What is the best camera for live events interviews (pocket size with external mic)?

T

Tobias F

Member
Hi guys,
I am trying to choose a good "second unit" camera for doing live events interviews. A couple of years ago I met a chap who was doing this to great effect at a film festival with a Sanyo Xacti and a Sennheiser MKE-400, but according to the little info that Sanyo offers, it would appear that all of the current Xacti range have no microphone input, which is essential.

Anyone have any good advice? I need this one to be a cheapish solution, as my main camera will be my GH1 for now.

Thanks,
T
 
But do these glorified dictaphones make useable images? the Kodak equivalent could also be a contender. But are any of these as good as the Sanyo HD1000?
 
Tobias, what level of quality are you looking for? And what would you consider a "cheapish" budget? We have a few canon HFM41 with shotgun/lavalier mics as needed that we utilize as secondary cameras for certain things. We also have three Sanyo VPC-FH1, but they have no external mic input. We only use these combined with a separate audio solution.
 
Hi Paul,
We ended up going for the Panny SD90, as I think it was the cheapest camera with a proper lens and mic input, and I am aiming for the Sennheiser MKE400 to mic it. It seems that a lot of gear that is available un the USA, for example, is not available over here (notably mics), which makes searching for opinions hard. We want something that is easy to carry and will give some discretion in an interview, and i am puzzled now by the fact that the mic options are between the MKE400 and the Rode Videomic, with a rather large price jump to have comparable audio quality in an enclosure that is not twice the size of the camera.

t
 
If you are looking to upgrade in the future, Sony HVR-Z5U's are the one man band cameras used on the political trail right now. (Along with a LiveU backpack).
 
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