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Post by pancake83 on Jan 6, 2015 12:22:30 GMT -5
I'm looking at purchasing a new video camcorder for volleyball match footage at different angles, but mostly standard end line views. Any thoughts from the gallery and experience with certain types of cameras? In doing limited research, I'm leaning towards the new GoPro Hero 4 Silver - I hear video quality is amazing, touch screen interface is good, but battery life is limited - so I would need to get a battery pack. Anyone have one and like it, and if so, what about the video editing? Others out there I should consider for the price and value and maybe the battery life - if I need to film a few matches at a qualifier or tournament matches in college? Thanks for all perspectives and input. Yes, Phaedrus, I did see the review at www.volleyballtech.com, thanks to your thread about convention.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2015 13:46:31 GMT -5
I am using a canon G16 and it has amazing quality (you need to tone it down a couple of settings so the whole day fits on a 16GB card otherwise the top setting is for theater sized viewing). I use two batteries and switch them out. It takes great pictures too. Had a G12 before and am really happy with the smaller size and the updates.
You can get it for about 450 with extra battery and it works great with a tripod ($50 at monoprice). The upside is this is a great camera for your vacations and other uses. Obviously, it is not in a similar category as a go pro or other adventure type cameras.
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Post by FUBAR on Jan 6, 2015 14:13:53 GMT -5
I own a GoPro hero 3+ Silver. For me, all of the post production necessary to get to a useable video file make it a no go as far as using it as a volleyball camera. There is no zoom on the camera so getting the correct field of view has to be done in the software. Maybe it is better with the Hero 4 series, but I have to take the video files off the camera and convert them to a file that is editable (this takes forever and makes huge files). Then I have to edit them (zoom in on what I want) and re-convert them back down into a reasonable size file. For a 3 to 5 set match the process takes the better part of a whole day - mostly waiting on conversions to take place. If you are hoping to use your computer during the process, it will take longer. I have a MacBook Pro that is optimized for large amounts of video, and the process still takes a long time.
If you have a lot of time to let video convert & reconvert, you can get a great picture from the GoPro and it is very convenient to be able to hang lots of places. I just can't waste all that time to get to usable video.
The Canon that Caromei mentioned sounds great. That or something similar is what I would buy.
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Post by tomclen on Jan 6, 2015 17:23:11 GMT -5
I am using a canon G16 and it has amazing quality (you need to tone it down a couple of settings so the whole day fits on a 16GB card otherwise the top setting is for theater sized viewing). I use two batteries and switch them out. It takes great pictures too. Had a G12 before and am really happy with the smaller size and the updates. You can get it for about 450 with extra battery and it works great with a tripod ($50 at monoprice). The upside is this is a great camera for your vacations and other uses. Obviously, it is not in a similar category as a go pro or other adventure type cameras. Unrelated to volleyball really, but does the Canon G16 have a separate audio input or are you stuck with just using a built-in microphone?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2015 18:18:35 GMT -5
I am using a canon G16 and it has amazing quality (you need to tone it down a couple of settings so the whole day fits on a 16GB card otherwise the top setting is for theater sized viewing). I use two batteries and switch them out. It takes great pictures too. Had a G12 before and am really happy with the smaller size and the updates. You can get it for about 450 with extra battery and it works great with a tripod ($50 at monoprice). The upside is this is a great camera for your vacations and other uses. Obviously, it is not in a similar category as a go pro or other adventure type cameras. Unrelated to volleyball really, but does the Canon G16 have a separate audio input or are you stuck with just using a built-in microphone? No, it does not. I cannot imagine how loud/shrill these tournaments of 12U girls would sound if I had an external mic. This is one of the criticisms that commonly come up about the G Series. These cameras are great replacements for DSLR cameras but there are a few things missing. Personally, I would never use that option but I know it comes up in reviews often. It does have a wireless upload feature that I am not smart enough to use (and too lazy to learn about).
