What HD camera to buy?

[in4longhaul]

I've got a school play that I'm filming for the music department and I'm interested in upgrading my Main camera, I'm needing help picking a camera that is vastly better than my FlipHD's but still affordable. I'm looking at max price of $500-$600, but cheaper (without sacraficing a lot of quality) would be better.

Last year my FlipHD cameras were okay, but nothing spectacular.I sold Standard Definiton DVDs so the quality wasn't great anyway, but now I'm looking at selling Bluray High Definition discs too so I need to up my game a little. I've posted a picture of what my Main FlipHD did at the play.

So far, I'm looking at the M500 or the M50, but other suggestions welcome.

Screencap: in 1280x720 resolution.

[Richard]

Hi In4longhaul,

The VIXIA HF M50 and VIXIA HF M500 are vary nice camcorders and should provide years of reliable service.

With a maximum F/Stop range f/1.8-3.0, the camcorders should be able to capture the plays nicely.