Which camera for in car video?

[supermono]

Sorry this is bound to have been asked before but search isn't working...

I've seen a nikon s700 for £150 which seems alright for reasonable in car video for a few minutes at a time. I'm quite keen on the "side effect" of it being a good digicam too. Would this camera do the job or is there something more suitable / cheaper?

Cheers
SM

[Fordo]

in my experience with in car footage, you cant go wrong with a small dv camcorder- tapes are cheap, so you can film as much as you like. And if you get a dv camcorder than can record video in, you get then get a bullet cam, to mount somewhere interesting on your car, and get some really dramatic footage.

As you mention, with the one youve suggested, youd only get a few mins recording time, and by the time youve set up, pressed record, and started driving, you'll probably run out of recording space by the time something interesting happens.

What sort of filming are you thinking of doing? Track day shooting?

[supermono]

Fordo said:

in my experience with in car footage, you cant go wrong with a small dv camcorder- tapes are cheap, so you can film as much as you like. And if you get a dv camcorder than can record video in, you get then get a bullet cam, to mount somewhere interesting on your car, and get some really dramatic footage.

As you mention, with the one youve suggested, youd only get a few mins recording time, and by the time youve set up, pressed record, and started driving, you'll probably run out of recording space by the time something interesting happens.

What sort of filming are you thinking of doing? Track day shooting?

Yes trackday mostly. So only 10 mins at a time. How long would this camera film for?

SM

ps: nice car 50 quid you say? Who'd sell a 420 GSi turbo for such a bargain price???

Edited by supermono on Tuesday 23 September 10:38

[Fordo]

Thanks for the car comments- sadly i sold it a few months ago :-( fuel prices forced sale

I bought it from a chap off pistonheads- the car had sat under a tree for 3 years in his garden, so he was glad to see it go.

I still miss the sillyness of an old fast rover. Plus it was practial- i could fit all my gear in the boot, and then load the car up with 5 crew. New car has a rubbish boot, is has only 2 doors, and can only fit two in the back- but it does 100 more miles to a tank

Im not sure how long the cam you mentioned can film for- i couldnt find many specs. And also bare in mind you have to copy the data off your card before doing your next laps, or youd hve to buy lots of cards, that could get expensive. Also, im betting the footage wouldnt be quite as good as a dedicated handycam.

Also, point and shoot cameras, when doing video, can often record in weirdy beardy formats, that can be tricky to edit or get onto dvd. The DV cam format is very universal

Also, does the stills camera you mention record sound? Sound is a big part of a moving picture. You want to hear that engine revving, or you swearing when some idiot in a chavved up nova cuts you up badly on the track!

Small dv cams can be pretty cheap, and for £5 you can get 3 dv tapes, that will record an hour each. So you can almost leave it recording and forget about it. If you can, get sony- Ive had sony handycams fall off car rigs at speed, and they seem to be pretty bullet proof!

If you can, why not get along to a camera shop, and try out the one you mention. Personally, I havent been impressed by point and shoot cameras and theyre video modes. But, you might try it and find it suits your needs.

Edited by Fordo on Tuesday 23 September 11:30

[supermono]

Fordo said:

I bought it from a chap off pistonheads- the car had sat under a tree for 3 years in his garden, so he was glad to see it go.

That was me, you eejit!

SM

[Fordo]

Doh! shows how much i pay attention!! I can never keep track of people forum names

I had to sell on the 420 inthe end- i just couldnt keep up with fuel costs. Its now retired in cornwall, where the chap whos bought it has fitted some better suspension, and hes just finished replacing all the bushes, so i feel like its gone to a good home.

Tempted to buy it back from him once he's done all the hard work!

Edited by Fordo on Tuesday 23 September 16:35

Edited by Fordo on Tuesday 23 September 16:36

[supermono]

Fordo said:

Tempted to buy it back from him once he's done all the hard work!

lol. I was thinking of making you an offer for it too

Sounds great that it's gone from someone who parked it under a tree for years to someone who got it on the road to someone who's doing it up again. What a car

Sorry for a 420 post in photography.

Thanks for the advice up there, in the end I threw all that away and bought a 100 quid 1080p (they say) solid state thing off eBay. 2 hours from an 8Gb apparently and remote control so I can bolt it onto the cage and be away. I'm no photographer so I'm sure it'll record the earth/sky/earth/sky/gravel-trap/sky/tyrewall moment just fine...

Cheers
SM

[Cactussed]

I bought a cheap Mini DV off Ebay which had audio input. Been experimenting with sound and found a cheap lapel mic muffled with a layer of cotton wool and taped near the exhaust worked very well. Great sound without wind noise or other interference.

Now just need to edit the footage and make a mini movie...

[Fordo]

supermono said:

Thanks for the advice up there, in the end I threw all that away and bought a 100 quid 1080p (they say) solid state thing off eBay. 2 hours from an 8Gb apparently and remote control so I can bolt it onto the cage and be away. I'm no photographer so I'm sure it'll record the earth/sky/earth/sky/gravel-trap/sky/tyrewall moment just fine...

Cheers
SM

sounds pretty good- with the roll cage in the gt2, you should be able to get a really decent position for it too. Post up some footage sometime if you can

Edited by Fordo on Tuesday 23 September 22:43

[alackofspeed]

Hi,

Did you buy one of the cameras as linked to below?

I'm looking to get a cheap-ish track day camera, so if you have bought something similar to the ebay item linked to, I'd be really interested to hear your opinion on it.

Thanks,

John.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3-0-Full-HD-1080P-Video-Camc...

[supermono]

alackofspeed said:

Hi,

Did you buy one of the cameras as linked to below?

I'm looking to get a cheap-ish track day camera, so if you have bought something similar to the ebay item linked to, I'd be really interested to hear your opinion on it.

Thanks,

John.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3-0-Full-HD-1080P-Video-Camc...

Yes chap, exactly that. Still on a boat I think, but I'll post an update when it arrives.

SM

[supermono]

Well it's arrived and looks as cheap and tacky as I'd imagined, but seems to capture decent footage. I see in the misco (IIRC) catalogue, Toshiba are doing one for ~130 quid which looks far better made. However, so far this one looks fine.

SM

[Need For Speed]

I've used the Motorsport Hero, good for in car footage. Have a look here:
http://www.goprocamera.com/index5.htm