I hate it when people compare a $50 watch to a $500 watch. Compare what you paid for and how it performs in this price range. I do commercials and I usually hire professional cameramen with expensive cameras to shoot my stuff and then I edit it on my computer. I was curious to make something for myself online and not spend a fortune so I decided to try this camera. I knew it wasn't the most expensive camera. I applied a filter to the video to improve the color a bit but didn't spend much time on the lighting or editing, just playing fast and inside I was a bit impressed. Again, this is a $400 camera, not a high-priced professional camera. I didn't like the camera mics, they try to cancel out background noise and it just didn't work for me. I used a wireless mic and it sounded much better. Also, the external video was too hot, the brightness was only dimmed, and it was too "shaky" when trying to move the camera. It has a stabilizer but it didn't impress me. If you don't want to spend a fortune and want to create podcasts, give this camera a try. Again, I would consider using a different mic, but give it a try and see if it works for you.