Why don't consumer camcorders work well in low light?

Why don't consumer camcorders work well in low light?

Tim Smith (Camcorder Training Specialist) gives expert video advice on: How does a camcorder work?; Why don't consumer camcorders work well in low light? and more...

You've got a camera, and maybe it's not performing as well in low light as you think it should be. If you think about the way a camera is designed, or the way a chip is designed, it really can't be perfect in low light and then perfect in bright light. It's not a sliding scale. What a camcorder manufacturer has to make a decision on, when we're producing a camera is, do we want optimum performance to be in good existing light, or do we want it in a low-light environment? If you were in the market to purchase a security camera, you might find one that performs very well in low light, but doesn't handle the high lights very well. However, what we're looking for is a camcorder which most people are going to use in most lighting conditions. If you're shooting in your average lighting conditions, these cameras work great. If you find that you're going to be in a low light environment, it's probably a good time to try to turn some more lights on.