MattB said:Ride-A-Lot wrote:
<snip>
Quoted message said:Santa delivered my bonehead camera enclosure but the camera went back
to Sony for repairs (A/V port doesn't work - don't buy stuff from
Fry's). Then Santa surprised me with a JVC hard drive camcorder (not
from Fry's). Now I'm figuring out how to mount it to the top of my
helmet (it only weighs 13 oz). No bike stuff, though (I consider the
camera bike stuff for me anyway).
Let us know how that works out. I love the idea of that HD camera, but
read that maybe that JVC wasn't a great implementation. I'm holding out
(with my big Digital8 that I rarely use because it's bulky) for the next
solid state big thing in video cameras.
I am doing a test ride with it on Sunday. I did some family filming
over the weekend and I have to say it is the most convenient camera I
have ever used. The software it comes with is pretty simple too. I did
about 20 minutes of shooting. You can then hook it into the computer
and it will recognize the device as an external hard drive. You can
just copy the movie from the directory to your computer it's ready to
go. If you don't do it that way, you launch the software and edit it
right from the camera's hard drive. It's all drag and drop and you can
add the usual set of effects, image enhancement, titles, etc. Then you
click produce and you can choose a streaming file (for the web), CD or
DVD, and some other video options too. It burns the CD or DVD right
from the software (no separate program).
I usually use Adobe Premiere, but I have to say the included software
did a great job and a lot faster than I could have done with Adobe. My
Father thought it was cool because ten minutes after filming, I handed
him a DVD of the whole event.
Oh, and it takes 2MP photos with a built in flash. Good for a quick
shot without having to switch to another camera.
My complaints are:
1. No viewfinder. All the filming is done through the LCD and the
camera doesn't stay on unless the LCD is open. That chews up battery
very quickly. I think I read about a hack for this, so I'll have to
search around.
2. No A/V inputs. But then again, I think Sony is the last hold out here.
3. It can get warm. It's a hard drive, so it spins. Just like a
regular iPod gets warm, so does this.
4. Battery life sucks!!! The battery it came with is practically
useless. I think I clocked in 15 minutes of run time from a full
charge. That's pretty disappointing when you can shoot seven hours of
highest quality video onto the hard drive. I had to buy two more
batteries of varying sizes. The medium size gives you 1:15 minutes and
the King Kong size gives you almost 3:30 (but it weighs as much as the
camera). They're not cheap, either.
Quoted message said:65 sounds warm to me. I used to have it set to 60 for night, but the
wife made me bump it to 62, which is OK.
When I am away on business, I keep the A/C in the hotel rooms at 60.
--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws
