Marjo Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 Need advice from carvers which use camcorders, on the slopes… I’m currently looking at buying a camcorder to be used mainly outdoors. It would be mostly used for snowboarding/carving and skiing events.<O:p</O:p I have been looking at different models, and I was told that the Panasonic camcorder would probably be the best option as it has an O.I.S. (Optical Image stabilizer) which the other models don’t have. <O:p Now my biggest dilemma is… should I take model which uses tge mini DVs or the compact DVDs or the one with an integrated Hard dive (30Gb). All 3 models are listed below. As there is a limited budget and I am getting more and more confused… your advice and/or experiences would be greatly appreciated.<O:p</O:p Panasonic PV-GS320 3CCD Ultra-Compact Digital (Mini DV cassettes) Panasonic SDR-H18 - <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com<st1:address w:st="on">30GB Hard Disk Drive</st1:address></st1:Street>/SD Camcorder Panasonic VDR-D310 - 3CCD DVD Camcorder, 10x Zoom (Compact DVDs)<O:p</O:p Thanks, Marjo :) <O:p</O:p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pokkis Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 I would recommend using DV casette version of those listed ones. It gives you much more options and very easy and cost effective way for extended shooting, tapes dont cost much. Two other options to think, but i dont know where you are located and pricing level there, but here it goes: -think seriously HD option, i mean high definition gives so much more to picture, with additional price tag :( -Panasonic HDR-SD5 is one tapeless option with HD, perhps something i would considere if i would be now buying HD camera, but i will stay with my Sony HC3 atleast one more winter EDIT I took look those cameras listed, and my quess is that where ever you are they cost half of any decent HD-camera so i would really stay on my recommendation to take DV-version. That requires only in worst case firewire card to your pc to get best available picture quality, i mean if you dont have that already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 at the moment MiniDv is still kinda the standard, but if you shoot on MiniDV then you still have to RIP it same deal with compact DVD....Hard drives well they are a bit fragile but the ease of imputing to a computer really is nice. An acquaintance mounts his hard drive camera inside a PVC pipe for added protection and ease of carry when shooting on the move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted November 17, 2007 Report Share Posted November 17, 2007 at the moment MiniDv is still kinda the standard, but if you shoot on MiniDV then you still have to RIP it same deal with compact DVD....Hard drives well they are a bit fragile but the ease of imputing to a computer really is nice. An acquaintance mounts his hard drive camera inside a PVC pipe for added protection and ease of carry when shooting on the move.I used to have a miniDV about 10 years ago and from what I read online before making my purchase was that for the last 2 years, companies have essentially frozen all development on miniDV (just like how the Deeluxe hardboots are virtually the same as the ones from several years ago). Of course, most of those features you don't need so who know. Cost-wise the miniDV tapes are the best option.I just got a Sony DVD408. I got the DVD version because I'm primarily posting to the web (so the DVD MPEG2 compression isn't an issue). Also I wanted to have the ease of navigating between recorded clips and being able to delete the ones that were bad (a problem I use to have with my old miniDV tape camcorder). Finally, I read that hard drive camcorders are not rated for about 6000 ft (at least that what the Sony models say). Which pretty much prevent me from using it where I most wanted to... That's just my thoughts as a recent buyer and I'm not at all an expert. I just did some internet research before buying myself and having used my camcorder (got it last week) enough to say anything except it is much niftier than the model I have ten years ago (duh). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoWeddings.com Posted November 18, 2007 Report Share Posted November 18, 2007 Don't do DVD. Pay more for it and it's not good for action. Hard drive would be best, but you'll get less camera for the same $$. I still rock the MiniDV. Use a neutral density filter for bright days. Helps out a ton. OIS only goes so far... a hand held stabilizer would be ideal. Don't forget Lithium Ion batteries fade quicker in cold, and warm -> cold changes (like from inside your jacket to hand held shooting on slope) creates condensation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted November 18, 2007 Report Share Posted November 18, 2007 Don't do DVD. Pay more for it and it's not good for action. Hard drive would be best, but you'll get less camera for the same $$. I still rock the MiniDV.Use a neutral density filter for bright days. Helps out a ton. OIS only goes so far... a hand held stabilizer would be ideal. Don't forget Lithium Ion batteries fade quicker in cold, and warm -> cold changes (like from inside your jacket to hand held shooting on slope) creates condensation. I see you are a professional. Why is DVD not good for action? It uses the same PEG2 compression settings as the hard drives doesn't it? Both have a 20-30GB storage limit.I'm not too worried if I got the wrong model as I got a good deal for it ($250 brand new) and anything is better than the 15fps digicam movies i was taking before. Plus it has the following ability for slow motion. Also... if you convince me... I can always put it back into a box and give it as a "gift" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted November 18, 2007 Report Share Posted November 18, 2007 You will find the image quality of the Panasonic 3CCDs to be far superior to the other two camcorders you mentioned. I was about to buy one but then I got a look at the Canon HV20 HD camcorder. It's now on the Christmas list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marjo Posted November 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2007 Pokkis... I live in Quebec, Canada... Outaouais region. _____________________________________ If understand this correctly, Mini DVs are stilll the way to go... considering my application and budget. If any of you have camcorder models which you highly recommend, and are not part of the models which I had originally submitted, please submit the models and your comments.... I would be interested in seeing what is being used, out on the slopes. Then, I will be able submit my wish list to Santa Claus... and see what happens !! Marjo :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Ong Posted November 18, 2007 Report Share Posted November 18, 2007 I have a panasonic sdr s150 Highlights are.... Pocket sized.. weighs less than 300 grams 10X optical zoom A very good OIS system which is handy since such a small unit is hard to hold still. 2.8 " lcd screen There is a built in automatic lens cover Did i mention how compact it is? On a 8G sdhc card i get 3.5 hours of recording time on medium resolution. I pop the card in a reader, plug into the computer and off you go. The camcorder comes with decent editing software if you'r not trying anything fancy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchy_in_SD Posted November 18, 2007 Report Share Posted November 18, 2007 DVD and HD are not good for action filming as the bumps and shocks will make the DVD and HD head skip on their disk so the recording will not work. Plus as someone said before, the high altitude is not good for HD camcorder. In skydiving, miniDV is the standard as it resists shocks much better than DVD and HD. Also, Hi-Def camcorder use miniDV for recording too so miniDV will not disaspear right away.... Blue sky Didier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted November 19, 2007 Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 DVD and HD are not good for action filming as the bumps and shocks will make the DVD and HD head skip on their disk so the recording will not work.Didier Ah that makes sense. That's ok, in most cases for me my camera person will be stationary... so no really big jolts or anything. We might even get a tripod in there. We'll see how it goes, I'm not too worried as getting someone to film use will be a bigger issue than the quality of the video I suspect.FWIW, this is where I did more of my internet research. It mentioned among other things that in reality 3-chip CCD are not always better overall for the lower end models as in low lighting the single CCD performs better and is almost as good as the 3CCD (almost is debatable) in good light. Obviously it is just one person's opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bricky Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 As long as you are using a camcorder, you should consider a Helmetcam. check out www.Helmetcamera.com. Bricky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 As long as you are using a camcorder, you should consider a Helmetcam. check out www.Helmetcamera.com. Bricky Tried it, didn't find it useful for what I wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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