive - but at least it does not use anemic AVCHD.

Check the lens filter diameter and imaging chip size. The single CMOS Canon HV40 is a fine consumer-grade camcorder. But it IS a consumer grade camcorder. 43mm lens filter diameter, small imaging chip. Compare that to the 72mm lens filter diameter and 1/3" imaging chips of the prosumer/pro cams. Bigger is WAY better and needed for capturing well in low-light environments. With most of the controls accessed via menu (not on the outsidide of the camcorder) and the small lens and imaging chip and the 1/8" (3.5mm) audio-in jack, the HV40 is purely a consumer cam and nowhere near prosumer (like the Sony HDR-FX7).

Mics:
What is your budget?

RODE makes good stuff. I like Shure, Audio Technica, AKG and Sennheiser better.

Headphones:
Sony "Professional" full muff are common.

Tripod and head:
Bogen Manfrotto... but it sounds like you are heading down a path there...

Your MacBook Pro can deal with current high definition formats. When those change, we'll need to understand the computing power required to deal with the new stuff. At this point, I see "ultra high definition" (Red One and Scarlet and Silicon Imaging - among others) and 3D rendering requirements. If you don't see yourself going there any time soon, then your MacBook Pro is good for now. The biggest difference I see is that a tower will be a bit faster rendering while editing and exporting to video files or burning a DVD. But "future proofing"? Nope - I don't see it. Consider adding an external monitor to that MacBook Pro. Yu can re-use the monitor on a computer later. You will also want external hard disc drives to store the video project files. These can also be re-used with another computer, later.

Canon 7D is a good rig - but may mean carrying an audio field recorder (Zoom H4, M-Audio, Edirol, Fostex, Tascam, Sony and others).

http://vimeo.com/7369075
http://vimeo.com/7361969
http://vimeo.com/7138374

For the short and mid-term, I'll be sticking with my FX1.

Which JVC interests you? I don't know much about them, but the only ones that would make my short list are in the GY-HM series or GY-HD series...

I don't understand your comment about "Not to stresses about the tapes issue anymore as i think have the patience to make an archive, this theory as yet has to be tested"... if you don't use digital tape, how are you planning to archive the video you capture?