Flash drive camcorders

[Maxx]

Chris, I saw your review of the Sanyo camera on Amazon.....I am thinking of buying one. Could you provide a little more info on the pros and cons? What software are you using to edit? I noticed one reviewer said you cannot use MovieMaker on Vista, which is what I have on my laptop.

I'm looking for an inexpensive flash drive camcorder (less than $300). If anyone else has one that they would recommend or avoid, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks!

[Chris O'Leary]

Chris, I saw your review of the Sanyo camera on Amazon.....I am thinking of buying one. Could you provide a little more info on the pros and cons? What software are you using to edit? I noticed one reviewer said you cannot use MovieMaker on Vista, which is what I have on my laptop.

I'm looking for an inexpensive flash drive camcorder (less than $300). If anyone else has one that they would recommend or avoid, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks!

I haven't come across any significant cons, yet.

The pros I have seen...

1. Incredibly small and light.
2. Very good battery life. Much better than with my MiniDV camera.
3. Good viewfinder display.
4. Works well in low light conditions (e.g. twilight and artificial light). There is some blurring, but it's acceptable.
5. Fast on and off.

In terms of editing, all files are encoded to MPEG-4 (MP4) format by the camera. I trim the clips down using QuickTime pro ($30) and then create the animated GIFs using Ulead GIF Animator.

[caseyd123]

Chris would you say this is also good for recording weight-lifting form? There are 3 reasons i want to get a video recorder of some sort 1) my hitting 2) my pitching and 3) my wieght lifting form. I know that may not be your area of expertise but would you see any reason why not?

[Chris O'Leary]

Chris would you say this is also good for recording weight-lifting form? There are 3 reasons i want to get a video recorder of some sort 1) my hitting 2) my pitching and 3) my wieght lifting form. I know that may not be your area of expertise but would you see any reason why not?

I assume it would work.

It's got a fitting for a tripod in the bottom.

[Chris O'Leary]

I haven't come across any significant cons, yet.

The pros I have seen...

1. Incredibly small and light.
2. Very good battery life. Much better than with my MiniDV camera.
3. Good viewfinder display.
4. Works well in low light conditions (e.g. twilight and artificial light). There is some blurring, but it's acceptable.
5. Fast on and off.

In terms of editing, all files are encoded to MPEG-4 (MP4) format by the camera. I trim the clips down using QuickTime pro ($30) and then create the animated GIFs using Ulead GIF Animator.

Just to update this, the battery life seems to be EXCEPTIONAL (I assume due to the flash drive).

I have taken 30 minutes of video over the past two weeks, haven't recharged the battery, and am still showing a full charge.

[Maxx]

Any issues with holding the camera with it's unusual-looking "pistol grip?"

[Chris O'Leary]

Any issues with holding the camera with it's unusual-looking "pistol grip?"

No.

It's quite comfortable. However, my hands are large-ish but not gigantic.

[Dirtberry]

I purchased a Canon FS 100 Flash drive camera about a month ago.
This camera is the lowest in the line and cost about $350 and shoots Mpeg2’s.
It will manually adjust the shutter speed up to 2000, very good.
It takes 15, 30 or 60 frames a second, not good enough for ballistic movements!
It does not allow you to play back the video in slow motion with the camera, Bummer.

I rigged up a bar that extends the camera in front of the tripod about 18 inches so that you can put the camera right in a chain link hole.

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh299/dirtberry/baseball/Camerext200.jpg


One of my clients just purchased a Sony that takes 250 frames a second but cost him $1.200, hopefully there will be more cameras with this capability in the near future to pick from with a lower price tag?

[Chris O'Leary]

One of my clients just purchased a Sony that takes 250 frames a second but cost him $1.200, hopefully there will be more cameras with this capability in the near future to pick from with a lower price tag?

Casio has one (probably with the same chip set) for $1000.

I have seen the video it produces and it's awesome.

[Dirtberry]

Chris,

Is this pistol grip remove able for use on other cameras?

These cameras are getting so small and light that makes them un controlable
with your hands. I think I'm going to have to video the way I grip the camera to figure out how to hold it?

[Chris O'Leary]

Chris,

Is this pistol grip remove able for use on other cameras?

These cameras are getting so small and light that makes them un controlable
with your hands.

No.

This one is just big enough to be fine (for me with medium/large hands). The buttons are all where the tip of the thumb rests.

[Maxx]

Chris, have you taken any video and burned it to a DVD?

[Chris O'Leary]

Chris, have you taken any video and burned it to a DVD?

Not yet...

[Maxx]

When you do, can you post the results of how the image looks on a TV? Thanks...