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Thread: digital camcorder recommendations

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
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    Collinsville, Ct.
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    Default digital camcorder recommendations

    Looking for'reasonably'priced unit(no bells or whistles),for in car use only.Thanx in advance. R
    VW Rabbit GT-I ITB
    Yenko Stinger DP/CGT-3

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    Grove City, OH, USA
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    thread hijack!!!!!!! I haven't seen the term 'Yenko Stinger' in years!!! COOL!
    Bill Stevens - Mbr # 103106
    BnS Racing www.bnsracing.net
    92 ITA Saturn
    83 ITB Shelby Dodge Charger
    Sponsors - Race-Keeper Data/Video Aquisition Systems www.race-keeper.com
    Simpson Performance Products - simpsonraceproducts.com

  3. #3
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    Feb 2006
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    Daytona Beach, FL
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    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.
    Darryl Pritchett
    ITA #92 Dodge Neon
    2008 SE DP Champion
    2010 CFL Region ITA Champion

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
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    1,499

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    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

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Weare, NH
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    Default

    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

    Glenn Lawton
    GSMmotorsports
    #14 ITS RX7
    NARRC ITS Champion 2012
    NERRC ITS Champion 2013 12 11 10 09 08
    NERRC STU Champion 2010

    __________________

  6. #6
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    Cambridge, MA
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    Default

    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.?
    Rob Thiele - BMW 328is ITR
    www.motorsportcollection.com

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
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    northeast ohio
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    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!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
    Location
    Falls Church, Va
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    I used one of these http://www.target.com/Aiptek-High-De...ry-bin%2Cprice with an IOport roll bar mount and the video was surprisingly good. I found it on clearance for $80...
    Enjoy,
    Bill

  9. #9
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    May 2003
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    Lagrangeville, NY
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    Those stand up type cameras wobble in the IO Port mount?
    Chris Raffaelli
    NER 24FP

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by raffaelli View Post
    Those stand up type cameras wobble in the IO Port mount?
    I was worried about that too, but, well.. see for your self http://vimeo.com/11044956
    Enjoy,
    Bill

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by EV View Post
    I was worried about that too, but, well.. see for your self http://vimeo.com/11044956
    Wow, looks pretty good! I am surprised how little wobble there is.
    Chris Raffaelli
    NER 24FP

  12. #12
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    Here are some pics of the fixture we made to mount an upright
    camera to an I/O port rollbar camera mount.


    .
    Attached Images Attached Images

    Glenn Lawton
    GSMmotorsports
    #14 ITS RX7
    NARRC ITS Champion 2012
    NERRC ITS Champion 2013 12 11 10 09 08
    NERRC STU Champion 2010

    __________________

  13. #13
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    219

  14. #14
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    nice vids Tom!

    I am going to have to figure out how to upload YoutubeHD
    as I am using the builtin upload routine in Pinnacle Studio 14
    and it says that the Youtube and Yahoo video upload limits
    are 100MB/10min...so I cut the videos into 9min pieces...and
    reduce the resolution until it starts to look crappy.

    are there any tricks to the HD upload?

    .

    Glenn Lawton
    GSMmotorsports
    #14 ITS RX7
    NARRC ITS Champion 2012
    NERRC ITS Champion 2013 12 11 10 09 08
    NERRC STU Champion 2010

    __________________

  15. #15
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    Falls Church, Va
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    Quote Originally Posted by lawtonglenn View Post
    <snip>are there any tricks to the HD upload?.
    Ya, Vimeo.com
    Enjoy,
    Bill

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Rockaway, NJ
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    Hey Glenn - I was disappointed with my Cannon - too many problems. I just ordered the Aiptek setup you recommended.

    Thanks for the help - this was a dirt cheap solution for getting HD quality in-car video
    BenSpeed
    #33 ITR Porsche 968
    BigSpeed Racing
    2013 ITR Pro IT Champion
    2014 NE Division ITR Champion

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    219

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by lawtonglenn View Post
    nice vids Tom!

    I am going to have to figure out how to upload YoutubeHD
    as I am using the builtin upload routine in Pinnacle Studio 14
    and it says that the Youtube and Yahoo video upload limits
    are 100MB/10min...so I cut the videos into 9min pieces...and
    reduce the resolution until it starts to look crappy.

    are there any tricks to the HD upload?

    .
    Convert at 6MB/sec and you're going to be fine. I use Sony Vegas for my encoding. Usually, we don't get more then 9-10 mins of action in a 30 minute race, so just cut the exciting parts into a 10 minute video and upload.

    I personally think all the "$100" fake HD "little" cams kinda look bad, and they have pretty poopy output and dynamic range. You can't beat that $250 Samsung for quality. My videos look better then the damn NASCAR broadcasts

    -Tom
    ITA Integra | 05 Mazda3 | 03 Mini
    http://www.tomhoppe.com

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Vermont
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    Default

    GOPRO promo base jump video.....way KOOL!

    http://vimeo.com/6825217

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