Greetings All,

Can anyone reccommend a Camcorder suited to filming Kite Surfing ect?. I'm looking to purchase a camcorder to take O/S and trying to choose one is a total brain drain.

If theres any techo's out there that are into video editing ect I'd be interested to know what the minimium computer system requirements are for good vid ed.

Steve

doppel

just a word of warning...
Beware those camcorders that record straight to a dvd onboard, what you don't want is a camera that compresses information as its recording. This causes digital noise when playing back due to the dvd player having to decompress the video and play it at the same time. These cameras are popular however due to their ability in providing instant playback and functionality.

The best cameras as far as image quality will be the ones that record action straight to dv tape with no compression but you will have to digitise it on the hard drive later as per the usual method.

just something i found out the hard way...

Hey Dopps,

I've been using my Sony VX2000 for years now and it produces some serious quality, but it's a bit cumbersome. I house it in an ewa-marine enclosure and I have had it in the surf up at Gnaraloo without a drop leaking in.

With regard to editing, basic windows movie maker is ok, but if you wanna have some real fun, I use Adobe Premiere Pro and all the Adobe add ons like Encore and After Effects etc. It costs a bomb but is worth the expense if you wanna produce something you can sell.

Whatever you choose, go three chip, either mini DV or DVCAM, and as large diameter and as good a quality glass as you can afford.

Oh and take a spare battery.

Have fun sounds like you are off on the trip of a life time!

Good winds,

Thanks for all the reply's and links,” fantastic", much appreciated. It’s something I've thought about for years and always have put it on the back burner and since taking up Kite Surfing I've seen some great sights that should be on film. I was down at Point Henry (Melb) a while back and a ray of sunshine was shining on the white Dock structures at the end of the pier. It was just screaming out for a kite to be silhouetted against it.

I'm diffently going for 3ccd, Minidv and high shutter speed,the Panosonic PV GS400 or 500 looking good, but I've been told theres an excellent Sony on the market that might suit.

Well, must away and check out these link's, "

Hopefully some of my experiences can help you here.

A few of the local productions have been done on the best Sony 1 chip cams from the last 3 years. If you can get a used Sony Trv 50 from 3 years ago it still holds up as a great cam today. (it was voted by many as Vid cam of the year in 02 / 03)I still love mine!

Get your light right and an average cam can yield really good results. Get close (housing),Shoot late and early and you are halfway there.

A full 3 chip is desirable but comes at a price 3.5 g and up-the cheaper panasonic 3 chippers are nice but dont match the current best Sony 1 chippers - The HC1 - now replaced by the less featured HC3 - these are HD recording CMOS cams that deliver an amazing picture. (for around 2 grand)The HC 1 was voted by many as "prosumer" cam of the year last year. Its small and easy to get into a housing.

Dont forget a good wide angle lens- this is more important than a zoom lens! I bought a cheap one and it showed - budget $200 for one of these - it will be your best friend. Shoot in anamorphic / 16:9 you will get a panoramic cinematic effect that will look sick on todays flat screen / widescreens! (4:3 is dead)

I'll put my vote in for Final cut studio. Effects, editing, sound, DVD authoring - all in one pack - Gold! (and about as expensive as gold too)

Last thing - spend as much as you can on a good tripod - millers and manfrottos are the go!

Good luck !look forward to seeing your work soon

Azza: Brilliant, comming soon: "A Doppelganger Production"


NEVER SAY NEVER

Where's Junglist? he can do all the stunts, although his probably reluctant to replicate his,"Superman",back flip,high velocity torpeado trick again.


qfmike737: The link below gives a good review on the HDR FX1, www.cnet.com/ a bit out of my price range though. I'm hoping to pick up a new HDR HC1( as suggested by Mattressbuster), it's been superceded by the HC3, but I'm told you there are new HC1's still about.

The Epiccam case looks the shot, I looked at the Ewa case from the link posted by uvblue www.ewa-marine.com.au/ and liked the idea of a "soft case"( for travel ) untill they emailed back a price of $570.00.


uvblue / Kitehard : You both seem happy with your Ewa case's, If you had to replace them for some reason, would you entertain the idea of purchasing a epiccam case to replace it. What do you think the pros and cons would be? www.epiccam.com/


Steve

just jumping on board this "tech" thread ...

I am using Windows Movie Maker which has served me well to edit non-kiting video from recent holiday.

What do I then use to save on to DVD with chapters? (Am I correct that Movie Maker does not support this function?)

Cheers

PS. something cheap!

quote:

---

If you had to replace them for some reason, would you entertain the idea of purchasing a epiccam case to replace it. What do you think the pros and cons would be?

---

Hey Steve,

For starters, yes, I'd sure entertain that idea mainly cost wise reason. The Ewa Marine is far better but the price is a killer.

EpicCam pros (MHO):
Rigid cover - better protection to the camera
Price - sad but true

Cons:
Fitting complexity - the mechanism seem to work but it's far more complex setting up the camera inside
Access to controls - You can only record / pause. In the Ewa marine you can access it all.
Resiliancy - Seems like there's more chance of leaks because it's rigid

I have to say I have no experience with the EpicCam and would definitely not rule it out for myself. I hope I helped.

Mattressbuster,
As a clued up kinda bloke, can you tell me what the difference is between the $6 Sony tapes and the $16 tape and the $30 HD tape (all MiniDV)?

Is the HD 5 times as good (or twice for that matter)?

Thanks

Mike

I just bought a sony HC3, $2000 12 months interest free from JBL hifi, minni DV is definately the way to go for quality, sonys have really good colour outdoors aswell.... minni dvd sucks because of the small record time and expensive cost, and you can't do it in high definition at the moment, the built in hard drives are good if you cant be bothered changing tapes, but they in themselves have their own problems like if you bump when your recording it can jitter or in some models when it senses your moving the camera down : falling, it stops recording all together. and generally the more you spend the happier you'll be, i had a cheapo before relatively speaking and watching the two different footages from the same day, one seamed to have about half the colour, and look like a vhs video compared to the other. sony sells underwater handicam housings for about $500 , called "splash housings ", waterproof to two metres, which is what i use.they are cheaper in singapore ~ 400ish

thats interesting.. apparently sony have released a tape aimed at the hc3, high quality and more expensive. I'll end up buying some to see if there is any difference.

Dopple

Well i worked it out and I think it can be repeated

You know, Sh1t happens when video cameras come out!

Ah well....should make RAL a very happy boy