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Looking for advice on a video camera

deitscher

deitscher

Schwetzt du aa Deitsch?
I am in the middle of planning a big ride out west this summer. I am in the market for a video camera to take on the trip. Any suggesstions?

I am looking for something that is small, durable and one that packs well. Since I will be camping throughout the trip, long battery life is a big plus, since I won't have the ability to recharge the batteries every night. Any help from all of you wise gurus out there would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.
 
The market and its products are changing daily. My preference these days would be to take a very good camera that also has great video performance. But new products are coming out all the time.

In the Canon line it would be the 5DII (pricey but fab), the G10 (great and pocketable), or a dozen other point and shoots. I say this because I find that the typical video is fairly short. That makes it editable, and uploadable. (The above cameras record at whatever level you want. You can shoot at 320, but you won't use them because you are the only one that will recognize what it is.)

The best benefit is if you want to shoot a still shot of a magnificant scene, you will typically only be able to do it at 1200 to 2200 with most video cameras, versus a full 4000+ (15mp) with a camera. The G10 easily goes in a tank bag, a M/C jacket pocket, or around the neck when you are in an image rich environment. It also has large knobs, a 3" screen and a real live view finder for those glare obstructed days. The rechargeable battery will last past 200 photos.

If you are concerned that SD format may not hold all your video, check out this article which talks about SD going to as much as 2 TERRAbits! in the near future! Lawdie!

The biggest problem I have with video is the time and education it takes to edit and add music and resize and post. PITA!! I'm past the learning curve, and still hate it.

Of course, if you're already fluent in video and want to run for days with a helmet cam, disregard the above. No matter what, you'll want an impact resistant unit that is very light and big buttoned...with excellent resolution. I really like the card drive (SD) units as there is no movement inside the unit other than the zoom lens.

Remember, you will be wanting to use it in weather, and you will abuse it. (Dust, high wind, spitting rain and snow (even in summer), drops from waist and handle bar height, bangs (against hard objects), and the worst killer...vibration. Good luck. I'd love to hear what your research gives. www.dpreview.com is a good start.
 
Krazo said:
The market and its products are changing daily. My preference these days would be to take a very good camera that also has great video performance. But new products are coming out all the time.

In the Canon line it would be the 5DII (pricey but fab), the G10 (great and pocketable), or a dozen other point and shoots. I say this because I find that the typical video is fairly short. That makes it editable, and uploadable. (The above cameras record at whatever level you want. You can shoot at 320, but you won't use them because you are the only one that will recognize what it is.)

The best benefit is if you want to shoot a still shot of a magnificant scene, you will typically only be able to do it at 1200 to 2200 with most video cameras, versus a full 4000+ (15mp) with a camera. The G10 easily goes in a tank bag, a M/C jacket pocket, or around the neck when you are in an image rich environment. It also has large knobs, a 3" screen and a real live view finder for those glare obstructed days. The rechargeable battery will last past 200 photos.

If you are concerned that SD format may not hold all your video, check out this article which talks about SD going to as much as 2 TERRAbits! in the near future! Lawdie!

The biggest problem I have with video is the time and education it takes to edit and add music and resize and post. PITA!! I'm past the learning curve, and still hate it.

Of course, if you're already fluent in video and want to run for days with a helmet cam, disregard the above. No matter what, you'll want an impact resistant unit that is very light and big buttoned...with excellent resolution. I really like the card drive (SD) units as there is no movement inside the unit other than the zoom lens.

Remember, you will be wanting to use it in weather, and you will abuse it. (Dust, high wind, spitting rain and snow (even in summer), drops from waist and handle bar height, bangs (against hard objects), and the worst killer...vibration. Good luck. I'd love to hear what your research gives. www.dpreview.com is a good start.
Click to expand...

Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR Camera w/EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Zoom Lens

I would love this $3,500 camera and lens, but mounting it to take great riding movies ... I'm not sure how to go about doing that? But why worry, I don't have a spare $3,500 laying around :)
 
GoPro Hero video camera. Lotsa bikers use them (motorized and non motorized). Search for GoPro on You Tube. Amazon (~$139 on up) and many others sell them and it appears there are a lot of them getting sold. Simple, waterproof, lots of attachment possibilities.

212-212-9A7C191F09ABE7E2AEE557916139C580.jpg


That's probably your cheapest, easiest to set up alternative. I use a Sony Handycam DCR HC30 and a RAM mount and just bought a Sony bullet camera to plug into the HC30 for better camera mounting options.

HTH
 
Last edited:
Visit the Touratech site and take a look at the POV camera. Remote wireless control and a viewing unit, unlike the Hero.
I've used the Hero and the POV, whilst more money the advantages are worth it in my opinion.
One other thing is to remember to take footage when not riding, again the POV lets you see what you are shooting, although any handicam with variable focal length will still be better.
 
