Camcorder recommendations?

[ktm300]

My Kodak Playsport does not play with my EZ Cam. As a pocket cam, is has no base of support where the screw goes in the bottom and because it sits up high it has too much vibration.

Features I need: long battery life, physical buttons for functions, easy to use, SD card slot, simple and cheap; just using for training purposes only.

I started looking for one but, too many choices ...

Thanks for recommendations

[eleeski]

Aiptek cameras work well for trick video at tournaments. They have a cheap one with AA batteries which is really easy to use. Quality is not the best but quite adequate for several national records.

 

Walmart, Target and the other retailers often carry Aiptek cameras. These have better image quality and a rechargeable battery. Nice price and good quality. I have used these a lot at tournaments as well.

 

Both have more conventional video camera shapes and tripod mounts. Again the quality is not broadcast quality but good for training. Worth the money and you won't be heartbroken if it drops in the water.

 

Eric

[Waternut]

I spent half a day going through Amazon looking for cameras for this specific purpose. My criteria were as follows: Must have an optical zoom (digital zoom sucks), must have a wide base to mount, and must have good battery life or at least can be upgraded cheaply. HD was a plus, a strong stock battery was more important than the ability to upgrade to a bigger battery, and using an SD card was more convenient than big internal memory.

 

I settled on the Toshiba Camileo H30 but the Camileo series seems to be pretty good. Bought it for $90 used but I don't see one that cheap right now... Last time 2 times I've used the camera, I've shot 5 sets of skiing and the battery has still shown full at the end. When I film a set, I just leave the camera running the entire time from when the skier gets in until they get out. Helps to hear what the boat crew saw too when I review my skiing.

 

Here is a sample video I shot last Friday. We did have a fairly heavy boat that day and the auto focus kept hitting the spray on the side but otherwise a pretty good video in my opinion....more than can be said for the skiing. You can bump it to HD if you want to see it a little better.

 

[ktm300]

Thanks so much. This was one wheel I just did not have time to reinvent.

[Brian_M]

Check out this thread: http://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/comment/71298

 

[Waternut]

Well to supplement my video above... I found my trakker mount had a loose screw today and that was making the video shake more than normal. Sorry I didn't realize it until about 8:15 or so and the video was real grainy due to it being so dark. When it does start getting dark, the video does get a little grainy and it struggles to hold focus on the skier through the wakes. When it's really bright though, it's much better. The battery quit during the 11th set and almost a week of being off the charger so I can't complain about the battery any.