03-23-2011, 01:08 PM
Hi all,
for our trip to Sierra Nevada I used a Kodak Playsport purchased from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kodak-Playsport-...608&sr=8-8
I attached a piece of cord and clipped it onto my rucsac chest strap to avoid the drop and lose scenario! It is very light and easy to use with 1 button to turn on and a big button to start / stop recording. With thick gloves on I found that I sometimes hit the zoom function but in the whole it was very manageable.
The Camera is small enough to fit into a chest camera bag but as its height is bigger than average, it may be worth testing a few cases first. I kept the camera in my chest pocket, inside a fabric sunglasses case. By doing this I kept the camera warm. The only time I noticed a moisture build up was upon arrival at the summit. The temp difference between inside chest pocket and outside was a little to dramatic and the viewfinder was 'misted' up. This had no effect on the lens though as can be seen on the video footage.
I purchased a 16gb HC SD Card and this fits over 3hrs of 720p footage recorded at 60FPS. In tests I have found that this gives good results and much better slowmo options. Also, if you want to grab images from the video - this setting doubles your chances of getting a good shot.
The video container is .mov, using the H264 Codec. There are no compression settings available to you as a user but in tests, the only time I can see a problem is in very low contrast or dark situations.
For video editing, you actually get a package along with the camera. I have not tested this but according to the manual, it has all the basic functions but built in support for upload to you tube etc.
For my trailer: http://www.youtube.com/user/spreadys#p/a...Z5k34Y3SOc
and also my 15 minute 'You Tube Edit', I have used iMovie 11 for the Mac. Obviously, you have to have a Mac to use iMovie. Why I used it for this project was mainly so i could quickly throw something together. This is where iMovie (and Macs) excel. They just work!
For my final edit, with all the bells and whistles and Still Images etc I will revert to my trusted friend - Grass Valley Edius. This is a HD powerhouse but may be a little over the top for the average user.
Finally then, if you wanted to start off - doing a bit of snazzy stuff but don't want to buy a Mac, what would I suggest....
Grass Valley Edius Neo 3
http://www.planetdv.net/Pdfs/Grass_Valle...S_Neo3.pdf
Again, I like things that work - Grass valley video products have never let me down and I use them for work so need quality products.
If you need anything else, just ask...
for our trip to Sierra Nevada I used a Kodak Playsport purchased from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kodak-Playsport-...608&sr=8-8
I attached a piece of cord and clipped it onto my rucsac chest strap to avoid the drop and lose scenario! It is very light and easy to use with 1 button to turn on and a big button to start / stop recording. With thick gloves on I found that I sometimes hit the zoom function but in the whole it was very manageable.
The Camera is small enough to fit into a chest camera bag but as its height is bigger than average, it may be worth testing a few cases first. I kept the camera in my chest pocket, inside a fabric sunglasses case. By doing this I kept the camera warm. The only time I noticed a moisture build up was upon arrival at the summit. The temp difference between inside chest pocket and outside was a little to dramatic and the viewfinder was 'misted' up. This had no effect on the lens though as can be seen on the video footage.
I purchased a 16gb HC SD Card and this fits over 3hrs of 720p footage recorded at 60FPS. In tests I have found that this gives good results and much better slowmo options. Also, if you want to grab images from the video - this setting doubles your chances of getting a good shot.
The video container is .mov, using the H264 Codec. There are no compression settings available to you as a user but in tests, the only time I can see a problem is in very low contrast or dark situations.
For video editing, you actually get a package along with the camera. I have not tested this but according to the manual, it has all the basic functions but built in support for upload to you tube etc.
For my trailer: http://www.youtube.com/user/spreadys#p/a...Z5k34Y3SOc
and also my 15 minute 'You Tube Edit', I have used iMovie 11 for the Mac. Obviously, you have to have a Mac to use iMovie. Why I used it for this project was mainly so i could quickly throw something together. This is where iMovie (and Macs) excel. They just work!
For my final edit, with all the bells and whistles and Still Images etc I will revert to my trusted friend - Grass Valley Edius. This is a HD powerhouse but may be a little over the top for the average user.
Finally then, if you wanted to start off - doing a bit of snazzy stuff but don't want to buy a Mac, what would I suggest....
Grass Valley Edius Neo 3
http://www.planetdv.net/Pdfs/Grass_Valle...S_Neo3.pdf
Again, I like things that work - Grass valley video products have never let me down and I use them for work so need quality products.
If you need anything else, just ask...