Camcorders Recomendations (Bus Related Kinda)

Ed Brenner · December 16, 2010, 06:08:30 PM

Okay guys and gals what brand and model of camcorder do you use to take videos of your bus work in progress or Bus Nut gatherings.
There is a zillion different choices open for suggestions,might just be my christmas present to myself and Arcadia trip!

Thanks Ed

neverlearn · December 16, 2010, 06:53:56 PM

I stopped using camcorders when the video feature of my digital still camera got good enough to justify the switch. I have a canon sd-750, which is a couple of years old now - but it makes great stills and videos. What I like best about authoring to solid state media is that I can get it into my computer much faster than a tape camera. FWIW, I have been told that the flip video cameras are good.

luvrbus · December 16, 2010, 07:19:05 PM

Ed,I bought the wife a new HD Canon from Crutchfield they have some good buys right now on camcorders I bought her the HD Canon Vixia HF model she asked for the Sony HD but that did not happen lol

good luck

Gary '79 5C · December 17, 2010, 01:20:32 AM

Ed,

Please do let me know if you find a camcorder which will make my gut appear smaller !!!

That will be a winner !!

JackConrad · December 17, 2010, 04:59:07 AM

Like everything else, it is trade-offs. A higher resolution or HD will giver you much better picture quality, but will require much more memory if you plan to keep the video. I ended up buying an external hard drive to store my kayak videos from last summer because I filled my 160 Gig computer hard drive to the point I could not download my latest kayak video. If you plan to play them back on a TV, higher resolution is very important. If you are only going to play them back on a laptop sized computer screen, you can get by with less resolution. You can see the quality of my helmet cam videos here: http://www.youtube.com/my_videos?feature=mhum These were shot at 640x480 non HD. I cannot find what resolution my Olympus waterproof (10 megapixel) or Canon (8 megapixel) shoot video at.
Choices, choices, choices, what to do? Jack

bevans6 · December 17, 2010, 05:05:29 AM

An awful lot of my car racing buddies are using this now: http://www.goprocamera.com/products/?gclid=CKj39Y2s86UCFULNKgod0x_UoA

solid state media, can take pretty decent videos or stills, and very tough. I don't actually have one, but have heard good things. I think that some bus nut (Jack Conrad maybe?) uses something like this to take a continually revolving video out the front window of his bus, in case of accidents.

Brian

brando4905 · December 17, 2010, 05:08:16 AM

We just ordered one of these, http://www.amazon.com/Kodak-Pocket-Video-Camera-Black/dp/B002HOPUPC

Can't give a review yet, but I did a lot of research on these pocket camcorders, and this one looked like a good choice for us. My uncle had one at Thanksgiving, a Vado HD, and I really liked how well it took videos.

opus · December 17, 2010, 06:59:17 AM

After a LOT of research, a Flip Ultra is how I went. Less than $140 I think it is. HD to boot. It takes excellent quality video and was rated the best among the lot. Here is just one of the videos for an example: The Bus

Depewtee · December 17, 2010, 02:00:41 PM

I will second Opus' recommendation. The Flip Ultra HD has worked out very well for me. It may not have all of the bells and whistles, but you can plug it into any USB port and view/share/upload videos with ease. Sam's Club is selling the 4 gigabyte model for 129.88. I have the 8 gigabyte version and it will record two hours of HD video.

Brian S.

belfert · December 17, 2010, 07:46:08 PM

One problem with the small lightweight cameras is the lack of weight. It is hard to keep something that small and light steady. A more traditional style of camera is somewhat easier to hold steady.

You'll notice the pros are still using fairly large cameras.

opus · December 17, 2010, 08:06:13 PM

I bought a tripod for mine, $1.99. Works great! With the Flip, seeing its HD, you do need to hold it still and move it slowly.

Depewtee · December 19, 2010, 06:45:30 AM

Best Buy has the Flip Ulrtra HD on sale. They are $50 off - the base model is only $99. I highly recommend this camcorder, at this price, for everyday videos, i.e., detailing your bus projects.

Click Here for Best Buy Sale

Brian S.

babell2 · December 19, 2010, 05:54:49 PM

I have not used mine for the bus yet but I have a Cannon Vixia HF100. It records directly to SD card in HD Blue ray format. I have two 16GB SD cards and have never run out of memory. For stability I have a tripod and a monopod to hold it steady especially during long zoom shots.