In 2019, Canon President Fujio Mitarai shared his thoughts on the development of the global camera and camcorders market. According to him, the market volume will decrease by 50% in the next couple of years. At the same time, the Canon president acknowledges that the development of the smartphone market has negatively impacted the sale of entry-level DSLR cameras and camcorders.

Experienced analysts and CEOs of various camcorder companies do not hesitate to admit the obvious - the capabilities of modern smartphones are enough to shoot the simplest videos. And this makes video equipment a necessity only for pro operators and, not surprisingly, video bloggers who use professional equipment for filming videos and even streaming. And, of course, it is better to use a pro camcorder to capture videos in hard environmental and lighting conditions.

Rules of capturing videos in low-light environments

Capturing perfect video in low light conditions can be extremely challenging. Many cameras produce an indistinct, noisy picture in low light. Although they work in these conditions, it is impossible to get from them, for example, a high-quality image of a scene illuminated by candles without using some tricks. Or without having a good camcorder to work with. 

If you want yourself a good camcorder for low-light capturing, you can find a lot of lists all over the Internet, and we’d recommend you to read an article by Ray Crossman at iTechCluster about good one camcorders with detailed model characteristics for each of listed ones. Or simply read further and we’ll show you some of our best picks.

• Nikon D7500. This budget camera has a 20.9MP sensor with a DX (APS-C) sensor size limitation, but that's the only minor negative. In contrast, the camera boasts low noise at standard ISO levels of 100 to 51200, as well as an ISO limit of a crazy 164000, although it gets very grainy at this point. This camera can also shoot 4k video, including slow-mo. And that's not counting the compatibility with all lenses for Nikon F-class mount.
• Panasonic HC-WXF991. If you're looking for something that can really shoot well in the dark, you need an infrared-illuminated lens camera. And this camera, capable of shooting in 4K resolution in any conditions, is just what you need if you don't want to overpay for super capabilities. Among other features, the camcorder has an aperture of the lens from f / 1.8 to f / 3.6, 20x optical zoom and a selfie camera on a flip display.

Even with a powerful camera, in less than ideal lighting conditions, virtually all camcorders need help to get the perfect footage. Too little light, too much light, too much contrast are the least you can run into, and the better you prepare for the shoot, the better the result will be. Therefore, it is worth using some tricks to get studio-quality recordings even when shooting outdoors.

Use the largest aperture

Depending on which camcorder you are using to shoot, you can change the camera settings to improve video quality. If your camcorder has an aperture setting, change this setting to the lowest setting possible. This is a great feature that is important to use when shooting in low light conditions. However, it is worth remembering that when using a zoom lens, the minimum available aperture value increases as the subject approaches. Try not to use the camera's zoom and just physically move closer to the subject.

Use extra lighting

If you are having trouble shooting in dark or low light conditions, try moving your subject closer to the surrounding light source. Getting your subject closer to as much additional light as possible can greatly help improve video quality. Ideally, though, it's best to invest a little in additional camera-mounted lighting.

Use the darkness for your advantage

A creative tip for improving quality when shooting in low light conditions is to use the surrounding darkness to your advantage. Basically, this means that the subject you are shooting does not always have to be in the center of the frame. The subject can always be seen through the silhouette when the atmosphere is enough to interest the viewer. But this technique does not need to be used every time you shoot in low light.