Action cameras

[Gaetan]

From what we see in some post some people have very nice pictures
I would like to know what tipe of action cameras are you using.
Gopro ,garmin,or what?
I have not seen any with zoom?
Your comments will be appreciated
Gaetan

[Bumpyroad]

walmart had on it's clearance table some sony mounts for handlebars and side of helmets and a sony video camera. lots of different stuff out there.
bumpy

[wintersun]

The Gopro Hero is great for situations where the camera needs to be attached to something and is going to be subject to shock. Lots of third party mounts for this camera to attach it to a helmet, boat, bicycle, etc.

I only need a P&S with video for fishing and kayak use that is waterproof if dunked. For that I use a Nikon Coolpix AW120 16MP camera that is waterproof to 59 feet and has excellent output, though only in JPEG format. It has a zoom equivalent to a full frame camera with a 24-120mm lens. It is not a great P&S camera but it is the best waterproof P&S camera that I could find at this time. If one becomes available with comparable capabilities and the RAW capture I will probably replace it.

[1492]

It's actually a Black Magic summer special for the Pocket Cinema Camera at $495. Fine for shooting full HD as it's only equipped with a Super16 sensor. But better than most as it records in either ProRes or lossless compressed CinemaDNG formats, which uses less compression and doesn't discard color info like consumer MP4/AVC. However, your editor needs to support these formats.

Not surprising in seeing price drops with both 2K or HD cameras, as most semi/pro camera operators sans news operations, prefer shooting in 4K which uses Super35 sensors recording 4 times the resolution of full HD. Even though most will finish in either 2K or HD. Yet have 4K available when it gets better integrated in projectors and monitors.

However, becoming a tough decision to invest in 2K or HD camera now that 4K cameras are becoming available for as little as $895., such as the new Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ1000.

[Bumpyroad]

just got a notice from B&H on a Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera at half price. takes 4/3 lenses.
bumpy

[Bumpyroad]

8.1 Van wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:
today's Baltimore Sun has an article on the iON Air Pro 3 Wi-Fi at $349.99. the author states that the quality of the stills and video are superior to images I have captured with other action cameras. the only "bad" he reported was that you must use the recommended class 6 or 10 micro SD card.
bumpy

They don't make SD cards slower than that anymore.
Lexar 32GB Class 10, Professional 400x SDHC UHS-I $19.95

unless you want to use older cards, that's a non-issue then.
that's a heck of a buy on that 32 GB card, I am used to about $1.00 per gb.
bumpy

[8_1_Van]

Bumpyroad wrote:
today's Baltimore Sun has an article on the iON Air Pro 3 Wi-Fi at $349.99. the author states that the quality of the stills and video are superior to images I have captured with other action cameras. the only "bad" he reported was that you must use the recommended class 6 or 10 micro SD card.
bumpy

They don't make SD cards slower than that anymore.
Lexar 32GB Class 10, Professional 400x SDHC UHS-I $19.95

[Bumpyroad]

today's Baltimore Sun has an article on the iON Air Pro 3 Wi-Fi at $349.99. the author states that the quality of the stills and video are superior to images I have captured with other action cameras. the only "bad" he reported was that you must use the recommended class 6 or 10 micro SD card.
bumpy

[Bumpyroad]

8.1 Van wrote:

Gaetan wrote:
From what we see in some post some people have very nice pictures
I would like to know what tipe of action cameras are you using.
Gopro ,garmin,or what?
I have not seen any with zoom?
Your comments will be appreciated
Gaetan

The new Panasonic ans Sony action cameras are better than the GoPro IMHO.
Panasonic 4K Wearable Camera HX-A500

new Sony Action Cam HDR AS100V

that sony video was great. and can control 4 cameras, strap one on each appendage. 🙂
bumpy

[8_1_Van]

Gaetan wrote:
From what we see in some post some people have very nice pictures
I would like to know what tipe of action cameras are you using.
Gopro ,garmin,or what?
I have not seen any with zoom?
Your comments will be appreciated
Gaetan

The new Panasonic and Sony action cameras are better than the GoPro IMHO.
Panasonic 4K Wearable Camera HX-A500

new Sony Action Cam HDR AS100V

[8_1_Van]

Bumpyroad wrote:

Gaetan wrote:
Bumpyroad,
What would you buy, what are you using
Gaetan.

my DSLR is a Nikon D5100, with lenses from 8-16mm up to 600.
my best pocketable is a Sony RX100II which has a large/good sensor but costs $700. they now have a III for $800 which adds a viewfinder. these are probably the best truly pocketable ones out there.
my multipurpose small one is a Nikon coolpix S9500 with 22X zoom, wi-fi and GPS.
My latest/best cameras are in the ILC Sony NEX line, Nex 7 is the best
with a couple of 3s. these have APS-C sized sensors and the ILC mirrorless are rapidly replacing DSLRs.
I have a bunch more but these are the primary ones.
the only real choice IMHO would be to buy a ILC Sony and the choice would be full frame or APS-C.
If you want to discuss in depth, please PM me.

bumpy

I use the new Panasonic GH4 for 4K video and Sony A7r for large 24x36" prints since it has a 36mp full frame sensor. Here is a quick jpeg snapshot I took of my grandaughter yesterday with my A7r :
un-cropped image

cropped image

original (7360 x 4912) size

[Ron3rd]

Gaetan wrote:
From what we see in some post some people have very nice pictures
I would like to know what tipe of action cameras are you using.
Gopro ,garmin,or what?
I have not seen any with zoom?
Your comments will be appreciated
Gaetan

In the latest edition of Consumer Reports, they recommended a small JVC waterproof camcorder as a cheaper alternative to a GoPro. Though not their top rated camcorder, it is more capable than the GoPro and has a better picture too, and, as mentioned, it's cheaper. If interested, I'll post the model number when I get home.

[Bumpyroad]

I have seen other "gopro" type cameras for less $$$ at truck stops, etc.
I do not know sensor size/type in the GoPros but I question "professional" quality
bumpy

[1775]

The "action" video cameras like Go Pro will give professional quality results but they are not intended for family videos or vacation videos. They have no zoom and they have no display screen (Go Pro sells an add on display screen) but they don't have these because they are intended to be fixed to something or someone that is moving to take continuous video of the action. If this is what you are looking for the Go Pro is a good camera. If you want more of a zoom in, zoom out camera that you can frame your shots on a display screen and take videos of your travels, etc. then look at the standard camcorders. They are compact and have a lot of features. Panasonic has a new camcorder with incredibly clear and steady 50x optical zoom.

[Reddog1]

Moved to the Technology Corner Forum.

Wayne
Moderator