Need your opinion please.

Look alright to start with. Can you add on any lenses or is that all you get?

It says it has a lot of manual features which is good. Also a mic input port which is also good. Not super expensive too. Might be able to shop around a bit and see where you can get it cheapest.

Don't buy it on my advice though, wait for one of teh Camera peeps on here to put their two cents, they know a lot more about this ish than I.

Chamburger thanks for you replay.

Well i dont care too much about the sound because i'l buy some sound gear so i won't use camcorder sound.

Thanks. I just dont want go for DLSR for now because i'm a bit inexperienced and also is out of my budget.

Most festivals will judge the film rather than the picture quality. That said it never hurts to have better gear and, for a beginner, that camcorder will be just fine (provided you do everything else properly!).

And there are certain members of this forum that would be pleased to see that you are already planning on buying sound gear although I would urge caution there because if you're getting a sound guy (or gal) in to work on your film then they'll probably/possibly own the kit already. I have a basic sound kit that is gathering dust because every short I've shot I've ended up using the sound person's own equipment...

But to answer your main question, yes, should be 'good enough'.

NickClapper thanks. I won't have a sound guy, i dont know if its possible with those little sound recorders but i'm thinking in put it in a proper tripod recording the sound of the scene while i take care of the camcorder. I think i'll buy that camcorder then. thanks.

What you are going to discover when entering short films into festivals
is the competition is huge. The top five get well over 4,000 sibmissions,
even first time festivals get over 1,000.

If your picture and sound aren't very, very good, you will be competing
with films that have excellent picture and sound. With excellent lighting
you can compete using that camera. Without excellent mic placement
you won't be able to compete on audio quality.

That camcorder and your plan for audio is a great place to get started.
To compete in film festivals you need to up your game. Excellent audio
will go a long way - don't skimp there.

directorik so with that camcorder and a good sound gear,i should be fine for short film festivals? thanks.

It's fine.

In your price range and experience level that camera is a
great place to start. You need a good mic and some lighting
to compete in film festivals.

So for film festivals one should could compete with this camera if they have a solid set of audio equipment, correct? Any suggestions? For myself as well as Breaking

It much more complex than that.

You know from reading the threads here that the camera
isn't the end all of making a movie that can compete in the
festivals. The skill of the people is what matters. As you
know a feature film shot on a $300 Flip recently got released
in theaters. Regardless of how you personally feel about that
movie or how critics reacted, a distributor paid money to
have it released in theaters.

The camera was not the deciding factor.

So, yes, that little Canon camcorder could be used to make
a movie that could end up in a festival - maybe even Cannes
or Sundance. But that is the wrong question.

While there are no stupid questions - and this question is not
stupid - there are right and wrong questions. The right question
is; "Can I make a good movie using this camera?" And that
answer is yes. If you are capable of making a good movie you
can do that with a 35 year old super 8 camera, a 25 year old
VHS camera, a $300 camcorder or a $25,000 Arri.

But the camera is not the only - or even primary - piece of
equipment that is important to making a movie that can
compete with the over 100,000 films that will be submitted to
film festivals this year.

For those of you wanting to enter film festivals (which is what
this thread is about) you need to see movies in festivals. Not
read about the one on 50,000 that make the press - but see
what film festivals are programming. If your goal is to make a
movie for film festivals you need to know what moves get
accepted into film festivals.

If your goal is to learn to make good movies, the Canon camcorder
mentioned by Breaking is a fine place to start. Do not skimp on
audio and lighting.

It's too bad the question isn't as easy as "Is this camera good
enough?" The answer would then be, "No, get this camera and
your movie will be accepted in festivals."

Thanks Rik. Yea i guess its like any trade; the creator's creation is only as good as the creator. You're advice is always appreciated.

don't dismiss the possibility of second-hand camcorders, a lot of people like to get half their moneys back after 5 or 6 years of use, it helps the soul of the industry more than the finances, but who's gonna start drawing lines in the sand? Not me, there are lots of them ag-dvx's ripe for resale for the right buyers!

directorik thank you for your input.

One more thing. That camcorder does not have manual exposure. I suppose that's bad?
Exposure Modes: Program, automatic, aperture-priority, shutter-priority

Thanks once again.

While not "bad" it limits what you can do with the camera.

Use it correctly and you can make a great movie.

thanks alot. i'll buy it.