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Post by dexter on Jan 6, 2015 19:11:14 GMT -5
I am using a canon G16 and it has amazing quality (you need to tone it down a couple of settings so the whole day fits on a 16GB card otherwise the top setting is for theater sized viewing). I use two batteries and switch them out. It takes great pictures too. Had a G12 before and am really happy with the smaller size and the updates. You can get it for about 450 with extra battery and it works great with a tripod ($50 at monoprice). The upside is this is a great camera for your vacations and other uses. Obviously, it is not in a similar category as a go pro or other adventure type cameras. I have found that Canon digital cameras only record to just over 29 minutes. So it isn't a camera you can use for a volleyball match if you intend to record and walk away until the end. I agree...I had a Canon and the quality was great. Just wish that it recorded more than 29 minutes. What format does the Canon G16 record in?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2015 19:20:03 GMT -5
JVC Addixion (sp) small like go pro, same rugged features, but you don't pay extra for wifi, or wide angle views. Uses SD card and has out puts for HDMI a and USB. You can use it plugged into th AC adapter or run for 2.5 off the battery. We carry three so one can charge while the others are going. Less than $350 same quality video as go pro.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2015 20:53:05 GMT -5
I am using a canon G16 and it has amazing quality (you need to tone it down a couple of settings so the whole day fits on a 16GB card otherwise the top setting is for theater sized viewing). I use two batteries and switch them out. It takes great pictures too. Had a G12 before and am really happy with the smaller size and the updates. You can get it for about 450 with extra battery and it works great with a tripod ($50 at monoprice). The upside is this is a great camera for your vacations and other uses. Obviously, it is not in a similar category as a go pro or other adventure type cameras. I have found that Canon digital cameras only record to just over 29 minutes. So it isn't a camera you can use for a volleyball match if you intend to record and walk away until the end. I agree...I had a Canon and the quality was great. Just wish that it recorded more than 29 minutes. What format does the Canon G16 record in? Ok. I can help you with that. You need to change the settings on your G16. It can go to CRAZY high resolution and it is set that way out of the box. Go into settings under video and take it down to the third one. You are recording at 60 frames per second at 1080p with the ability to go to 240 frames per second in slo mo. That is an amazing feature, but not for a game. take it down off that default. Then it will record around 6 hours at great resolution on 16GB. The super slow mo feature might be good for shooting serves or hits to help diagnose form problems or something though, it is not a feature i use. EDIT: it can do either MOV or MP4 These are all the resolutions you can choose from in the movies. You should take it to 1280 X 720, 30 frames per second. 1920 x 1080: 60 fps, 30 fps, 15 fps 1280 x 720: 30 fps, 6 fps, 3 fps, 1.5 fps 640 x 480: 120 fps, 30 fps, 6 fps, 3 fps, 1.5 fps 320 x 240: 240 fps
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Post by sinjin on Jan 6, 2015 23:30:10 GMT -5
the go pro and all the new pov camera are not great for this type of use. they are very wide angle and distorted. you would be much better off getting a sony cx 100 series camera on ebay or craigslist for $100.. it shoots better quality video, longer battery, better color and audio.
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Post by itsallrelative on Jan 7, 2015 7:25:23 GMT -5
agreed that the JVC Addixxion/go Pro route produces wide angle video.
I'm using a JVC GZ-R10B--the waterproof/shockproof part is nice to use in a traveling/gym location.
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Post by pancake83 on Jan 13, 2015 15:33:50 GMT -5
thanks for all the insight! Very helpful
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Post by thesnakeguy on Jan 13, 2015 18:24:24 GMT -5
I'm not sure what type of volleyball you are shooting, but if you are shooting in low lit gyms, good low light performance is needed. If you are going to be close to the endline, make sure it has fairly wide angle. If you get a camera that allows filters on the front, you can always buy a wide angle lines to screw into the threads.
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Post by videodad on Feb 5, 2016 17:07:42 GMT -5
I've been doing club volleyball for almost 3 years now and honestly the day of using the $400 and under camcorders are almost over. Reason I say that is because there are so many new devices like iPads/iPod touches and other devices like that that can actually do a as good of a job or better than a lower end consumer camcorder. Now I have a Canon Vixia 450 so I can say this from experience.
