best low light camera

[downer]

What would people's recommendations be for the best low light camera for around $500? I just got a Canon Optura 20. But have just read that it is not the best in low light situations. I plan on taping some concerts in the future and sometimes the lighting is not the best.

Thanks.

[cbkilner]

The new JVC GR-D33/72/93 are supposed to be decent in low light due to their new 3D noise reduction circuit - not as good manual controls as the Optura 20, but definitely better than the Sonys.

See www.camcorderinfo.com for a review of the $350 GR-D33.

[downer]

[quote="cbkilner"]- not as good manual controls as the Optura 20 quote]

What do you mean by this?

[lenti_75]

There is no good camera for 500. If you want a good one for low light, the minimun requirement is at least a 1Mb pixels for the image sensor, but these cams go around 700 and higher...
JVC does not sounds a good choise.

[cbkilner]

The Optura 20 has a decent sized 1/4" CCD and does a decent job with low light situations if you use the manual controls, but the automatic settings yeild a grainy picture in low light situations.

Manual controls involve setting the camera to Spotlight mode or setting the shutter speed to 1/60 or 1/30, setting the AE to a lower setting to keep the gain (which causes grain) from kicking in, using manual focus, etc. The Optura has nice controls for this; the JVC can do many of these adjustments, but they are buried in menus so it is a little difficult to do.

The JVC got a good review from a respectable source:
www.camcorderinfo.com
The Optura 20 also has a review there, so read them for a comparison.