What is needed is manual audio gain control and good location of the mic(s).It also depends on what sort of classical music. Solo, duet, trio, quartet, chamber music, etc. will have requirements different than a full orchestra.There are a few entry level Canon camcorders (FS series, maybe one in the MV series) that have a 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo mic jack. But they do not have manual audio gain control.The reason you need manual audio gain control is that even acoustic - classical - music can get loud enough to overdrive the automatic audio gain circuit - the result will be muddy audio and "static" (audio peaking at the loud passages).Just because a camcorder has a mic jack, that does not mean it also has manual audio control.It is possible to use the camcorder's internal built-in mics successfully - but the location of the camcorder (hence the location of the mics) is important because of the stereo separation and balance. With external mics, they can be located away from the camcorder... But even built-in mics need manual audio control. I guess the point I am trying to make is external mics are not a "hard and fast rule".There are some Sony camcorders in your budget range that have a very rudimentary "MicRefLevel" menu toggle for "Normal" or "Low" gain. I am not aware of any SOny camcorders in your budget range that have an audio-in jack. There are some Canon camcorders in your price range that have a similar "Mic Attenuation" toggle.The least expensive camcorder - of which I am am aware - with a mic jack and more granular manual audio control is the Canon HV40.Another option is to use whatever camcorder you want - but record the audio with an external audio "field recorder" like those from Zoom, Edirol, Tascam, M-Audio and many others. These generally have built-in mics - and can connect external mics if required. All have manual audio control. When you import the video for editing, import the audio from the field recorder, sync the audio, then mute the audio that came in with the video...
thanks!
