Camcorders. Recommendations please
Discussion
I've got a Sony H22e (I think thats the model) And would defo not recomend it.
The quality is good for normal use, but for in car stuff, i've found it very poor. We go on alot of the tunnel runs, and most of the footage is out of focus. Granted most of the runs are at night, but even when the camera is pointing at the rear of the car in front it doesn't seem to want to focus on it.
The quality is good for normal use, but for in car stuff, i've found it very poor. We go on alot of the tunnel runs, and most of the footage is out of focus. Granted most of the runs are at night, but even when the camera is pointing at the rear of the car in front it doesn't seem to want to focus on it.
You need a mini-dv camera for in car footage. Jumping around on the road is no place for a hdd or dvd camcorder.
You also need A/V in for a bullet cam. That leaves the HDR hi-def Sonys out.
I would normally recommend top of the line Sony for this sort of work, but they have screwed up the DCR-HC96 this year and put the A/V ports on a plastic base. You don't want to take that in the car with you.
So.... Panasonic PV-GS500. Not quite as good as the GS400 that it is replacing but, at about $650 US street price, that's probably about UKP 300 to 400, you will have enough in your budget to buy plenty of tapes and a bullet cam. It has all the features that you need. The bonus is that it is a 3ccd cam.
ErnestM
You also need A/V in for a bullet cam. That leaves the HDR hi-def Sonys out.
I would normally recommend top of the line Sony for this sort of work, but they have screwed up the DCR-HC96 this year and put the A/V ports on a plastic base. You don't want to take that in the car with you.
So.... Panasonic PV-GS500. Not quite as good as the GS400 that it is replacing but, at about $650 US street price, that's probably about UKP 300 to 400, you will have enough in your budget to buy plenty of tapes and a bullet cam. It has all the features that you need. The bonus is that it is a 3ccd cam.
ErnestM
Peter/Ernest,
I just bought the Panasonic NV-GS250 that is similar to the model reccomended above. It gets the best reviews on the online resourses and is great for normal filming of stuff like parties and the kids etc.
However, It is supposed to have optical image stabalisation but I am hard pushed to tell the difference between it beoing on and off really. Not sure if this is normal or if I have a faulty unit? There is a slight difference but nothing massive.
My main concern is that on track in the Noble, with the cam clipped onto the roll cage with a g-clamp from "fast films" there is so much vibration under hard acceleration and braking that the picture just ressonates hugely.
Going along with brakes not on and the picture is very good in car but apply the brakes and wobble is an understatement, the picture vibrates like its ontop of the washer on fast spin.
Not sure if its that the brakes are slightly warped (you can feel it through the steering too) or that the problem is due to the chassis being connected to the roll cage, but the results on track are dissapointing.
Today, I hope to recieve my new bullet cam from "Fast Films" and can't wait to give it a try.
Luckily, tomorrow I am going to the Autocar drift school at Silverstone and hope to be allowed to strap on the cam.
I expect that with the camera itself in a padded bag under the seat and the bullet on a triple suction mount, there should be no vibration at all.
This would then remove the necessity for having a decent video camera.
So......to conclude, if the main part of what you want it for is fimling in car or on bike or on skis etc (and not the kids party) then I think you are better off with a solid state Mpeg 2 device that just records video and sound to a card. (sd or cf)
The new Archos 7000 (?) seems good at this, but to be honest there is not one out yet that does everything I would want.
The closest yet is the PDR 100 that can be found here www.chasecam.com and is being imported for UK distribution by David at www.fastfilms.co.uk (com?)
This does it all and correctally too, but it does not have a screen. Once a big manufacturer gets one together like this one, but with a screen then I am sold.
Hope that essay helps Peter.
What do you think Ernest?
Greg
ps. I have a brand new Panasonic NV GS250 for sale if anyone is interested!!
I just bought the Panasonic NV-GS250 that is similar to the model reccomended above. It gets the best reviews on the online resourses and is great for normal filming of stuff like parties and the kids etc.
However, It is supposed to have optical image stabalisation but I am hard pushed to tell the difference between it beoing on and off really. Not sure if this is normal or if I have a faulty unit? There is a slight difference but nothing massive.
My main concern is that on track in the Noble, with the cam clipped onto the roll cage with a g-clamp from "fast films" there is so much vibration under hard acceleration and braking that the picture just ressonates hugely.
