Alan Turner asks about disabling a camera's audio AGC.  That can
only be done with so-called 'pro-sumer' units or better.  Most
"consumer" camcorders sold today have auto gain control only and
some don't even have an auxiliary microphone input.

I have an old Canon camcorder which uses 8 mm video tape producing
so-so video quality but has a manual audio input control and meter
which I find very handy at band organ rallies and outdoor concerts.
Trying to sync separate audio and video tapes can be very tricky and
frustrating unless you have the proper(and expensive)equipment.

Peter Vander Veld