One of the big issues with the GoPro Hero camera is battery life. It uses AAAs. You'll be buying lots of them as a set (3) in the camera only lasts for about one hour, as I understand it, much longer if you use the expensive lithium types. Or use rechargeables but have lots of those too.

My Sony Handycam uses their much, much longer lasting rechargeable and you can buy third party battery units for relatively cheap prices. Recharge in the camera with a plug in unit, not much good if camping though. But take a couple of them and they should last a while. If you get the accessory unit for charging and a plug for your beemer, you could recharge on the road. All this makes for more complication, more cords, more chargers, etc., etc. That is the beauty of the GoPro. Simple as dirt, just short battery life.

I use the Sony Handycam DCR HC30, MiniDV and just bought a "bullet" camera head to attach to it, to allow for easier placement of the camera lens and keep the HC30 in the tankbag, with padding and foam to absorb vibrations. The bullet cams are very small, can be placed about anywhere on the bike with a RAM mount and the MiniDV is relatively high quality video (higher than the GoPro). And, like I said, longer battery life and not having to worry about recycling all those batteries (please recycle properly folks !!:thumb ) YMMV
 
Munchy said:
I can just tell... that's gonna be expensive !! Very cool though !!
Click to expand...

In a couple of fourms, the predicted price is $1950 USD. B&H will prolly have it for $1750.

I've had it with the cheapies. The quality just doesn't cut it.
 
tommcgee said:
In a couple of fourms, the predicted price is $1950 USD. B&H will prolly have it for $1750.

I've had it with the cheapies. The quality just doesn't cut it.
Click to expand...
:jawdrop

Whoa, dude. That's a lot of money, even at the B&H price point. I wonder, also, what you do with what will likely be enormous files. Popping it on to your big screen TV will be great but HD of a long ride will take some disk space, not to mention processing power, to convert and render. Uploading to YouTube and others will be out of the question, unless you compress down to their acceptable sizes. Still, it will be great for the Ewan and Charlie types or Helge Pedersen and others producing HD movies on DVD. I'll be waiting for those award winning shorts !!

In the meantime, I'll get by with my MiniDV and Sony Helmet cam (~ $300 total outlay). :dance
 
show me

MUNCHY .. which bullet cam did you get and have you posted any footage ? I want to go this way myself with my Sony trv 900 in my tankbag. Here's a video I shot with the 900 off bike and a cheap ($100) cam on bike. thanks, mundo
http://www.vimeo.com/2318099
That's probably your cheapest, easiest to set up alternative. I use a Sony Handycam DCR HC30 and a RAM mount and just bought a Sony bullet camera to plug into the HC30 for better camera mounting options.

HTH[/QUOTE]
 
Last edited:
Hey Mundo:
I got a Sony 420 Resolution Helmet Camera from Stuntcams.com, for $129 and added a wider angle lens for kicks. About the cheapest price I could find from the helmet cam outfits that are still in business. Just got it about a week ago and it has been cold and snowing and, well, winter in Colorado so I have not done much other than make sure it works, which is does. Lotsa cables to deal with. It came with an 8 AA battery pack and teeny microphone so I have to figure out how it all works. My plan is to have a few mounting spots on the bike so I can get footage from different vantage points on a ride, and then get creative in editing (using Adobe Premiere Elements 2).

You've clearly got the editing process down... your vids are very well done, so much more than just ride footage.

I'll post up when I get something. I'm on Vimeo, too, same handle, 'munchmeister'.

Love the Avatar, BTW. :heh
 
Munchy said:
I'll post up when I get something. I'm on Vimeo, too, same handle, 'munchmeister'.
Click to expand...

Wait, no, that is not my handle on Vimeo. It's my name, Doug Moench. That'll get you to the ONE video I've posted so far, from a nice weekend in January. Today it is minus 4 so it may be a while before I get another.

To get back to the OP, if it was me, I would buy one of the newer models from the bigs, like Sony, Canon, Panasonic etc that records to a SD card, NOT an internal DVD or to internal hard drive. Do the research. DVD and internal hard drives have issues with vibrations. Flash memory, such as SD card, does not have that issue.

These newer video cams are not much bigger than a can of pop so would be easy to mount with a RAM mount. Then you could use it off bike for some shots around the campsite as well as use it when you get home for all those family events or video's tech sessions. :thumb That's why I like my setup with the Handycam... very useful for other things, has zoom, etc. And long battery life. And I have a recharger for the batts that has a cig lighter plug, so I could even have one charging up whilst ridin'. With the addition of the bullet camera head, I can get more creative.

HTH
 
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