Best bike camera?

Northwind

OK so. I've got a Lumix TZ7, which is a brilliant bit of kit for snapping but isn't so good as a bike camera- it's pretty bulky, doesn't feel very durable, but the main drawback is that the video quality is poor in lower light conditions. By which I don't mean dark, just typical under-tree conditions. Comparing footage from my Gopro with the TZ7 in the same places is a pretty sad affair.

So, time for something different. Ideally smaller, tougher, doesn't need the big zoom but does need to take decent pics in less than ideal light (I don't expect miracles, I just want it to match what the Gopro can do really)

Any suggestions?

supersonic

So not a vid camera as in to attach to bike?

Northwind

Nope, an actual camera camera. i've already got the best bike camera I was playing at innerleithen doing static "driveby" shots and about 1 in 3 was usable, the rest were just awful grainy noise, like mobile phone footage.

supersonic

I looked at the TZ7 and I have to say it looks quite small! I would think to get a noticable pic improvement over a 'compact' like this you are looking at a bridge camera, which are more bulky anyway.

Saying that the tech is moving quick, and things are getting smaller.

Northwind

I'm not really after better pic quality- the TZ's a fantastic camera in most conditions, it takes brilliant pics... I'd settle for lower quality, lower zoom, all that if it'd just shoot decent video when it's a little bit dull.

I've just grabbed a couple of stills from videos, they've uploaded weirdly small but this should give an idea...

No trees above so open sky, not exactly poster material but perfectly watchable:



20 minutes earlier, same camera, but with closer trees. Slightly darker but still definately daylight.



Just that little bit of light loss causes all that extra noise, pretty ugly.

Mickey Eye

I'm not 100% sure what your after but if it's a compact to shove in a backpack (you have the bike video camera I would have recommended already) then the Canon S90 has to be up there among the best. Otherwise you're looking at system cameras and the price starts spiralling like crazy.

Anonymous

what kind of budget are you looking at?

chedabob

Northwind wrote:

I'm not really after better pic quality- the TZ's a fantastic camera in most conditions, it takes brilliant pics... I'd settle for lower quality, lower zoom, all that if it'd just shoot decent video when it's a little bit dull.

I've just grabbed a couple of stills from videos, they've uploaded weirdly small but this should give an idea...

No trees above so open sky, not exactly poster material but perfectly watchable:

[img]http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i264/Northwindlowlander/shot1.jpg[mg] 20 minutes earlier, same camera, but with closer trees. Slightly darker but still definitely daylight.[/img][img]http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i264/Northwindlowlander/shot2.jpg[mg] Just that little bit of light loss causes all that extra noise, pretty ugly.[/img]

The second shot looks like you've cranked up the digital zoom.

Northwind

Budget wise... Somewhere south of £300 but if I can get a good result for less I'd be happier. That S90 does look awesome, they seem to be making a big deal of the light sensitivity too which would suit me.

Chedabob, much the same sort of thing, definately no digi zoom on (it's all disabled, first thing I do with a camera, and the range on that shot is only about 8 or 9 metres) but similiar sort of loss of quality.

Anonymous

Be wary of marketing claims of "high light sensitivity", all it means is that you can turn it up, and get more noise.
Cameras sensitivity is rated the same as film speed was, which means in the exact same conditions, with the same settings, a film camera using ISO100 film will take the same shot as a digicam set to ISO100.

What you commonly get in marketing brochures is claims that you can go to insane ISO sensitivities, up to ISO12,800.
The truth is though, that bumping it up much past ISO800 starts to degrade the image significantly, even on very expensive SLRs, despite what Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax etc would tell you.

doubling the ISO doubles the light sensitivity.
So, say for example, you were trying to take a shot at ISO 100, and the camera needed a 1/10th of a second shutter speed to capture enough light, if you bumped the camera up to ISO 200, you'd only need a 1/20th of a second shutter speed.

I know that's a bit overly in depth, but I thought a rough and ready guide to it might prove usefull.

Northwind

Nice one, cheers, that's helpful. I've seen that with the TZ, it'll take shots in conditions my old Ixus would just come up with blackness, but the pics are still useless so it'd be as well not to bother!

I suppose really I should also be considering just getting a video camera rather than a compact to take video with...

Anonymous

Northwind wrote:

I suppose really I should also be considering just getting a video camera rather than a compact to take video with...

Yep, really.
Althoguh I hadn't realised you were after video! :oops:

Something worth consideriong then, although it's a little more expensive than your price range, at £398, is the Sony NEX3, with wide angle 16mm lens.
It's a compact point and shoot style stills camera, with interchangeable lenses if you want, and it also does video. But, it crucially has the same sized imaging sensor as most SLR cameras.

Now, the video could be pretty astounding on this thing.
There is a lot of hype about Canon doing video on their big SLRs, because of the drastic improvement in image quality that a large image sensor achieves, and this acvhieves similar results, in a much more compact, and far cheaper package.
Worth checking out.
If you have a Jessops shop or something nearby, go and ask them for a play, or a demonstration.

Northwind

It's dimly occurring to me that if I just take the Gopro off and sit it on the ground then crop the frame in slightly to reduce the fisheye, I might already have exactly what I want

peter413

Northwind wrote:

It's dimly occurring to me that if I just take the Gopro off and sit it on the ground then crop the frame in slightly to reduce the fisheye, I might already have exactly what I want

I was going to say why not just get another GoPro

Northwind

Well not another gopro but the one I've got will probably do The packaging comes with a mount that's absolutely spot on for static filming now I think of it. Not so quick and easy when using a helmet mount but with the chesty it'd just unclip and be ready to go in 10 seconds so actually faster than getting out a camera.

Master of missing the bloody obvious here :oops:

peter413

Yes you are