What camera and microphone do you recommend for making internet videos?

What camera and microphone do you reccomend for making internet videos?

• I'm making a consumer product review website and want to make videos to compliment my content. What cameras, microphones, and and lighting equipment do you all reccomend? If you're an affiliate marketer through amazon, I'll buy through you if you have an excellent reccomendation. Oh yes, and I need to eliminate background noise, I live close to a freeway.

• Answer:

  What is your budget? Any miniDV camcorder will work - if it has an external mic jack... If you start there (Sony, Panasonic, Canon), you will find very little in the way of mic jacks... Canon ZR800... and any Sony with an Active Interface shoe PLUS http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/479976-REG/Sony_VMCK100_VMC_K100_Microphone_Adapter.html Then you jump to Canon HV20, HV30 or Sony HDR-HC7 or HC9. The next jump is to the Sony HDR-FX1, FX7 and Canon XL2 and XHA1... then the Panasonic DVX100... and the Sony HVRV1U and Z1U... The best mics are XLR based. Are you planning to use a hand-held or wireless mic? Or boom? The exception to "the baset mics are XLR is the Sennheiser ENG system: http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-EW-100ENG-G2-microphone/dp/B0007IOYFC/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1201565763&sr=8-5 Lighting can be 2-point or 3-point. A couple of trees and 6 PAR56 cans from GuitarCenter are enough - a dimmer control would be helpful. Since you know the freeway noise is there, it is best to get the mics as close to the audio source/person speaking as possible. If you go the XLR mic route, you will need an XLR adapter like those from BeachTek. Check out Mr Safety on YouTube. He has some good video making tips - specifically for uploading to YouTube.