Camera? Vehu Muvi?

RyanWilson
RyanWilson Posts: 155
edited January 2012 in MTB buying advice
Im after a video camera to mount to my helmet, chest/ bars such as the likes of go-pro's, contours ect.

Sub £100

??

Comments

  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Do you want as small as possible? Or don't mind something a little larger with more settings? If the latter, and is still pretty compact, I'd look at this:

    http://www.parkcameras.com/18160/Fujifi ... n=pid18160

    Full manual control, easyto use, good optical zoom.
  • camerauk
    camerauk Posts: 1,000
    When you say camera to catch your many falls do you mean a video camera or a stills camera?
    Specialized Camber Expert
    Specialized Allez Sport
  • bluechair84
    bluechair84 Posts: 4,352
    camerauk wrote:
    When you say camera to catch your many falls do you mean a video camera or a stills camera?

    If you're after tha latter, the Kodak ZX3 is your only (but still a mighty impressive) option. Unlike all the competitors at this price it has an LCD screen, shoots in 1080p and 720p at 60fps.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,666
    Video, snaps ?

    Cheap bit of fun, many smart phones will do a good job. My Samsung Galaxy S2 has some impressive stuff, especially some of the action and panorama shot stuff. Okay that's more than £100 but if you have such a phone or are in the market for one, that's worth considering and just one device to carry.

    A regular compact with video can be very good. Panasonic Lumix range has some stuff good for video especially. May not be robust enough to survive a fall even with padding and deep inside a backback (my Nikon compact got a bust LCD from one of my tumbles).

    SLR will get you some amazing shots, and they're quite robust. Take my old Nikon D70 with me sometimes and had a few tumbles with it. Big and bulky and the ones with video are more expensive. Not entirely practical.

    Video, the best stuff will cost a bit more. Top ones are stuff like GoPro and Drift. There are some dead cheap stuff from China / HK. Quality is "ok" but don't expect anything great.
  • I'd not bother with the Muvi, if you really must, then get the unbranded muvi from Dealextreme for a tenner. Personally, I'd not even bother doing that, as said above, quality is "ok", but not great.

    Get a go-pro, you should be able to pick up one of the non-HD wide ones for under a hundred quid 2nd hand now (with fixings and stuff).

    Or save up another £50 and get a new 960p HD one.

    For what it's worth, the chest mount versions give the best footage. But it's only really ever interesting if it's combined with some static shots.

    5min + of someone rattling down a hill with "shaky-cam, filmed in blurry-vision" strapped to their bars/lid just looks gash though, so I'd spend my £100 on some bike stuff.
  • bluechair84
    bluechair84 Posts: 4,352
    I'm still amazed I'm the only one shouting about the ZX3... CWNT is right, many mounted shots are shakey, give a poor perception of speed and body movement or just don't look in the right direction. Static shots always look best and should have just a few mounted shots thrown into the mix. In which case... the mounting problems of the Kodak are irrelevant. You're getting an HD camera, 60fps, excellent LCD, very good battery life, water and shock resistant - more so than the competition at twice the price. Nothing come close to this value for money.
  • What's the difference between the ZX3 and the ZX5 then?

    I see the ZX5 has an internal, non-removable battery, but that looks to be about it, and that's not really a +ive. :s

    Also, what about the zi8 (out of OPs budget), looks similar, but less rugged, and double the price :s
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,666
    Kodak though...! :P but there may be some deals to be had in any fire sale if it comes to that ;)
  • bluechair84
    bluechair84 Posts: 4,352
    Not only does the ZX5 have a non-removable battery, but also a smaller sensor - despite the same image quality. No one knows why they did this but the ZX3 should have less artifacts in the image because the sensor isn't being pushed as hard. The ZX5 is advertised as dustproof which the ZX3 isn't, but as far as I can tell it's the same case.
    Maybe this kind of logic is what has plunged Kodak into the gutter - I am keeping my eyes peeled for knock down ZX3s!!
  • That's why I asked. When they properly go down the toilet I may well grab a couple of tghe ZX3s :p

    I also understand that you can buy a fisheye lens for it. £30 from Kodak, or £10 from Dealextreme. Just attaches via a magnet.

    And I already know how to make my own chest mount for it.

    Win!
  • bluechair84
    bluechair84 Posts: 4,352
    That's why I asked. When they properly go down the toilet I may well grab a couple of tghe ZX3s :p

    It's a complete no brainer :) I made the mistake of buying the ZX5, ZX3 all the way in future. If anyone needs proof of their HD prowess, clicky bloggy linky \/