Currently is use a custom tripod that stands about 10 feet. Very easy to construct and if interested please let me know. For a camera I use a 128gb iPod Touch 6th generation that I just purchased and love. I use an iOgrapher case which I have both a wide angle and a telephone lense. I use a small boom mic to help focus the sound to the court and off the screaming parents. Instead of using the typical iPod camera I user the app ScoreCam (http://www.smitter.com/sportscam/) which is probably the best video app out there for IOS video. I use my old 32gb iPod touch 5th Generation which connects Bluetooth to start/pause video and to maintain the scoreboard at the bottom of the screen. Yes I said scoreboard, so no more using my phone to show the score or having to pan so that we can see it. Oh yea, don't have another iPod touch, your any other iOS device (iPhone or iPad) to control your video. I basically set it up and don't touch it till the game is over. I help setup a woman this past tournament to set her up with this app on both her iPad and iPhone in about 15 minutes before her match. She said it was the best app ever!! No more separate files to have to combine.
To go one step further I have an addition hot shoe on top of my case which I will use my extra iPod Touch to stream our matches live back to our parents at home. It too has a wide angle lens that I paid $10 for that attaches via magnet.
Batteries you ask, I have three external batteries that is use which connects to them via a standard lighting cable. Never have to worry about running of of power.
I can go all weekend, 7-10+ matches and never have to connect a device to a computer to transfer video off or plug them into a power supply.
PS if anyone is interested in that Canon Vixia please PM me and I'll sell it cheap. :-)
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Post by leftymike on Feb 5, 2016 20:26:48 GMT -5
I also like the Sony CX series (I've used the CX330). It shoots very good quality video, and has a few settings to go higher or lower res as well as record in various formats (MP4, etc.). Most cameras do auto-cuts, so around 45 min to an hour the Sony camera will start a new file. So at the end of a match you have 2-3 different video files. What I like about the Sony cameras is they have a free software called Play Memories Home that you can download and it stitches those files together in about a minute. Other software can take up to an hour or more to do this. You just open the software, go to edit video, combine files, then drag them in order into the box and seconds later you have 1 file.
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Post by tnvolleyball on Jan 30, 2018 14:26:55 GMT -5
I've been doing club volleyball for almost 3 years now and honestly the day of using the $400 and under camcorders are almost over. Reason I say that is because there are so many new devices like iPads/iPod touches and other devices like that that can actually do a as good of a job or better than a lower end consumer camcorder. Now I have a Canon Vixia 450 so I can say this from experience. Currently is use a custom tripod that stands about 10 feet. Very easy to construct and if interested please let me know. For a camera I use a 128gb iPod Touch 6th generation that I just purchased and love. I use an iOgrapher case which I have both a wide angle and a telephone lense. I use a small boom mic to help focus the sound to the court and off the screaming parents. Instead of using the typical iPod camera I user the app ScoreCam (http://www.smitter.com/sportscam/) which is probably the best video app out there for IOS video. I use my old 32gb iPod touch 5th Generation which connects Bluetooth to start/pause video and to maintain the scoreboard at the bottom of the screen. Yes I said scoreboard, so no more using my phone to show the score or having to pan so that we can see it. Oh yea, don't have another iPod touch, your any other iOS device (iPhone or iPad) to control your video. I basically set it up and don't touch it till the game is over. I help setup a woman this past tournament to set her up with this app on both her iPad and iPhone in about 15 minutes before her match. She said it was the best app ever!! No more separate files to have to combine. To go one step further I have an addition hot shoe on top of my case which I will use my extra iPod Touch to stream our matches live back to our parents at home. It too has a wide angle lens that I paid $10 for that attaches via magnet. Batteries you ask, I have three external batteries that is use which connects to them via a standard lighting cable. Never have to worry about running of of power. I can go all weekend, 7-10+ matches and never have to connect a device to a computer to transfer video off or plug them into a power supply. PS if anyone is interested in that Canon Vixia please PM me and I'll sell it cheap. :-) Thats a great setup, especially if u already own an old iphone or ipad, but the $600-$800 in new equipment is beyond my budget. I also prefer to use my iPad rather than my knockoff action camera ($49 vemico 4k works great, but i dont care for the fisheye look). The drawback with the iPad is that you cant use SD cards, so you will need to plan accordingly (leave enough hard drive space for videos, or bring a laptop so u can upload the videos between matches). Im going to try scorecam app for scoring, but i have been known to daydream a little n miss a few points when my daughter (middle hitter) isn't on the court :-)
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