Video Camera

[Matthew Inge]

Well guys and gals, I may be in the market to finally buy a video system and I have a few questions. I had bad luck with a video system that came with the car. It had a video recorder and a battery seperate to power the lens. I want to get something that is all in one.

1) Does anyone have one they are willing to sell?
2) What have you found to work the best?
3) Whats the best cost/reliability ratio?
4) Any hints?


Thanks

[Purple Frog]

Matt,
I've watched a lot of video at pro series events the last two seasons. Based on that, if i had the clank, it would definitely be a Chase Cam system. Clark Cambern's choice, as well as a lot of pro teams.

On my budget it would have to be GO Pro Hero. Al Craighead has had much luck with Go Pro. He can help at the track.

[formulasuper]

If your cam lense is like most of the helmet cams it is powered by 12 volts. I got tired of charging the battery pack & wired it directly to the cars onboard battery bus. With the $200 Sony DCR-TRV120 camcorder (Ebay), using a 4 hr camera battery I can run the entire weekend without a recharge. The lanc remote control makes using it painless & a digital 8 tape last 1 hour, so I can get a qualifier & race on 1 tape. The color video & audio are both great.

[Jim Gustafson]

Matt, I will start off by saying as a dealer I have a vested interest in this, but you may want to consider the evaluation that was done by the editors of Sport Car Magazine for the September issue...

"The POV.1 had a number of features we really liked....the best thing about the POV.1 was the video quality - it was the best we saw in our tests. The clarity, color and resolution resembled what we would expect to see when watching professional in-car footage".

It is considerably more expensive than the GP, but the product is tough as nails, yet so easy to use. Our price is $679.99 and we are offering specials for Apexspeed racers.

Cheers,
Jim Gustafson
www.vis-comm.com
contactus@vis-comm.com
262-246-8944

[Jim Gustafson]

If your cam lense is like most of the helmet cams it is powered by 12 volts. I got tired of charging the battery pack & wired it directly to the cars onboard battery bus. With the $200 Sony DCR-TRV120 camcorder (Ebay), using a 4 hr camera battery I can run the entire weekend without a recharge. The lanc remote control makes using it painless & a digital 8 tape last 1 hour, so I can get a qualifier & race on 1 tape. The color video & audio are both great.

Unfortunately, the new camcorders on the market no longer have audio & video input. This feature allowed many of us to put our own system together, and as Scott says, they work quite well. You may be able to find an older Mini-DV CC on ebay that has this necessary feature.

Jim Gustafson

[turnbaugh]

I have a Chase bullet cam and an Aiptek personal DVR. No tape, no vobration. records on SD cards. Aiptek is $100. I stick it in a radio box.

[Tom Sprecher]

Matt,
On my budget it would have to be GO Pro Hero. Al Craighead has had much luck with Go Pro. He can help at the track.

+1.

It is so cheap its almost free ($139) and has a pretty good picture and sound that makes it a great value.

Also see this: http://www.apexspeed.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29609

[Brett Lane]

I have a Chase Cam recorder and lens for sale- trouble is, there's a car attached to it. That costs a little extra.

Regards,

Brett

[Blair Robertshaw]

Matt,

I have treid a few of the less expensive car systems and I can offer this;

when I finally went over to the POV system I got great video. Very little to no vibration and the service from Jim Gustafson has been second to none. The camera is simple to use, does EVERYTHING it is reported to do and is a breeze to change locations.

I went the less costly route a few times and had I sucked it up the first time and just bought the POV I would have less invested.

Yes there are lower priced alternatives but I, knowing what I do now about in car systems, just buy the POV and be done with it.

Again Jim gives great service and the product is second to none in my opinion (and we are hard markers).

And for all, I do not own a part of VIScom, nor am I a lawyer or have any vested, financial or other interest in VIScom. Just a really, really satisfied customer.

The lawyer part is just a disclaimer!

Blair Robertshaw

[lowside67]

In another thread on this board I have just posted my thoughts on my POV.1 system. If you dont care to look for it, the bottom line is it is easy to use, reliable, durable, and produces very acceptable video quality. For my purposes, it is an absolute winner. If you are looking to produce professional videos for distribution on DVD, you may need to consider an HD product such as the Chasecam.

[mike g.]

http://www.apexspeed.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29042

Good luck,

Mike