I just got my cam yesterday and I need to do some filming tomorrow evening for a birthday. Of course it is going to be indoors, in the evening, and too low of light for the best shots....However, that's what I'll be working with. I would like to try both the cinemode and regular. Are there any simple adjustments that I can make to auto mode (or not in full auto but still simple adjustments) that will give me a better result?

Also, I kind of hate to bring this up since I have seen some round and round about the topic of how much cam noise gets picked up in the finished tape. I thought people were maybe exaggerating a bit but my cam makes a lot of sound when recording. How can I tell if this is the "normal amount" of cam noise to expect, or if my cam is defective?

If you're using the camera on the auto level setting for audio, I find it picks up a bit of camera noise when there's little ambient noise. It then boosts the level to pick up any audio it can, including its own mechanical noise. However, if there's a fair amount of ambient noise, it doesn't pick up any of its own.