Video cameras?

[corsair67]

I have been thinking lately of maybe investing in a video camera to drag along to airshows with me: does anyone have any tips on what kind of features and capabilities I should be looking for?

Any advice greatly appreciated! :-)

[asterix]

Well my advice is Sony DCR- TRV950E but the price is high here in NZ maybe cheaper in OZ. When you get it and you come over again, Can I use it Please? I Know I would have better shots with it!

[corsair67]

Nah, Sony's crap! ;D

And even if I did buy one - it's all mine and you're not getting your hands on it, Mike!

[Bruce]

I wouldnt knock Sony, we have a large fleet of Sony Video cameras of varyious models where I work at the University of Waikato. We like the Sony's because they have proven to be extremely reliable and, in our environment, "student proof". The only really annoying thing is that they change models so often, especially the lower end "handycam" models. I would say that if you are looking for something compact and easy to hand - hold around airshows, the Sony DCR series are pretty good. Be aware though that with a small camera you wont get lovely clear close ups of aircraft doing flying displays (equivilent of the awesome photos seen on the forum), the optical zooms just dont do that sort of thing (Dont use digital zoom, its crap) When Dave and Mike filmed the SportAvex show at Tauranga I obtained some Sony PD170 "Prosumer" cameras from work. They werent too bad, but even thier lenses limited shots somewhat. The other thing is dont be tempted to go to a DVD camera; at the moment the discs are way too expensive, and only record 45minutes or so at any reasonable quality. Also with MPEG encoding of the video, they are incompatible with most editing systems except the basic package they come with. Hard disc cameras (JVC do some nice ones) also have the encoding issues and although they can do up to 8hrs recording, you have to do some form of download afterwards to have a useable final product. Basically, bang for buck I'd recommend the Sony DCR-HC series - whatever the current models are!

[Kereru]

As an alternative Panasonic have had some good ones in the past and I am not sure of there present line up but it does include an HD model. Aussie web site is:
panasonic.com.au/products/category.cfm?objectID=81
Pro series:
panasonic.com.au/products/category.cfm?objectID=3346

I have used a NV-MX300 3 CCD model now for nearly 6 years(doesn't seem that long) which has a Leica Dicomar 12x optical stabalized lens. Not as sophisticated as the pro cameras but has some good manual overide features. Depends on your budget and HD will be quite commonplace in the next couple of years.

This chap is a good resource for video cameras and sometimes has second hand ones in at times.

Riegers Appliances (Dominion Rd) Ltd
246 Dominion Rd Mt Eden Auckland
0-9-630 4115
www.riegersvideocameras.co.nz/

[Citabria]

I use a Sony HC90E.

It's a great little camera for in cockpit work. The only drawback is that it does not have an external Microphone socket so I had to buy an active shoe mic and butcher it to hook it up.

Batt life is good and for your "Joe bag of donuts" user I can really recommend it.

Cheers

Andrew

[corsair67]

Cheers for the advice, guys.

Now that I've been thinking about it a little more, I've decided to hold off buying a video camera for a wee while as it's probably better that I learn how to use my digital still camera properly first, before taking on more hi-tech devices!

[greaneyr]

I have a Panasonic NV-GS11 Mini DV camera which I got given to me a few years ago. With it's 24X optical zoom and auto-stabilisation, it should make a perfect platform for spotting... but I just haven't used it for av work. I guess the dilemma I found myself in is that a good photo is marketable whereas a video takes so much to become that way. I could be filming the ultimate scene but if it's being recorded on video, I can't do anything with it once I get home due to the poor quality, especially when compared with a dSLR.

However, it is a good unit and the only reason it hasn't been a success is due in no way to it's own technical limitations.

Richard