Video recorders -- which are the best

[RIVERFOX]

I'd like some Input on the best video recorders for mounting both inside and out of the plane. I see the ads for Gopro, anyone have any favorite setups?

[SkySteve]

I have been using the Contour. Things I like: About the size of a small flashlight. Easy to attach with the provided Velcro strap. Can turn the lens 90, 180, 270 & 360 degrees which helps getting video right at odd mounting positions. Both HD and non HD recording. Things I dislike: the HD setting has a slight fish eye to the video. I wish it had a remote control.

[chefwarthog]

That's what I found

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxTLi3kj3F8

[Agfoxflyer]

My brother has the Go-Pro. I run a professional studio camera on a volunteer basis and one of my hobbies is photograph-both still and video. So I'm use to a lot of different gear. I found the Go-Pro difficult to use. Also It did not come with the software to run the camera upside down. You have to download it form thier website and I could not get it downloaded. I have not actually seen the Contour, but on paper it looks more appealing. I like the laser feature as well as the adjustment for different angles and inverted. The Go-Pro does have a plastic clear case for camera protection. Not sure about the Contour. (For wind or water)

[Slyfox]

so far my advice on video recorders is this. Don't use the ones that have internal hard drives, the vibration will shut it off. Mine is that way. But the good thing, this recorder also has a card drive. If I run off the card I can now use the recorder in the plane. Mine is a sony, and it does a fair job, but the prop still has a problem.

[wannafly]

I have an early version of the Go Pro. Some of the videos I have made can be viewed at youtube. Search Lethbridgesportflyers. Its the orange Kitfox.

It is ok but wish it had a remote feature. For as small as it is the picture is not to bad. But would say that it is near impossible to turn on and off in flight. It is so small that to turn your attention to it takes alot of getting used to and I don't think it is safe to do it in flight. You pretty much have to turn it on before you leave the ground to the setting you want and then go, and use the edit software when you get back to cut and paste etc. The picture taking has a setting to take pictures every 3 or 5 secounds. It makes for alot of pictures in an hour most of which are useless. Also you can't time when they are taken. 3 secounds fills up your card to fast and 5 secounds well you just miss alot. If you fly over something you are hoping to get a picture of it seems as thought the picture is way in the distance or you just went by it when it takes the picture and it is way to hard to take individual pictures. I like the case it comes in as it keeps the camera protected and is water and mud proof(see video) and has a number of differant ways to mount it. With it mounted on the strut the battery dies very fast at -10. I think it just freezes. In the summer the battery lasts about an hour of full time video.

I think the new ones have more features and the rep told me the remote cable is in the works and should be available soon(whatever that means).

A side note. I was talking to the MGL Avionics guys and they believe that if your camera has a USB connection that it is possible to maybe use there EFIS as a remote screen for your camera. If this happens it would be really cool.

I guess for the cost I paid $180 its not to bad but for some serious picture taking there are probably better options. Just saying....
depends what you want out of your camera and what you are willing to pay

[SkyPirate]

the MGL Oddyysey has 4 ports for camera's and one can be used with a FLIR camra

[HighWing]

A couple of thoughts and thanks for the report on the hard drive camcorders. I know that in the day, hard drive Ipods would crash due the inadequate cushioning air under the record heads at altidude. I tend to prefer tape as they become an inexpensive permanent archive. I have over 40 one hour tapes. As far as control, I like Zoom and aperture control as well as auto/manual focus. Those would be the biggest issues for me. I have shot lots of video from my Model IV and tire of the horizon shots where the sky lightens and darkens as the camera pitches a bit and the auto iris does it's work. Auto/manual focus is handy if you are trying to shoot a buddy nearby. Sometimes the camera will go berserk trying to find an airplane in an open sky and by finding something approximately where you want to shoot on auto and switching to manual, it holds that focus.

One trick I discovered is that you can hard wire a cordless remote to give cockpit control of a camcorder. Not hard to do and it works flawlessly. Also many Sony camcorders have a LanC jack which will receive a neat wired remote providing zoom, on off and auto/manual focus. I am going flying soon with my new project and during the test phase, I am sure the camera mount will be a between flights project - lots of new ideas for that project, but need to get flying first. To check a few videos check: http://highwingllc.com/videoarchive.html

Lowell

[Av8r3400]

I have an older, Oregon Scientific "pencil" camera that I got from REI. You can see my videos, here.

You can see the "boomerang" prop effect due to it's low capture rate and general low quality. At least it was cheap (~$99).

I would very much like to upgrade to a small unit with a display and a remote that is "radio", not infrared. (The camera must be pointing at the remote if they are of the infrared type.)



I have not found a camera I like, yet. Though I am not actively looking.

[RIVERFOX]

Since asking the original question I've been doing a lot research and have found that the company, Drift innovations, has a model called "Drift HD 170 Stealth". It has 1080 and 720 dpi - it has 30-50-60fps - wireless remote - an optional external microphone and an onboard LCD screen. I couldn't get a link but try driftinnovations.com. it seems to have many of features I was looking for.