Camcorder recommendations

[mister moose]

I'm sure this has been discussed a lot, but it also changes fast.

I've heard that SD flash recorders are the best in the cold, is this the case?

Is there a camera that has the best combination of battery life, daylight viewable screen, good optical zoom, reliability, reasonable power up time, and decent ergonomics?

Thanks.

 

[Greg]

Panasonic SDR-S10P1

My likes/dislikes found [post="222494"]here[/post] still hold true. If you're looking for something small and lghtweight to shoot some video clips to post online, it's a great option and pretty cheap

Cloudy day vid:


Night vid:


Once someone comes out with an HD version this small under $400, I'm there.

 

[mister moose]

linky no worky

 

[Greg]

linky no worky

Fixed.

 

[Geoff]

Dear Mister Moose,

Please buy a Canon Vixia HF100 and take lots of high definition video of me.

Your pal,
Geoff

Camcorders with flash work at altitude. Camcorders with hard drives drop dead at 10K and struggle in the cold.

You can get a Vixia at B&H Photo for $529.00 with free shipping.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/539291-REG/Canon_2708B001_VIXIA_HF_100_AVCHD_Flash.html

You will also need:
* A flash card that is usually cheaper elsewhere on the internet.

* You also should consider a spare battery and an external charger for it. Battery life is pretty short at cold temps.

* The cable in the box doesn't support HDMI so you need to buy an HDMI cable if you have a newer TV. Beware that the HDMI interface on this camcorder doesn't support audio.

You will want to rig up a camera mount on your ski pole. That probably can't be done with those fancy Leki trigger straps and handles you use.

 

[mister moose]

Dear Mister Moose,

Please buy a Canon Vixia HF100 and take lots of high definition video of me.

Your pal,
Geoff

Be careful what you wish for.

I was eyeing the Canon FS100 a few days ago. Bigger optical zoom (likely poorer optics but at this resolution, does it matter?) same case and controls, "gyroscopic image stabilization" vs "SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization", same viewfinder screen. No built in flash/light. 1 Mp stills vs 2.8. And $200 cheaper to drop/dunk/lose.

 

[SkiDork]

Camcorders with hard drives drop dead at 10K and struggle in the cold.

I taped handwarmers to mine a few weeks ago at Sugarbush when it was really cold. That helped the cold problem.

 

[Geoff]

Be careful what you wish for.

I was eyeing the Canon FS100 a few days ago. Bigger optical zoom (likely poorer optics but at this resolution, does it matter?) same case and controls, "gyroscopic image stabilization" vs "SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization", same viewfinder screen. No built in flash/light. 1 Mp stills vs 2.8. And $200 cheaper to drop/dunk/lose.

More like $250 cheaper. $279 at B&H. Comes with a 6-pack of Hefeweizen that you have to give to me since you don't drink it.

 

[TheBEast]

My likes/dislikes found [post="222494"]here[/post] still hold true. If you're looking for something small and lghtweight to shoot some video clips to post online, it's a great option and pretty cheap

Gerg - I know you have that Panasonic. Do you use WMM? I'm having some trouble with some video I shot with the same camera you have. WMM plays the video but as soon as I drop it into the story line it's all scrambled. Right now it's saved as a .mpg file and I used the MotionSD Studio software that came with the camera to capture the video from the camera. Help!!

 

[mister moose]

2 month update.

After surveying the field, I bought a Canon FS-100, records to flash memory. I'm quite happy with it, but there are some quirks.

On the plus side, it's small, light, and the flash memory is great stuff. I'm using a 4GB card and this gives 2 hours of recording time in medium quality. If you download to any practical size to email or post on a website, even medium quality is way too high a resolution. The only place the difference shows is at home on your large screen high def TV. The zoom speed is controllable, a great feature, and the optical zoom goes to 38x. It's shaky at full zoom, but I've tried leaning on a ski pole and that helps a lot. Free hand in the windy bitter cold is the worst. If you watch the powder video, notice in the opening scene how far out Geoff is, and how close up the zoom gets and follows him for several hundred feet. The value of a good zoom for skiing shouldn't be underestimated. The auto focus gets confused in snowstorms, it sometimes can't find the subject at 150 to 200 feet. I've had zero issues with exposure problems in flat or bright light on snow. The battery life has been good, never ran out on the slopes. The lens is protected with an electric shutter style cover. The camera sits in the hand well, and the basic controls are easy to operate. In still mode you can snap off 1MP stills at 4 per second if you want, or individually.