Going along with brakes not on and the picture is very good in car but apply the brakes and wobble is an understatement, the picture vibrates like its ontop of the washer on fast spin.
Not sure if its that the brakes are slightly warped (you can feel it through the steering too) or that the problem is due to the chassis being connected to the roll cage, but the results on track are dissapointing.
Today, I hope to recieve my new bullet cam from "Fast Films" and can't wait to give it a try.
Luckily, tomorrow I am going to the Autocar drift school at Silverstone and hope to be allowed to strap on the cam.
I expect that with the camera itself in a padded bag under the seat and the bullet on a triple suction mount, there should be no vibration at all.
This would then remove the necessity for having a decent video camera.
So......to conclude, if the main part of what you want it for is fimling in car or on bike or on skis etc (and not the kids party) then I think you are better off with a solid state Mpeg 2 device that just records video and sound to a card. (sd or cf)
The new Archos 7000 (?) seems good at this, but to be honest there is not one out yet that does everything I would want.
The closest yet is the PDR 100 that can be found here www.chasecam.com and is being imported for UK distribution by David at www.fastfilms.co.uk (com?)
This does it all and correctally too, but it does not have a screen. Once a big manufacturer gets one together like this one, but with a screen then I am sold.
Hope that essay helps Peter.
What do you think Ernest?
Greg
ps. I have a brand new Panasonic NV GS250 for sale if anyone is interested!!
ErnestM said:
...That leaves the HDR hi-def Sonys out.
Why is this? My Canon has given up the ghost (chews tapes and output socket broken) and was holding on for the Sony HC3. Can't understand why there is no AV in? My guess is that it cannot accept a standard input like a bullet cam signal?GS250 is a fairly good cam. The main difference would be the ccd sizes. The GS500 has larger ccd's, hence a slightly better quality video (not applicable when using bullet cam, mind you)
As far as camera shake - you may have to take care of that in post production. Unless you are willing to invest in some pro movie steadycam equipment, there will always be some shake.
Neither the HC1 or HC3 have video in. I speculate it is because of the mpeg compression engine and that Sony haven't figured out how to upconvert any analog video streams into the hdv format (or they simply don't want to) I suppose that they could make external video standard def only, but that would add some cost to what is supposed to be a fairly affordable prosumer hd camera.
You could always buy the Sony HVR-M10U VTR unit (it is portable - uses the same battery as the HDR-FX1 - I have one) and use it's A/V in capabilities with a bullet cam. It only records from A/V in to standard def. It can playback hdv in high def, though, if the tape came from any Sony HD cam.
Hope this helps
ErnestM
As far as camera shake - you may have to take care of that in post production. Unless you are willing to invest in some pro movie steadycam equipment, there will always be some shake.
Neither the HC1 or HC3 have video in. I speculate it is because of the mpeg compression engine and that Sony haven't figured out how to upconvert any analog video streams into the hdv format (or they simply don't want to) I suppose that they could make external video standard def only, but that would add some cost to what is supposed to be a fairly affordable prosumer hd camera.
You could always buy the Sony HVR-M10U VTR unit (it is portable - uses the same battery as the HDR-FX1 - I have one) and use it's A/V in capabilities with a bullet cam. It only records from A/V in to standard def. It can playback hdv in high def, though, if the tape came from any Sony HD cam.
Hope this helps
ErnestM
One more thing - problem with solid state (and indeed DVD and HDD to an extent) is MPEG2. It's a great format for final product but if you plan on editing, it is a nightmare. There will ALWAYS be artifacts if you start of with MPEG2. No matter what you use to attempt to wash out the compression artifacts, they will still be there.
Also - remember with bullet cams - lines of resolution is what you want. The higher the better.
ErnestM
Also - remember with bullet cams - lines of resolution is what you want. The higher the better.
ErnestM
I got a HC22E, DON'T GET THIS MODEL
It does not have a AV-In, so no mic/bullet cam
Get a camera were you can plug a bullet cam/mic in, just incase you need to use one.
The thing that
s me off that i was told in the shop that you could plug a mic/bullet cam in, no you can't, my own fault because i did not take it back soon enough
Must by bullet cam
It does not have a AV-In, so no mic/bullet cam
Get a camera were you can plug a bullet cam/mic in, just incase you need to use one.
The thing that
s me off that i was told in the shop that you could plug a mic/bullet cam in, no you can't, my own fault because i did not take it back soon enough Must by bullet cam
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