Ok, I'm wanting to dabble in filming my own, and buddies', hunts this year. I'm thinking I'm going to want something light and packable.......I'll be using it in a treestand as well as a blind. I would also like to use it for family use. So here's the question. I've seen "outdoor" cameras and my god are they ever expensive. I'm just not going to get that involved with this.......What would ya'll suggest, without breaking the bank? Will a quality, handheld cam do the trick? I would suspect I will want a camera arm and tripod as well, yes?
I love mine. I'll probably put some footage up tomorrow if you want to see quality. It isn't HD, but it takes some great footage. Let me know if you want to see it. http://www.amazon.com/JVC-Everio-GZ-MG330-Camcorder-Optical/dp/B00127Y984
Mobow.. ask Walt (stickbow) I think he uses a pretty good little hand-held when his big gun goes down. Or.. I'm thinking of one of the Drury's.. in which case ignore this post all together.
I use a 30 Gb Sony Handycam...sells fro around $300 Heres a few previews: http://www.youtube.com/user/Cay4redneck (Mixture of Hi8 and 30 GB Handycam) http://www.youtube.com/user/SimanBrotherOutdoors (All with the 30GB camera)
That camcorder also has an AV input so you can record from an external source like a bullet cam mounted on a gun. Great feature.
Yep the sony handi cam in mini-DV takes awesome footage for a little camera and you would be surprised by how often we use it while out there filming..It sells for around $250-$300 Walt
Mobow - what kind of budget are you working with? Knowing your price range will really help narrow down the best camera for your needs within that price range. If you can afford it, I'd look at one of the smaller canon or Sony HD handhelds. From what I've read the Canon's are a little nicer and start around $600 and go up from there. You can pick up a Sony for under $500 now. Regardless of what you purchase, I'd try to make sure it's in HD. You may not need it now, but if you plan on having it for a few years you'll definitely want it down the road.
Simon, I love that video of the turkey coming back to life and running round in circles and getting blasted again and again and again and again........
Canon brother Canon or Sony. They make some smaller cameras with 3ccd that are pretty reasonable. Be careful if you buy one off the internet.
I could go 5 or 6 bills for something good that I'm gonna have for a while. I can justify that well enough. I was wondering about HD as well. I'm thinking along the same lines as you.....HD is the way to go. So you figure a Sony HD handheld would be good? I have no idea what I'm looking for, or at...... Oh, and do I want an internal memory or a CD or something??
Hd for hard drive or for High Def? I think the new affordable ones under $500 are not high def are they? The hd stands for Hard Drive. Although even without High def the quality is really nice plenty good for a guy making his own videos.
mobow, You can have a lot of options even if you don't want to spend a lot of money. As far as a camera, I would go with either a canon or a sony...(Pretty much what the other guys have said). You can definitely get a HD sony for around 450 on ebay. I suggest a sony hc5 or hc7. These are both HD camcorders and they use mini dv as media. That is the only way to go in my opinion. It is easier to work with if and when you edit the video. If you are going to buy a camera arm, I would go with a muddy arm. They the best are for a reasonable price...they are sturdy and relatively light weight (that's important to me). If you want any more info...shoot me a pm. Good luck filming!
Don - one pointer that I can offer: if you're going to video any spotlighting footage (deer), Sony's "Night Mode" really outkicks the coverage. I started off with a Canon, but because I do so much nighttime filming for deer (legal here in PA, before anybody has a heart attack) - the Canon family of cameras required too much light for long-range footage. I returned the Canon and went with a Sony, which has most of the same features, but has an infrared night mode, which is cash money for really low-light spotlighting situations. I actually liked the Canon better for daylight filming, but half of my filming is done in the dark... so... The one I have is a Sony DCR 52 MiniDV. It was around $300 at best buy. I've beat it around pretty good, and it's still in one piece. It's all you need for scouting and dabbling in stupid youtube videos. If you check out the spotlighting footage on my youtube vids, you'll see where the Sony IR "Night Mode" comes in handy. http://www.youtube.com/user/quiksilver22rs One thing to watch with the HD cameras is that they don't have a huge zoom. If you're using the camera for scouting purposes, that big 40x optical zoom really comes in handy. Obviously, the quality degrades as you pull the images in that close, but again, it's all in what you're looking for. You're just not going to get HD-quality video out of a $300 MiniDV camera. But, all the same, you're not gonna get an HD camera with a 40x optical zoom for $300 either. So, it's all about what you're looking to accomplish.
Thanks buddy, we put alot of effort into trying to get the best footage possible. Thats the most ridiculous hunt ive ever been on and im so glad we had the camera.
Thanks, Fran! That's information I'm looking for. Spotlighting isn't legal here, so I'm not worried about filming at night but.........Low light, as in early morning and late evening, will happen I'm sure. So I may look into that camera for that purpose.
HD isn't necessary. We get as good of quality with our PD-170 as most HD that I've seen. Stay away from Canon's. Either go cheap ($300.00 Handi-cam) or a used PD-170 for $1,400-1,600.00. Don't waste your money in-between IMO.
