What's your camcorder of choice?

mrepka · #1 07-29-2007, 04:38 PM

In a nut shell, none of the video I shot at the Road America event was worth a @#*%. So who like's what and why for their in-car video setups? Anyone using any of the HI-Def units?

JimLill · #2 07-29-2007, 05:13 PM

Might want to look at this site........

http://nadea.zoovy.com/product/BLACK-BOX

Warpedcow · #3 07-29-2007, 05:18 PM

Might not be the camera, you need to make sure the focus and exposure are set right. Might want to set it manually. Post some clips and we can probably tell you what went wrong and how to fix it without spending megabux on new equipment. Conan usually turns out good vids, he can probably give you some pointers too.

mrepka · #4 07-29-2007, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warpedcow

Might not be the camera, you need to make sure the focus and exposure are set right. Might want to set it manually. Post some clips and we can probably tell you what went wrong and how to fix it without spending megabux on new equipment. Conan usually turns out good vids, he can probably give you some pointers too.

Nah, it was the equipment. Not thinking I borrowed a buddies DVD type unit, unfortunatly they just can't handle the rough ride Emma provides...

Conan · #5 07-29-2007, 06:33 PM

www.chasecam.com

For what you get, you can't beat it. A lot of professional teams run this company's product.

billy · #6 07-29-2007, 10:38 PM

Get something solid state. I use a Sony P200 digital camera in video mode and it works well. I broke one in Johns DSR but the vibration was too much. In a normal car it's fine. I'll be trying it out tomorrow afternoon at Brainerd and will post the videos here. The main trick is to set the focus to infinity so avoid it focusing on the dashboard whenever you turn in to the sun and vice versa. The P200 with a 2GB card takes about 50 minutes of video. The biggest pain is lack of remote control. A camcorder is good for that but more mechanical for stuff to go wrong.

TailWagger · #7 07-30-2007, 04:59 AM

I use a two year old Sony (got free for rewards points, woohoo!). Think it retailed in the $350 range. Its quite small and light and the steady shot stuff seems to work very well. My camera mount is on a cross bar that ties to the main post thats tied to a cross member that the shocks are mounted on and I have not jitter in my images.

Not to usurp the thread, but while my personal video is excellent, the processed video via Windows Movie Maker is less satisfying, and far too pixelated for my taste. I've seen so decent low res video, what software do others use to process video that gives stronger results?

billy · #8 07-30-2007, 06:15 AM

We use MS movie maker so far but I use a mac now so the next few vids ill be using iMovie to see what difference that makes.

JimLill · #9 07-30-2007, 06:43 AM

Don't overlook free tools such as:

http://lives.sourceforge.net/

bbailey · #10 07-30-2007, 08:21 AM

After a year of trouble and some missed video of great runs, I bought another JVC Mini DV (Tape) camcorder. I already had the media and it was under 300 dollars. I did get the 16:9 aspect ratios which will give me more side view while in the car. I think that will be important.

I was afraid to spend $1000 for HD on something that may break due to vibration.

Aren’t their settings in Windows Movie Maker to adjust resolution? My videos have turned out well unless I shrink them down for web applications.