(Again...), I want to take video of performers at an open mic event in a room above a bar and send to a projector outside downstairs to attract customers. (Already discussed logistics of wiring in another thread.)

Now I'm wondering which video camera to get. I'm thinking a used camcorder would do the job (but I admit that I don't know much about the subject). If possible, I'd like to get one that does pretty well in the low light of the music room. (I have 2 LED PAR stage lights. They are actually too bright for the room, so I don't turn them up very far--that would ruin the atmosphere I want to create.)

I found a used Canon HV20 (released in 2007) for a reasonable price. It does 1080p and has HDMI. Fairly old technology at this point, I imagine. Anyone know of a camera that does pretty good in low light (that's not the latest thing), and perhaps available used, either online or locally? Thx.

"good in low light" and "camcorder" are two mutually exclusive terms.

The HV20 was a pretty decent entry-level HD consumer camcorder.

I own one, the low light performance never struck me as being particularly good.

I guess you will just have to try it out and check the results.

the rule is, the bigger the sensor(s), the better the low light performance, and big sensors are expensive.

Low light cameras have existed in the CCTV business for years, what you need is something that is not automatic and you can leave the apeture custom set.

I just found a Samsung HMX-H300, also for reasonable price. I think it came out about 4 years after the Canon HV20. So, I sort of assume the technology would be better. Just watched just a couple videos shot with both cameras on on youtube...I think the Samsung was better, but that was just a couple vid's. I think the Samsung uses digital cards and the Canon uses tape, so that's a pretty big difference.