Video Camera

Discuss your gear and stitching and shoe modification in here.
Post Reply
User avatar
sen
Post Master General
Posts: 2648
Joined: 08 Mar 2003 19:29
Location: Coaldale, AB, CA
Contact:

Video Camera

Post by sen » 14 Nov 2012 11:57

Hey guys,

I'm looking for recommendations and guidelines for buying a video camera. I want it to be good for footbag footage, but not obvious that that's what it's for. We're purchasing it under the pretense of capturing memories of our child as they grow. So things like the go pro are generally out.

What stats and features should I be looking at to get a camera that will film footbag in indoor conditions well?

There was a thread in Video's about this but it is rather old and technology changes fast...

Thanks!

User avatar
akalazou
Atomsmashasaurus Dex
Posts: 935
Joined: 11 Sep 2005 16:58
Location: Montreal, Qc
Contact:

Re: Video Camera

Post by akalazou » 19 Nov 2012 10:45

how much do you want to spend ?
Julien Cote

Proud to be sponsored by http://www.kolosport.com

User avatar
sen
Post Master General
Posts: 2648
Joined: 08 Mar 2003 19:29
Location: Coaldale, AB, CA
Contact:

Re: Video Camera

Post by sen » 19 Nov 2012 17:40

Around $400 would be the most.

I actually picked up a Sony HDR-PJ200 over the weekend. Haven't really tried it out yet, and I'm still open to suggestions since I have a return policy I can use if something more fitting is out there.

Muffinman
the gimp
Posts: 10373
Joined: 21 Apr 2002 15:34
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: Video Camera

Post by Muffinman » 20 Nov 2012 00:34

I don't know about the cameras, but I was curious about the one you mentioned, and the first result upon looking it up said, "When it comes to straightforward video performance, though, the HDR-PJ200 $419.99 at Sony lags behind competitors like the less-expensive Canon Vixia HF R300 ($349.99, 4 stars)."

I don't know if you did any research, but I always do tons before I buy something like that. I'm really trustworthy of CNet. Eager to see more of your videos.

User avatar
sen
Post Master General
Posts: 2648
Joined: 08 Mar 2003 19:29
Location: Coaldale, AB, CA
Contact:

Re: Video Camera

Post by sen » 20 Nov 2012 20:37

I admitedly didn't do enough (almost any) research. The purchase was pushed forward based on a time sensitive coupon and poor planning on my part. I believe I can still exchange it if needed. Before I did research I was really hoping to be find out what type of specs would be useful to look for. As much as I am into technology I know next to nothing about camcorders.

Any help would be awesome.

Muffinman
the gimp
Posts: 10373
Joined: 21 Apr 2002 15:34
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: Video Camera

Post by Muffinman » 21 Nov 2012 06:17

I guess a few things that I would look for in filming hacky would be that it can operate well in low-light settings without getting all blurry, have a wide angle lens so you dont need to sit the camera in another room if filming indoors, depending on the nature of the recording medium (I assumed this one saves on an SD card?) ensure that it can hold a lot/accommodate a high-capacity card, ensure that the battery will last at least as long as an average shred session (much longer is always nicer, or having a backup battery or something -- my session lengths are dictated by how long my battery lasts). And that's all I can think of off the top of my head.. HD's good and all, but kinda useless if it films blurry for whatever reasons (slow frame rate, sucky low-light operation, etc) That's my one major qualm with the GoPro and with some other cameras that some other footbaggers use that claim to be "HD" -- the "crisp image" does no good if the whole video is blurry.

User avatar
sen
Post Master General
Posts: 2648
Joined: 08 Mar 2003 19:29
Location: Coaldale, AB, CA
Contact:

Re: Video Camera

Post by sen » 21 Nov 2012 07:25

Muffinman wrote:operate well in low-light settings without getting all blurry
That was one thing on this that I thought would be good. It boasts about having a flux light setting or something like that that records good in low light. I thought it would do good with that, but maybe it wasn't activated? I'll try it again.
have a wide angle lens
Any idea what numbers to look for to get a wide angle?
the "crisp image" does no good
I can attest to that. Had the thing recording at 1080 and it looked like crap.
slow frame rate
I had trouble finding anything at all on the frame rate when I was in the store. None of them talked about and even at CNET I can't find it listed... That was one thing I figured should be important.

