Camcorders with GOOD sound?

Venetta Coulbourne: I reccommend Sony DCR-DVD108 DVD Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom.This unit records video straight to mini-DVD disks. You can plug the unit into a TV and play back, you can play back on the LCD, you can finalize the disk and put it into a standard DVD player, or a computer DVD drive. The unit comes with software to install on your PC that you can then use to edit the video clips, then re-burn to a new DVD if you have a DVD burner on your PC. The Zoom function on this unit it so powerful it's absurd. It has a standard 40X optical zoom that is more than enough. On top of that it has a digital zoom that you can program for 80X or a totally insane 2000X. I can zoom in on a single letter of a word, in a small print book, from 50ft away, and then the letter disappears and turns to pixels.I recommend Sony DCR-DVD108 DVD Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom It has a "widescreen" setting in the video options, and the manual does not say that this mo! del records in widescreen, but it does! It also has a really cool nightshot feature that uses Infrared Radiation so you can film in total darkness. The sound quality of this unit is what most impressed me. Very clear, and it has a dolby 5.1 surround converter. It weighs less than 1 pound, and the battery lasts for 90 recording minutes on a full charge....Show more

Dee Depung: Requires an external mic.Make sure it has audio-in.

Rachal Osaki: The only way a camcorder has "good sound" is when the built-in mics are close to the source of the audio (in this case, you).If you want good audio during a performance, and the camera is not close to you, then you will not have good audio. On top of that, DVD based camcorders are the worst to get video from to edit.MiniDV tape based camcorders continue to provide the best available video quality (when compared to hard drive based, DVD based and flash memory based camcorders). MiniDV tape based video is easiest to edit - pres! uming your computer has a firewire port for transferring the v! ideo.I shoot and edit music videos and do not work for an electronics store.If your music is at all loud, most consumer camcorders cannot handle the loud audio through their built-in mics while using the automatic audio level circuit - you need a camcorder with manual audio level control. If the manual audio level control is not built-in to the camcorder, then something external is needed to control the audio.I regret that your budget does not help very much and the closest I can get is a Canon ZR800 with a 1/8" mic-in jack and no manula control. So... this will need an external control. I would recommend a BeachTek DXA-6vu XLR adapter... and then you will need external XLR mics. NRG Research and Audio-Technica make good inexpensive condensor mics......Show more

Jade Ohno: A Sony DCR-DVD108 DVD Handycam Camcorder with 80x Optical Zoom will do.