10:16 – One of the items on my to-do list was to buy an HD camcorder to use in shooting more of the science videos I used to post on YouTube. One must-have feature was a microphone input, which is surprisingly rare on consumer-grade camcorders. I can’t stand the audio from on-camera microphones, so I’ll always use either a shotgun or a wireless lavaliere. Doing that requires a mic input.
So yesterday I got a promo email from Costco that featured a Canon HF R400 HD Camcorder Bundle (with case and 16 GB memory card) for $290 after a $70 rebate. Today is the last day of the promo. I checked Amazon, and their price was higher for the bare camcorder. I checked Canon, and the HF R400 HD camcorder does have a microphone input. So I just ordered the camcorder bundle from Costco. Imagine my surprise when I added it to my cart and found out that the price wasn’t $290 after the $70 rebate. It was $290 before the $70 rebate. So I ended up paying $220 plus tax, with free shipping.