digital camcorder recommendations

[Darryl Pritchett]

Get the Gopro with HD. The new HD unit has rechargeble batteries, the older standard unit like I use you have to replace AAA batteries a couple of times a weekend.

[StephenB]

Mr G.

I think the Contour HD is awesome... if you go to VholdR.com and search RSTPerformance.com you can see some of the videos we took with our cars. You can get them brand new for $225

Stephen

[lawtonglenn]

Nicely Priced Alternative to GoPro and vHoldr:

Aiptek HD with Sunpack Wide Angle Lens $114 + $37 = $151 incl shipping

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Aiptek-1080P-Definition-Camcorder-Silver/dp/B0019BPTMI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1272159020&sr =8-1[/ame]

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Sunpak-CAM-2110-MagMount-Wide-Angle-Conversion/dp/B00079REO4/ref=pd_sim_p_3[/ame]


The Aiptek HD (not the HD-GVS)

• records 1080p @ 30fps or 720p @ 60fps
• has fixed focus, so no hunting, no vibe issues
• has no optical zoom, so no vibe issues
• writes onto SDHC cards
• the only poss drawbacks are its upright shape and it records in HD-MOV files
• The HD-MOV files were not compatible with Pinnacle Studio 11, but they are ok with 12 or 14
• The HD-MOV files work perfectly with Quicktime

We have 3 of these, and they work well, and are cheap. If you are interested, I can
show you the mounting fixtures we made for the camera to roll bar mount, and the
wide angle lens mounting.

Best
Glenn

[rthiele]

Great information, Glenn. I see they also have an "action" model specifically for sports - with an electronic stabilizer. If that one works well, it should take out the vibrations, worth testing. Besides 16:9, HD and good auto white balance that is a key requirement for onboards for me and the reason why I used a simple tape camcorder so far. So far very few compact race cams those features.
Do they have a standard camera mount/screw for a tripod etc.?

[ribbie78]

Glenn- could you put some pics up of your setup? Also how strong is that magnet mount for the wide angle lens? I was wondering what else you added to it to reinforce if necessary...thx!