lamartin2 started this discussion ·
Hey ladies and gents! So I'm doing a little bit of research as to which cameras are the best ones for capturing some awesome images and outstanding videos. I was interested to know which models you have, and the pros and cons among them. This will mostly be for video, and I would prefer GREATLY if it was one that was HD. Thank you in advance! Any insight is very helpful! 😀
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amy ·
flip ultra hd: i liked this a lot bc you could use AA batteries if the rechargable battery pack ran low. however-- the lens isn't very wide-angle, so you have to get hte camera really far away to capture the entire pole! also, a lot of these units (for some reason) have trouble recharging, they get overheated-- so i had to put mine on an icepack whenever i wanted to charge it, which was REALLY annoying. it was nice that you got a membership to upload to the flip website for free, for easy sharing of movies. a creative vado hd: i got this to replace the flip ultra. LOVE. it's the size of an ipod, has a much more wide-angle lens, and the fast-forward/rewind when you're looking at videos on this is MUCH better than the flip. low light movies are about the same quality. ipod touch 4th gen HD video: just got this recently and still playing with it. will update more later! 😀
Ive been using a few things: For quick moments I use my blackberry. I can get the videos posted quick on SV, FB etc. For a back up since I couldnt find my camcorder was my digital camera (Kodak Easy Share C813). Small to tote around and quick switch to video. I would also lay my camera on is side to get a longer angle (this can be seen on some of my videos. The downside is that Windows Movie Maker doesnt accept its format and if I convert the file - it looks like its lagging and looks like crap. I would have to get new editing softward just to use it, I wanted free stuff but would always miss the free trial time. For 95% of my videos I use a JVC GRDA US (I think thats the model). Its the family camcorder but im the only one who uses it the most. I like the quality of the playback and the tapes it uses (hi 8mm), when the video is done right it can look very professional. The 2 things I didnt like were that its got a sliding view screen, im more of a view finder gal (TV nerd taking over) and I had to buy some extra equipment to get it upload to my computer.
It all depends on your budget these days. For under $200 you can get a nice flip cam that will take great video but not so great photos. For around $800 you can get into a canon vixia that will eliminate tapes from your life and provide some professional controls photos are better than the flip but still not as good as a camera. For abou 500 you can get into a nikon d3000 which will take great photos and do better video than most people need.
EVamp83 ·
❓ Amy, which version of the Vado HD do you have? I've been looking into the 3rd generation (3G) one, looks very interesting.
amy ·
i have this one, and i love it: http://us.store.creative.com/Vado-HD-3rd-Generation-Cyan/M/B002YBTWJ8.htm
EVamp83 ·
lol! That's exactly the one I want! Good to know that you love it! WANT WANT WANT!! 😀
My next "fun" purchase is going to be the Kodak Playsport, mainly because I want something that is waterproof and husband proof. I also like the fact that it takes flash memory cards instead of having internal memory.
Gsylass ·
I use a Canon HG20. It's HD, user-friendly, and I can put alternative lenses on the front to adapt to my environment. The down-side is that I had to buy specific software to process/edit the video, as WMM couldn't read it.
amy, do you have to be far away with the vado record the whole pole? Where my pole is located in comparison to where I can place camera, I can't get too far away. Also, can it be placed on standard tripod? chemgoddes, a friend told me about the kodak sport and want to try theirs soon. Do you know if it records entire pole also without being too far away? Thanks, gals!
amy ·
hooked-- what do you mean by "the whole pole"? how tall? because i practice on 12' and there is no way i can get the whole pole in the shot unless i shoot from very very far away. let me know how tall your pole is and i'll test the range of the camera this weekend. and yes, it takes a standard tripod mount.
I don't know much about the kodak beside the fact that this will be my purchase when I get to that point. I do know that there is a way to glue a wide angle lens onto the flips so that you can get more of an area videoed. Google it. Oooo....Just saw that there are companies that have created magnetic wide angle lenses for the Flip. I am sure that it will probably work on other recorders (it is a stick on circle that goes around the original lens): Wide Angle Mod Kit
amy ·
chem, i did the mod with the glued-on adapter for the wide angle lens. the only problem is, the lens is heavy and if you tap the lens the wrong way, the lens pulls the base ring off- even when it's superglued. this happened to me three times (i reglued the base ring each time) until i got so sick of it that i just got a vado.
hooked-- what do you mean by "the whole pole"? how tall? because i practice on 12' and there is no way i can get the whole pole in the shot unless i shoot from very very far away. let me know how tall your pole is and i'll test the range of the camera this weekend. and yes, it takes a standard tripod mount. amy, my ceiling ht is 8'10" -8'12" after tension pushes down into carpet. Does this info help? I'd like to be able to have view of bottom of pole to top. I either record chopping bottom of pole or top of my head.
hooked-- what do you mean by "the whole pole"? how tall? because i practice on 12' and there is no way i can get the whole pole in the shot unless i shoot from very very far away. let me know how tall your pole is and i'll test the range of the camera this weekend. and yes, it takes a standard tripod mount. amy, my ceiling ht is 8'10" -8'12" after tension pushes down into carpet. Does this info help? I'd like to be able to have view of bottom of pole to top. I either record chopping bottom of pole or top of my head. amy, I'm still trying to find a recording camera for my little practices. You mentioned trying your camera to see how far you have to be to get almost whole pole. Here is the height in this post.
amy ·
woah, sorry totally didn't see your last two posts! in my last video, i have the camera about 10 feet from the pole itself and about 16 feet from the mirrors. the seam between the top and bottom mirror panels is about 6' off the ground . i hope that helps!
Kobajo84 ·
I just got done responding to hookedonpole in a personal message about this topic and thought I'd publicly share my recent camcorder purchase. http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Camileo-Full-HD-Pocket-Camcorder/dp/B003DZ122O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291182258&sr=8-1 I got the Toshiba Camileo S20 camcorder from amazon.com. Product Features 1080p Full HD resolution video 4x digital zoom in 720p, 1x in 1080p HDMI digital AV output 3.0-Inch LCD Monitor Easy YouTube upload button Technical Details Brand Name: Toshiba Model: PA3792U-1CAM Media Type: Flash card Lens Type: Lens Optical zoom: 5 x Maximum Aperture Range: F/3.2 Shooting Modes: Digital photo mode Video Input: Camcorder Display Size: 3 inches Optical Sensor Resolution: 5.000 MP Optical Sensor Technology: CMOS Viewfinder Type: None Height: 0.7 inches Weight: 0.22 pounds Width: 4.2 inches I change my settings to the 720p because the videos load faster to my computer and the quality is just as good as 1080p for just doing pole videos. I love the light feature and swivel screen. I usually film my pole videos where the screen is sideways and I rotate my videos when I edit them in imovie. A con of the product is it is not compatible with Mac OS X. I have a Macbook Pro so my husband had to create a conversion program for me. The conversion program isn't so bad and I didn't want to send the camcorder back because I love it so much so the small hassel of converting isn't a big deal. I usually load my videos and put them in the converting program and while its converting I hop in the shower post workout. The camcorder works wonderful with Windows Pc. It even has a button to directly send your videos from the camcorder to your youtube. (I have yet to use this feature as I tend to edit my videos pre-posting to the world.) It also came with a small tripod, however I rarely use this because I set the camcorder sideways. The tripod is only useful when filming upright and I need maximum pole footage in my videos. 😉 I also bought a flash card for memory and have found 8gb to work perfectly. The battery lasts a long time- I have gone through 4 workouts on one battery charge. (I usually workout 1 to 2 hours total). Hope that helps and I'm very happy with my early Christmas present to myself. 🎅