User avatar
Air
Aleksi Airinen
Posts: 668
Joined: 28 Oct 2003 11:35
Location: Finland
Contact:

Re: Video Camera

Post by Air » 21 Nov 2012 17:06

I would recommend buying a DLSR camera. First I would like to say that I'm no expert and have learned all by myself just by filming a lot and reading a lot online.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_si ... lex_camera

They are ment for photography, but most new models, even the cheap ones, shoot really good video, better than camcorders. I'm not sure if you are into photography, but if you want have memories of your children, pictures are good as well.
Most camcorders have really small sensors compared to DSLRs, and it makes a difference in the overall image quality, especially in low light. Most DLSRs allow you to shoot pictures/video with automatic settings, which is good if you don't want to fool around with the settings too much. They also have very wide manual settings, so you can learn to became a good photographer/filmer. The camera sort of grows with you when you learn to use it better. However with the automode you can just point and shoot, and don't need any prior knowledge.
DSLRs are usually sold with a basic lens that covers most situations and are pretty 'wide' as well. Not as wide as wide angle lenses though, but I wouldn't recommend buying one right away. Wide angle lenses are only for wide angle shots and can't be used for much else. With a DSLR you can change the lenses to the camera body, so you can buy a wide angle lens later if you feel like you really need it.

I'm not sure how much DSLRs cost in Canada, but you should be able to get a good one with $400-500. I know that exceeds your budget a bit, but I'd say it's worth it.

User avatar
sen
Post Master General
Posts: 2648
Joined: 08 Mar 2003 19:29
Location: Coaldale, AB, CA
Contact:

Re: Video Camera

Post by sen » 21 Nov 2012 21:10

I like the idea of a DSLR but any decent one is out of my price range at the moment. In addition I just found out that my deadline for exchanging (and using a 20% off coupon) is tomorrow. So I'm cramming in some research now. Sadly, the net is not being my friend at the moment.

I'm currently leaning towards the JVC GZ-EX210BU. It's actually cheaper than the Sony I've got and seems to stack up nicely in the specs department. I think with the sony I paid a fair bit for the mediocre projector built in. While it's a neat idea it isn't super practical for me.

User avatar
sen
Post Master General
Posts: 2648
Joined: 08 Mar 2003 19:29
Location: Coaldale, AB, CA
Contact:

Re: Video Camera

Post by sen » 22 Nov 2012 16:35

After more research on the JVC mentioned above I have started leaning away from it. Looking at the Canon HFR30 now. The reviews on Video Quality are much better. Only about an hour until I need to go and do the exchange. I`ll let you know what I end up with.

I think Footbag players should do camera reviews. It would make life easier.

Muffinman
the gimp
Posts: 10373
Joined: 21 Apr 2002 15:34
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: Video Camera

Post by Muffinman » 23 Nov 2012 00:13

Do you use an SLR, Aleksi?
If I had a nice budget I'd go with that. That's what Pawel Rozek recommends, but I think you need to spend quite a bit to get decent features for hack? My girlfriend has an $800 DSLR and while its video is HD it has the problems I mentioned earlier. Mind you video wasn't a feature she was concerned about when she bought it. It's a quality Nikon camera though. I made a hack video where I compared it to my GoPro about half a year ago, and the video was just too blurry. I have a $2000 DSLR, but it's the model before Canon added the video functionality and everyone started using them to make feature films :cry:

User avatar
Air
Aleksi Airinen
Posts: 668
Joined: 28 Oct 2003 11:35
Location: Finland
Contact:

Re: Video Camera

Post by Air » 23 Nov 2012 09:51

Erik, I have a Canon EOS 600D (EOS Rebel T3i in North America). I bought in September, when my previous camera got stolen.
I really like, it has a flip screen which is great for video. It can also shoot 60 fps, so you can get nice slow motions.

The blurriness shouldn't be a problem of the camera itself. Sometimes when you use an DSLR with automode, it sets the shutter speed to really slow to let more light in. This causes the blurriness. You should be able to fix it by using manual settings. Here's a good video that explains how shutter speed affects the blurriness.

http://vimeo.com/videoschool/lesson/56/ ... d-straight

(When you say the video was blurry, I assume you mean that all fast motions looked blurred on the video, not that the quality of the video itself was bad.)

Post Reply