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[Video Cameras] I need something small...
Sceptre
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm about to head down to the US (drum corps season) and have been looking for a good video camera I can bring. I want to be able to shoot clips across the summer, and then sort of put it all together in a documentary at the end of the year.
Here's the thing, the video camera would ideally be very tiny. Not like spy camera tiny, but something I could easily hide in a backpack/luggage. The kicker is that I won't have access to a computer for the three months I intend to shoot across, so I'd need the camera to be able to save to a MiniDv or something similar. The idea is that I have to be able to find the stuff it writes to in a Wal-Mart, as that could very easily be the only real store I stop at throughout the summer.
Things like HD, resolution, zoom, would be nice but are completely optional.
I found a few video cameras that are close to what I'm looking for, but they tend to be either too expensive (600+), or end up being so small that they switch to a hard drive or a flash drive that you can't remove. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Here's the thing, the video camera would ideally be very tiny. Not like spy camera tiny, but something I could easily hide in a backpack/luggage. The kicker is that I won't have access to a computer for the three months I intend to shoot across, so I'd need the camera to be able to save to a MiniDv or something similar. The idea is that I have to be able to find the stuff it writes to in a Wal-Mart, as that could very easily be the only real store I stop at throughout the summer.
Things like HD, resolution, zoom, would be nice but are completely optional.
I found a few video cameras that are close to what I'm looking for, but they tend to be either too expensive (600+), or end up being so small that they switch to a hard drive or a flash drive that you can't remove. Does anyone have any suggestions?
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OP: Will you be shooting any hour-long or longer sections of video uninterrupted? If you're only going to be shooting a lot of short clips, you might be better off with a still camera that can shoot video clips. The quality will be better suited for web video than for DVD or broadcast, but you can buy more "tape" in the form of uber-cheap 2 GB SD cards easily.
My recommendation if you go that route: Canon PowerShot A590 IS for $ubercheap. Spend another $100 on a mess of Lithium AA batteries, some bulk 2 GB SD cards, and a little carrying case for the SD cards. Use whiteout or a permanent marker to mark the SD cards, maybe number them. Before you leave, install CHDK firmware files onto each card. The entire kit should run you under $200 or $220. Don't underestimate the capabilities of a kit like this.
If you need better quality video, you need a video camera, spare battery, spare tapes. If you're going to be shooting a lot -- as in, filling 60-90 mini DV tapes in 3 months -- also get a cleaning tape and an external tape rewinder, and avoid doing anything but recording in your camera. Also get plastic bags and keep your camera and tapes dust-free as much as possible. Cheap camera tape transports are fragile.
XBL Michael Spencer || Wii 6007 6812 1605 7315 || PSN MichaelSpencerJr || Steam Michael_Spencer || Ham NOØK
QRZ || My last known GPS coordinates: FindU or APRS.fi (Car antenna feed line busted -- no ham radio for me X__X )
After doing some digging on my own, I brought up the Kodak Zi6, which I liked because it's small, I could buy a small army of SD cards to shoot on, and it comes with rechargeable batteries/recharger.
How would that compare to your suggestion of a still camera?
Here's Gizmodo's review of the Zi6 if anyone can offer me an opinion on it.
So it may be an awesome camcorder, but it may have some gotchas that none of the reviews seem to disclose, which make it great in general but poor for what you intend to do with it. It may have poor battery life or may require a ton of storage. 32 GB SDHC cards are not cheap -- yet.
Regarding the Canon cam hacked with CHDK firmware: on-camera microphones are generally very bad. Canon stock firmware disables zooming while recording because the zoom motor noise is very loud in the recording and drowns out nearly all other audio. But zooming is at least possible. Better audio can do great things for a recording, but you'd need a better microphone than the lowest-possible-cost omnidirectional mic component they build into these cheap cameras.
If you were completely insane -- you wanted awesome audio and were OK with mediocre video to go with it -- you'd need a camera or external recorder with an audio-in, a good microphone, and possibly a mic preamp. Expensive. And cumbersome to wire all those things together and put them in a pouch or backpack in a way that they don't come unplugged when you aren't looking. That would allow you to use awesome microphones though, like a shotgun mic that excludes audio from the sides, so you can record distant audio with higher gain; or a wireless lavalier or other wireless system, if you want the microphone somewhere out where the action is while the recorder stays far away.
Not recommended at all, but it's a possibility. If you're going to do that, you'll need to plan and purchase things carefully.
XBL Michael Spencer || Wii 6007 6812 1605 7315 || PSN MichaelSpencerJr || Steam Michael_Spencer || Ham NOØK
QRZ || My last known GPS coordinates: FindU or APRS.fi (Car antenna feed line busted -- no ham radio for me X__X )
I'm curious. Which corps are you focusing on- or are you doing a "all the corps I can get to" sort of thing? I only ask because I marched Madison in '94 and you just made my inner geek smile.
Oh, and- "Spartacus" or "Constantly Risking Absurdity"? I only ask because not even a flea could have farted in the space between those final scores.
Oh man, Madison 94 had some killer trumpet players. That must have been a sick year.
I'm gonna have to give the nod to Spartacus, by far. I think Constantly Risking Absurdity was a decent show (it sure was clean), but you couldn't top that drumline. Spartacus was an instant classic.
I'm going to be marching with the Cavaliers this summer, so I thought it would be cool to do sort of an internal documentary, chronicling the day to day of it all. Certainly not professional, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve that would make it look pretty close.
I found a decent deal at bestbuy (30$ for 8GB), but I'm not sure if it's a fast enough SD card. Is a Class 2 SD card fast enough for the Zi6?
It was, until we got to Concord. They kept making fairly substantial changes to the show and the flag work, and Finals ended up being kind of a mess (they did take last place, and sadly, it was deserved).
Notice I say "they". I didn't march finals; I got replaced a bit past halfway through the year because I couldn't keep up with the rest of the 'guard. Before you say anything about that, though, you should know that, up until that summer, I had never once touched a flag or a rifle in my life. I auditioned for the cymbal line (they told me I had a spot there if a returning member failed to show up, but he did return), and they offered me a spot in the colorguard. Getting replaced after the director stood in front of everyone and told us that that wouldn't happen "now that tour has started" doesn't hurt any more, though- I learned a whole hell of a lot about something I never thought I'd ever do, and it was a bit like some high school baseball player getting drafted for the NBA or the NFL, so I was more than flattered.
Colorguard is self-abuse, they're just as athletic as anyone in sports (never ever let anyone tell you differently!), and I broke my thumb tossing my rifle, with a show the very next night. Good times, man- good times.
The Blue Devils went undefeated that year, if memory serves me correctly. If you never saw it, I give you "My Spanish Heart" (Google video, can't embed, so sorry).
What are you marching? I might be able to get to the Vicksburg, MI show, so maybe I'll give you a shout out from the stands if I'm there. Oh, and- SPLOOIE!
I march tuba, so it should be pretty easy to spot my general location on the field, if you do make it. As a canadian doing drum corps, it's super rare that any one I know comes to see us perform.