On the minus side, you do get what you pay for. If you watch the videos you'll see some multi imaging in higher speed action shots. (there is a setting for 'sports', but you don't have much time for button/menu fiddling when trying to capture powder day candid moments) Viewing using the LCD screen can be difficult outdoors with fast moving subjects, but also you learn some technique to compensate. The biggest minus so far is the awkwardness of the editing software. I've managed to get through it, but it's always cumbersome. There is no back function to switch modes, you have to close the application and restart. It hangs at a whim. Most of these issues go away or get better with smaller files. I had one 4 minute clip which was 50 meg, and getting that edited took forever. I've taken to doing the initial edit and then downsize the file with the Canon software, and then finish the movie with Windows Moviemaker. In order to transfer files to your pc, you have to have the proprietary AC adapter plugged in. This is annoying, and seems unnecessary.

The other cameras I looked at were too crude you tube only types, had limited zoom, or had controls that I thought might be cumbersome with gloves on, or cost significantly more.

Canon has the FS-200 coming out soon which is a small upgrade from the now discontinued FS-100. FS-100's were $250 at B&H, and might fall further as the 200 rolls out at around $320. The 200 has an external mike jack and comes in different colors. Panasonic also has some interesting models in the pipeline for May/June.

I'm happy with it and recommend it for the price point it's at. I like the functionality enough to put up with the lousy editor, some of which might be exacerbated by my pc. You can completely avoid the Canon editor by going in and changing the file extension types, and then just use Windows.

Here's two videos I put together on the canon. The first is a 4 minute sequence edited down from 15 minutes of shots taken on a perfect powder day. The second is a short single clip shot taken freehand while moving towards a cold beer, a good demonstration of the image stability the camera has.


Powder day, Feb 23

Spring tailgating

 

[tekweezle]

http://www.buy.com/prod/polaroid-dv...mcorder-flash-memory/q/loc/111/209850038.html

here's one if you like trawling for stuff on bargain sites.

 

[Greg]

Gerg - I know you have that Panasonic. Do you use WMM? I'm having some trouble with some video I shot with the same camera you have. WMM plays the video but as soon as I drop it into the story line it's all scrambled. Right now it's saved as a .mpg file and I used the MotionSD Studio software that came with the camera to capture the video from the camera. Help!!

Download this utility to convert the MOD files to MPG:

http://zyvid.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=280.0;id=153

They should then work fine in WMM. Also, be sure to install the Panny software so WMM has access to the right CODECs. Not sure if it really matters if you use the above utility though.

 

[TheBEast]

Download this utility to convert the MOD files to MPG:

http://zyvid.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=280.0;id=153

They should then work fine in WMM. Also, be sure to install the Panny software so WMM has access to the right CODECs. Not sure if it really matters if you use the above utility though.

Pretty sure the files are coming down from the camera with a .mpg extension as opposed to a .mod extension. I've got the Panasonic software MovieSD Studio or whatever it's called and that's how I pulled the video off the camera. Saves two files on my PC, 1 .mpg file with is the actual video and 1 .mtv file with is on 1k. What are the CODECs all about?

Just wish this wasn't so hard.....

 

[gmcunni]

Pretty sure the files are coming down from the camera with a .mpg extension as opposed to a .mod extension. I've got the Panasonic software MovieSD Studio or whatever it's called and that's how I pulled the video off the camera. Saves two files on my PC, 1 .mpg file with is the actual video and 1 .mtv file with is on 1k. What are the CODECs all about?

Just wish this wasn't so hard.....

i too have this camera and wish it was easier...

most of the time i do my video work on my MAC. i just attach the USB cable, mount the Camera as an external disk and copy the files directly off the camera, where they reside as .MOD files. On my mac i have to run a conversion program and export to a different format for I-Movie to recognize the files. A pain but it works.

When i on rare occasions use my PC and Windows Movie Maker i go through the same copy process but then simply rename *.MOD to *.MPG (no conversion). As Greg mentioned, i installed the Panasonic software only to get the MPG4 (?) codec but don't actually use the software for anything. Once they are on my PC as *.MPG i drag them in to WMM and get started. there is a setting in WMM to use 16:9 that i had to get right the first time but after that i'm set.

 

[Geoff]

Download this utility to convert the MOD files to MPG:

http://zyvid.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=280.0;id=153

They should then work fine in WMM. Also, be sure to install the Panny software so WMM has access to the right CODECs. Not sure if it really matters if you use the above utility though.

With the Mister Moose Canon FS-100 SD camcorder, all I have to do is rename the file extension from .MOD to .MPG. WinDoze Movie Maker has no problems reading the file. I believe the .MOD format is a .MPG with MP3 at the end. I lose the MP3 but I don't care about that. I do have one file from that camera I can play but Movie Maker can't read.

 

[Greg]

With the Mister Moose Canon FS-100 SD camcorder, all I have to do is rename the file extension from .MOD to .MPG. WinDoze Movie Maker has no problems reading the file. I believe the .MOD format is a .MPG with MP3 at the end. I lose the MP3 but I don't care about that. I do have one file from that camera I can play but Movie Maker can't read.

Yup. Renaming usually works, but I like that utility since it can set a 16:9 flag in the file and also can batch rename a directory which makes it easier when you have a lot of MOD files.