Camcorder advice/recommendations for interviewing people

Syler08

Hoping some kindly soul(s) can assist with my query.

I'm looking to purchase a camcorder to record people whilst they are being interviewed.

As such, the camcorder will be used indoors in a domestic (i.e. living room setting) with the interviews probably taking place in the evening.

I think I could get away with an entry level/mid level camcorder and would rather not spend more than £350 max but I do have the scope to increase this if necessary.

One concern I have is whether, for 'future-proofing', I should extend my budget to a 4k camcorder as the footage will be kept for posterity. However, I don't currently have a 4k setup so, I believe, I wouldn't be able to view any of the 4k footage anywhere other than on the camcorder itself.

Would really appreciate some help/guidance as am feeling somewhat out of my depth which is compounded by the fact that this requirement is time sensitive as one of the interviewees is unwell - for personal reasons would rather not go into detail but hope you understand what I am alluding to.

Any help/guidance greatly appreciated.

TIA.

JabbaNut

Video them with a smartphone on a tripod

If you have a Android, IPad or Windows tablet see what resolution the can record video in.

A Action camera with good mic recording.

Even a mic and webcam on a Laptop.

All depends on the target audience.

Someone else will pop along soon for you to spend oddles on the x brand they promote as a hardware influencer.

Terfyn

First, in terms of cost, a HD camcorder would be adequate. Go 4k if you want to.
But buy a camcorder with an external mic socket. The on-board mics may work but you could pick up room echo. There are "double headed" Lavalier (Tie-Clip) mics available Example:- BOYA BY-M1DM Dual Lavalier Universal Microphone on Amazon) OR a mic located, on a stand, just in front of the interviewees. Type:- electret condenser.

Extra lighting may be needed and this could be in the form of LED floods. I use Neewer CN-LUX360 lights (with a supplied "warm" filter.)

As for cameras:- any cam from the higher end of the consumer cam market should do. My choice (and I will be criticised by a certain irresponsible element for pushing this) would be a Panasonic HC-V800 HD cam. (I own and use one) If you want to go 4k then the HC-VX1 or HC-VX1F would be a good choice.

Add tripod and battery supply. (The Panasonic cams use a USB based 5V supply to charge and run the cameras so, instead of buying Panasonic batteries, I use a Power Bank made to recharge phones etc.)
Hope this helps.

Loopthrough

It depends on what these interviews are for.

I'd recommend a DSLR or good still camera that can record good video (Nikon, upper model Canon or -- my recommendation -- Panasonic: the
Lumix DMC-GX80 being a great all rounder. It has 4K and many other useful features, plus the inbuilt mic is usually excellent on Panasonic (for indoor use), AND you can use it as a travel/great stills camera too. It's around 399.

If it's just for very basic use as the other poster said, a decent (not entry level) smartphone might do, but you'd need to get a tripod adapter (very cheap) and preferably use an app like Filmic Pro to record.

As for lighting, that's probably the most important thing. You can buy photography lights now on eBay and Amazon Marketplace from Chinese brands based in the UK for about 20-25. Go as bright as you can. I recommend 2x (ideally 3 for pro use) photography softbox lights that use standard ES bulbs.

Hope that helps in some way!

12harry

Sadly, Syler08 hasn't given us enough info.
Certainly a smartphone would have sufficient quality if used sensibly, but for videoing sound the camcorder has so many advantages,but you'll need to be spending about £500 to gain the flexibility. - but this will give you a semi-pro "look" which will be far superior to any phone.
However, I sense this is for "record" purposes only - so a GoPro or a £50 "look alike" action-camera maybe is sufficient; some do have provision for an external mic, - but indoors, in a quiet room the on-camera mic will pick-up the conversation. ( esp if the "Waterproof housing" isn't used ).
However, if you are after the voice alone, then you can use an audio-recorder, eg "Zoom" starting about £80 which are good for music and record to SD cards, so you can copy to a PC for editing -or- placing in a dedicated "Person Folder" - making earlier recordings easy to find.
This applies to camcorders, action camcorders.
You don't say if you have any video/photo experience.... this might sway you towards what you know already....
As to additional lighting, I suspect the video-quality will be quite sufficient without anything extra - Unless the "image" is super-important. You could increase the power of domestic lighting reasonably easily and being normal, this should help relax the Subject- as even the presence of the camera could affect the session....
Over to you - giving us a bit more detail.

Terfyn

I think that OP made it clear. The recordings are a record of family members.
A suggestion as to the best recording media for a long term and secure record would be useful.

12harry

OP skated about the subject of the interviews and their purpose, IMHO.
However,if it's for family-history then for anyone that's not in the best of health an audio record is probably the best for them.
You can take some stills to show different aspects of their features: Happy, Sad, etc. and use old-family albums for anything they care to recall ( or use these as  "prompts" ).
Whilst a camcorder is more-expensive than an Audio-Recorder, it has greater impact for the audience. Showing their interaction with younger family members, I guess. Also for photo-albums you can include the written notes, even if these are re-done later. They'll be useful at the EDIT stage which can become a nightmare if "dates" become confused.

Hope that's some help.