Camcorder for track days?

[Nicol@]

Advice needed on suitable camcorders to use in the car on track days.

I know 'AV in' is needed for a bullitt(sp?) cam.

Does a DVD or HDD camcorder provide poor results in comparison to a Mini-DV one? (thinking about the bumps)

[System-G]

You remember Paul Port over on IMOC? he does multiple camera set-ups in his track car and on their race cars. Pop him a PM over on IMOC, I'm sure he'll point you in the right direction.

Personally I would have thought a DV or HD camera would be better especially for home editing.

[Nicol@]

Ta, will have to join IMOC now.

[y2blade]

get a MINI DV one, they are as good picture quality as the DVD ones and they take the vibes/knocks much better im my experiance

[Nicol@]

y2blade said:

get a MINI DV one, they are as good picture quality as the DVD ones and they take the vibes/knocks much better im my experience

I guessed that, thanks for confirming. I need to know the good and bad ones.

[y2blade]

i bought a miniDV sony one in the january sales dunno what model it is but its bloody tiny used it a few times and the results are very good so far ,have yet to use it on the bike but will do as soon as its out of hibernation

i dont run it through the PC although the software to do so came with it,i just plug it straight in my DVD recorder using a "firewire" lead ,it reconises that its a camcorder and all the edit/copy options come up on the bottom of the screen

very easy to use

[matt172]

might be worth dropping bosscerbera a PM, he sets his car up with multiple bullit cams, there was a thread about it somewhere, I'll see if I can find it

[Fly Boy]

y2blade said:

i bought a miniDV sony one in the january sales dunno what model it is but its bloody tiny used it a few times and the results are very good so far ,have yet to use it on the bike but will do as soon as its out of hibernation

i dont run it through the PC although the software to do so came with it,i just plug it straight in my DVD recorder using a "firewire" lead ,it reconises that its a camcorder and all the edit/copy options come up on the bottom of the screen

very easy to use

Be careful- I bought a Sony mini Dv handycam-
No firewire connector & if you edit the recording you lose sound....
Other than that dead easy to use

Edited to say I'm looking to buy something more suitable now

Edited by Fly Boy on Tuesday 20th February 19:46

[y2blade]

Fly Boy said:

y2blade said:

i bought a miniDV sony one in the january sales dunno what model it is but its bloody tiny used it a few times and the results are very good so far ,have yet to use it on the bike but will do as soon as its out of hibernation

i dont run it through the PC although the software to do so came with it,i just plug it straight in my DVD recorder using a "firewire" lead ,it reconises that its a camcorder and all the edit/copy options come up on the bottom of the screen

very easy to use

Be careful- I bought a Sony mini Dv handycam-
No firewire connector & if you edit the recording you lose sound....
Other than that dead easy to use

Edited to say I'm looking to buy something more suitable now

Edited by Fly Boy on Tuesday 20th February 19:46

mines fine
what model was yours? mines the DCR-HC24E and my DVD recorder is a LG something or other

[theboyfold]

I use a Canon MV600i for my recording. I'd also suggest MiniDV over DVD as it should take the bumps better. Have a look at the Canon outlet on ebay and anything with the model number ending in i will have the AV input that you need to take the feed from a bullet camera.

[Nicol@]

Thanks for the advice so far

[istvan24]

A solid state camera would probably be a practical solution otherwise:

I use a Sanyo Xacti C4 (cost me about £100) that records onto 1gb SD memory cards, which at about £10 for an hours recording is great. As there are no moving parts, vibrations have less effect.

I've tried the 6mp version, the C6 is excellent and has far superior image and sound quality than the C4 but then the price is higher. Invest in a decent support and you're away!

Will ETA a link that I have at home later...

[Fly Boy]

y2blade said:

mines fine
what model was yours? mines the DCR-HC24E and my DVD recorder is a LG something or other

Sony 602E
I rang the local Sony dealer to enquire about a firewire cable-
Sony:- Not available for that model sir!!
moi:- Well how am I supposed to edit the footage then?
Sony;- We didn't think people using this model would want to edit!!
me:- WTF

I've tried allsorts of editing software, it can be edited but you lose the audio track, so have to dub some music over

[y2blade]

Fly Boy said:

y2blade said:

mines fine
what model was yours? mines the DCR-HC24E and my DVD recorder is a LG something or other

Sony 602E
I rang the local Sony dealer to enquire about a firewire cable-
Sony:- Not available for that model sir!!
moi:- Well how am I supposed to edit the footage then?
Sony;- We didn't think people using this model would want to edit!!
me:- WTF

I've tried allsorts of editing software, it can be edited but you lose the audio track, so have to dub some music over

bloodyhell thats no good is it

[Fly Boy]

y2blade said:

bloodyhell thats no good is it

Too right, thats why I read this post seeing what other peeps use

ps How you like the Drz?
I had the E model a couple of years ago-much fun

[y2blade]

Fly Boy said:

ps How you like the Drz?
I had the E model a couple of years ago-much fun

i love it...fully kitted up for dirt riding ..bash plate, bark busters, renthals,pirelli scorpion pro's,case guards....shes rock hard getting a bit of a hammering while the blades in hibernation keeps me sharp, keeps me smiling

[BossCerbera]

Nicol@ said:

y2blade said:

get a MINI DV one, they are as good picture quality as the DVD ones and they take the vibes/knocks much better im my experience

I guessed that, thanks for confirming. I need to know the good and bad ones.

Mini DV is best. Couple of things you want of a MiniDV recorder are a LANC port (for a wired remote) and an AV IN (for bullet cams). Of the current Sony models, only the HC96 has the required connectors.

IMHO is it essential to work with bullet cams for trackdays. You can keep the expensive and heavy camera tied down and put the bullets safely wherever you want.

I've seen people's cameras fly off the outside of their cars (and off their rollbars) at trackdays. Bullet cameras are cheaper than the main camera and also far less likely (nigh on impossible) to dislodge, whatever the G-forces involved.

[System-G]

Nicol@ said:

Ta, will have to join IMOC now.

Surely you're still a member from a couple of years ago?

Found this too (just for ideas on bullet cams, clamps etc...):
https://sslrelay.com/s139675512.oneandoneshop.co.uk/sess/utn;jsessionid=1545dd4a56522ef/shopdata/product_search.shopscript?query=camera+mount&search_logical=or

[Istvan24]

I found this link a while back - might be of use - full setup using solid state recording plus bullet cams

www.zetecinside.com/xr2/incarcamera.html

[bmgm3]

theboyfold said:

I use a Canon MV600i for my recording. I'd also suggest MiniDV over DVD as it should take the bumps better. Have a look at the Canon outlet on ebay and anything with the model number ending in i will have the AV input that you need to take the feed from a bullet camera.

I use the same. Bit large next to some of the stuff out there, but cheap enough for the amount it gets.