video cam for under 500 bux for shred filming
yo i wanna grab a video camera for the US season..
can anyone recommend something sweet under 500 bux.
its gotta be smallish.. cos i dont want some bulky ass news camera thing
oi cheers
gopro
Definitely one of the helmet cameras (small, cheap, weather proof, 720, 960, 1080 options). I’m no expert when it comes to choosing which one though. I bought the GoPro, purely because of the waterproofing for taking it into the surf. I took some video yesterday on the mountain with it, it’s just uploading now. I’ll post the video in here when it’s ready.
I’d best leave that question to the experts (spaz, Sportscamera).
For sure I’ll let you know how it goes in the trees. I’ll probably buy a helmet in the next week.
gopro has a bigger viewing angle - 170 degrees and millions more mounting options, if you compare the vids online, gopro looks slightly better. Negative is you look like a dork
contour is low-profile.
Note you don’t have to mount the gopro on top of your helmet. You can have it on the front of your helmet like a miners lamp, or even sticking out the side, under where your goggle strap lies. You can also get the handle bar mount and put it on a skipole and film yourself. If you don’t use a helmet, you can just use the headstrap with a beanie over top, so only the go pro sticks out, sitting atop your goggles.
For proper quality comparisons google is your friend. It has been reviewed many many times. search for gopro and leelau for a great review
Alright, here is my edit…
I’ll do better next time. 
miner’s lamp style: no helmet & headstrap (which comes with the regular HD model)
or helmet with j-hook mount (comes with the motorsport HD model) or helmet front mount (sold separately)
Yes, I agree - getting it ripped off by a tree branch is a potential problem. Maybe just take it off for that. or try a chest mount
170 degrees at 720p at 60fps ftw!
720p at 30fps. Also 170 degrees.
Next time I will film at 60fps.
If you film at 1080p, you lose the wide angle and also you can’t film at 60fps. But 720p is perfect for web clips anyway.
And at 720p your footage is not being stretched while it is saving to the card and the processor isn’t working as hard, so the image quality should be better. It is actually downscaling (shrinking). Because the processor isn’t working as hard it can afford to ‘work’ on more of the picture.
Drift HD170 is 170?. (960p upscale)
POV.1.5 110?,720p/30fps (user optional)
POV.HD at 1080p/30fps is 142?, 720@60fps is 95?
ContourHD 1080 (960 upscale) 110?. 135? 960p.
I wouldn’t want to bash the GoPro against a tree branch, I think the tree would win. I’m sure the Contour would be much worse off.
Another point to POV- I’ll testament to it beating the tree to pieces, I’ve broken so many ski poles while that little cam is mounted to the end. It would even give granit are run for it’s money - no kidding, it would! Even the recorder is a solid unit and can easily be dropped from head hight onto concrete. And I’ve even mounted the POV flush inside a helmet- it looked so sweet!! Except no-one knew it was there and I had to drill a hole in the helmet.
720p at 30fps. Also 170 degrees.
Next time I will film at 60fps.
If you film at 1080p, you lose the wide angle and also you can’t film at 60fps. But 720p is perfect for web clips anyway.
Sorry to be the video police here rider.
You record at 1080p not film. In 1080p mode you are filming at 960p and that is saved as 1080p.
Danblar,
For about 500 bux you could consider at ex rental POV.1.5.
What do you want to know?
rrp $499
Not the HD model, I had the X170 as a demo for a few weeks back in January. It was pretty impressive and kind of like an all in one VIO POV. Super wide lens.
It did feel cheap, not in a delicate way, but you could tell the best plastics/rubber weren’t being used- but it is cheap! and their first production run.
The HD170 I’m told of much better build quality.
The biggest problem I had was because of the rotating lens. Trying to use the cam as a hand held, while viewing the LCD to line up shots was strange because you would be standing side on to what you shot.
It comes with a great kit. Maybe even more versatile mounting options than VIO.
I’ve been looking for the footage I have - it must be on the dead external drive.