wilga12

Would like to now if some of you, with some experience, with the DV camcorders could give me your "Take" on the pros and cons of the Canon Optura 600 and it's effective use for RC cars,Boats and especially A/C ..................Thanks.............Dave

I do already know/suspect that it's going to be difficult to handle/use/hold steady because of it's small size.


Oh yeah,

You can save the opinions like "I wouldn't touch a Canon for any amount of money" I'm really looking for something a little more Mature and helpful/specific than that.

.......................................Dave

DebianDog

I sold my Canon because the mic was on the body and it picked up (camcorder) motor noise. If you just gonna use it for R/C stuff then it is probably fine.

wilga12

Hey "DD"..................................How goes it??

Thanks much for the reply,Now that's what I call useful information. Did you try softening the unwanted noise, by trying something like putting some foam rubber between the body and mic? Or is there a remote mic feature/jack, on the camera?? Do you remember whether or not there was a switch to shut down the mic for dubbing purposes?? How did you find handling of the camera, was it just too small?? I was thinking that if I found this to be true,that I would make up some type of a simple handle to screw into the mount for the tri-pod.


Again Thanks................................Dave

D2091

I hesitate to post, not wanting to sound like a know-it-all. I am a professional videographer, but I come from a very practical background and don't go for a lot of fluff. So, here it goes.

For following planes in the air, turn off auto focus - you will always be cursing it as it aught to focus!

Use the camcorder's anti-shake mechanism whenever feasible. Note that it is sometimes trying to correct for your panning and can give you a really odd feeling as it is suddenly not doing what you thought you were telling it to do. These are designed to damp vibrations of 8-12 Hz, which is about how often our heart makes our arms and hands and everything shake as it pumps blood through our bodies. As long as our heart beats, it is quite impossible to hold absolutely still.

A cheap aid to steadiness is a 1/4-20 eyebolt and some string. Tie the string to the eyebolt and screw it into the tripod mount on the camdorder. Now step on the string and pull upwards. This will load your muscles and make it easier to hold steady while panning and tilting, lplus it is very flexible and you can use it in many positions.

Tripods are a major pain to following aircraft, as you eventually have to move your feet. It is easy at that point to lose your target in the viewfinder. Speaking of viewfinders, they are about 4 times larger on a professional camera and have a nice rubber hood to smash your glasses into (which shades your eye from intruding sunlight). I have yet to see a viewfinder on a consumer camcorder that is good enough. The Cannon GL-2, -2 and the like are pretty good, though. I am sure there are others. A large hat brim or cap bill is a must. The LCD screens can get too washed out in sunlight to be much good.

Try to shoot visual stories as you go and you won't have to do much editing. They will be easy to view as is. Wide shot to establish the scene, medium shots and closeups as needed to tell your viewer what the story you are seeing is. Remember, you are in control!

Don't be afraid to set some shots so that demonstrations go better, or so you can make a funny point better.

Good luck.

Denny Goodrich

wilga12

Thanks so much Denny;

I'll re-read that many times, to try to glean all the information I can, from that reply.

That part about the string,is great, I can see how that could really help. I'll use that one for sure. After reading what you have to say, I'm almost ready to sit back, let the money in my pocket smolder a bit, in hopes that I'll eventually be able to find a used "Professional unit"
If I re-direct my desires toward the pro stuff, what kind of recommendations will you have,knowing that the R.C. world is going to be my subject matter, most of the time??

I really value your views, in this area, Thank You.................................Dave.

D2091

Professional cameras are just out of reach unless you are independently wealthy, or, you can use it to make money with elsewhere. The 3-chip cameras that are in the $1,800-$4,000 make quite good pictures. They would mostly use the DV tape format, which makes very nice, low noise images. There are units that record to solid state memory and mini-DVD's, and we alre likely to see Bluray discs eventually filter down to us. The truth of the matter is, we professionals are reaping the benefits of consumer and prosumer devices that are filtering UP to us. We are a small market for manufacturers. They have been able to leverage the the vast volumes produced for consumers to bring enhanced products to our smaller market.

This is running too long. Basically, buy the best you can afford, then learn how to use it to the best of its capabilities. The best camera person with a crumby camera will make more interesting tape than the worst camera person with the best camera. Just the same with flying an airplane, right?

I will stop with this question: are people making features or how-to tapes for their friends and club members? That is always what I imagine myself producing.

wyldman

My Feedback: (1)

Denny, I have the same questions as Dave.
What top of line consumer grade camera have you use or would recommend?
I have been looking at the GL2 or even a used GL1, the xl line is a little to high priced for me
I have found a 3ccd camera made by panasonic but I have not found much information about it.
Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks Wyldman

DebianDog

I bought a used Sony-VX2000 off eBay and have shot some pretty good footage with it. That was many years ago. You could probably pick up a used VX-2100 cheap now-a-days.

Tracking a fast moving object in and out of the light (sky) and trying to focus is probably some of the hard filming you will ever do. Here is some of the IRCHA video I shot

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=ircha