Best video camera for in-car footage?

[Emeye]

I'm thinking of getting some kind of camcorder for filming from cars, but not really sure what I should be looking for. I want a camera I can also use for general filming too, so I guess I need a camera with a video in so I can attach a bullet camera?

I'm thinking something high-def would be good, probably with a hard drive or solid state drive, but I don't want to spend a fortune! Just something to get me started with decent picture quality and can be edited on a PC.

Cheers.

[DIW35]

Hard drive cameras are no good in cars as they can be affected by vibration. Have never used a solid state recording device, so have no idea what they are like for quality when used in a car.

[Emeye]

Anyone....

[m12_nathan]

There are no hi def bullet cams that I've seen...

Best for incar recording is a race-technology DL1 and Video4 combined Video4 has been delayed though until September and won't help for non car related stuff.

I've got a panasonic hdc-sd5 (now replaced by the sd9) and it is great for in car footage on a mount. 1080i (p on the 9), records to sd cards so no issues with vibration. No AV in for a bullet cam though...

[Fordo]

I saw what was tagged as the first hi def bullet cam, at a broadcast show recently. i'll see if i can dig out the info. It was a 3 ccd remote head, that connected to a control unit- you could then output from that in component HD, full 1920 width if you wished, to something like a HDcam deck. Probably a bit OTT unless you're filming top gear though.

If you want hi def (or almost hi def) in car footage, i'd go for a sony HDV handycam.

Or you could go for a standard def DV handycam, which has the ability to record from the composite input, and hook up a bullet cam, for sticking the camera in awkward places.

Unfortunatly, the newer sony handycams dont seem to come with the ability to record into the camera- im not sure any of their hdv cams do

www.fastfilms.co.uk are a helpful bunch, they might be worth a ring. Sell some good in car mounts too

[Fordo]

here we go, full HD mini cam:

http://createdigitalmotion.com/2007/04/17/iconix-h...

inconix's website seems to be down though. Pricey little thing, but im planning on hiring one if I do any car filming in the future. Be great for putting in really extreme locations, like inside a wheel arch, to see the springs compressing over bumps etc

[Emeye]

Cheers guys!

I'd be happy with a High-Def camera which I can connect a std bullet camera into - I think that would be a good combination, or maybe I should get a cheap std def camera for the bullet cam stuff, along with a High-def camera for all other footage? My thinking is I can then use the SD camera for external shots of the car with bullet cam and get another angle with the internally mounted HD camera.

Any one suggest an SD camera with an input? Or anyone know of a HD cam with an input for a std bullet cam?

Apologies if these appear to be numpty questions, it's been a Loooooooong time since I used a video camera properly (think VHC-C), and as it can be quite an outlay I want to get the right gear.

Once I've sorted the camera, next I'll be mithering about editing software!

Cheers.

[Fordo]

Sounds like a good idea to me. Speaking from an editors point of view, the viewer forgives the lower quality of the bullet cam stuff, simply because you know the camera is mounting in an unusal place. - You never expect on board footage from an F1 car, to be the sharpest image.

I cant find any current HDV handycams that have video in- most annoying!

I'd do as you mention- get a cheap dv cam for recording bullet cam stuff, and a hdv cam for other bits. That way you could also have 2 cameras running on the car at the same time, that you can cut between.- HDV getting the 'through the windscreen shot' Might be worth scouring ebay- im sure you could pick up a 2nd hand dv cam with video in, with say, a broken or scratched lens, for pennys. All it needs is video in, and a working tape mech inside.

As for editing software, im afraid id be of no use- i mainly use mac's, so im not sure whats hot on the pc editing side of things these days

[RVVUNM]

I use an HD (sony DCR-SR55E) camera on a Hague mount (http://www.cameragrip.co.uk/ )and it works fine.

[Emeye]

RVVUNM said:

I use an HD (sony DCR-SR55E) camera on a Hague mount (http://www.cameragrip.co.uk/ )and it works fine.

Does this model have a video in for a bullet cam?

[RVVUNM]

Emeye said:

RVVUNM said:

I use an HD (sony DCR-SR55E) camera on a Hague mount (http://www.cameragrip.co.uk/ )and it works fine.

Does this model have a video in for a bullet cam?

I'm not sure never used one,but I can confirm the camera works fine over bumps ect.

[cw42]

I've used a standard dv tape video camera for about 5 years now for all my in-car and outside filming. I also use a b-hauge mount, which is excellent.
I killed my old sony dv camera a couple of years ago, as you can see here:
http://www.scoobysmacs.co.uk/Videos/snake%20pass%2...
and after that I bought a sony DCR-HC90e, which has the all important av in for a bullet cam. I then got a bullet cam off a mate from the club, and haven't actually used it much since
Here's some filming I did with it though:
http://www.scoobysmacs.co.uk/Videos/chief-cam.wmv

One of the major letdowns I find with Bullet cams is not the resolution but the fact that no-one does a widescreen one. If I try and mix widescreen footage from my dv cam with footage from the bullet in 4:3, my pinnacle studio 10 software doesn't like it, and usually crashes
So when I do need to use the bullet, I have to ensure the dv cam is filming in 4:3 only. No biggy, but a pita nontheless.
Lots of my vids can be found here: http://www.scoobysmacs.co.uk/video.asp
mostly just using the dv cam in the car mounted on the windscreen with the b-hauge mount.

[Fume Troll]

I got mine from http://www.actioncameras.co.uk/

Got this one http://www.actioncameras.co.uk/acatalog/ActionCam_...

with a LANC remote which all plugs into the DV in port on my camcorder.

Cheers,

FT.

[Emeye]

cw42 said:

I've used a standard dv tape video camera for about 5 years now for all my in-car and outside filming. I also use a b-hauge mount, which is excellent.
I killed my old sony dv camera a couple of years ago, as you can see here:
http://www.scoobysmacs.co.uk/Videos/snake%20pass%2...
and after that I bought a sony DCR-HC90e, which has the all important av in for a bullet cam. I then got a bullet cam off a mate from the club, and haven't actually used it much since
Here's some filming I did with it though:
http://www.scoobysmacs.co.uk/Videos/chief-cam.wmv

One of the major letdowns I find with Bullet cams is not the resolution but the fact that no-one does a widescreen one. If I try and mix widescreen footage from my dv cam with footage from the bullet in 4:3, my pinnacle studio 10 software doesn't like it, and usually crashes
So when I do need to use the bullet, I have to ensure the dv cam is filming in 4:3 only. No biggy, but a pita nontheless.
Lots of my vids can be found here: http://www.scoobysmacs.co.uk/video.asp
mostly just using the dv cam in the car mounted on the windscreen with the b-hauge mount.

Cheers for that! I know the Snake Pass pretty well, and I recognised where you were driving through Stockport! I used to work just around the corner from there....

I was interested that you didn't have any engine or ambient noise on the videos. Why is this? I have heard that it can be hard to get decent sound, especially from outside the car due to wind noise.

Thanks.