SD camcorder

[Erin]

Anyone tried one of these?

http://panasonic.co.jp/pavc/global/v...s10/index.html

Looks like a good alternative to a bullet cam and separate recording device.

[chris123]

Neat little bit of kit - ticks most of the boxes, not going to be as good a quality as miniDV tape, but variable bit rate mpeg2 at up to 10 mbit/sec is not bad. Price seems to be around £280, so nice and cheap.

The downside is its water resistance - IPX4 is ony 'shower proof', which I'd say is on the low side for use on a RIB.

Cheers

Chris

[Erin]

I was considering a bullet cam (prob one with a 580 line sony CCD such as http://www.actioncameras.co.uk/acatalog/info_C580.html connected to a solid state recorder like the ChaseCam PDR100, but this was getting a bit pricey, and of course once fixed to the boat meant it couldn't be easily used for anything else. Mind you, it would have been quite smart to be able to watch the live footage on my chartplotter (which has a video input)

[Tony]

I have tried all sorts of cams attached to A Frames....and it doesn't work.
The thread inside the mount is plastic and the vibration rips it out!!
Go for a bullet cam on a fixed mount, it works a treat!
Tony

[bigNeil]

I have just ordered a Sanyo Xacti CA65 (review here, £200 here). Not expecting great things of it image wise, but looks quite tough, waterproof and easy to use. Not planning to mount it, more for handheld sailing coaching and marine wildlife.

[genoa]

Originally Posted by bigNeil

I have just ordered a Sanyo Xacti CA65 (review here, £200 here). Not expecting great things of it image wise, but looks quite tough, waterproof and easy to use. Not planning to mount it, more for handheld sailing coaching and marine wildlife.

Let us know how you get on, and get some clips on a download so we can see the quality. It sounds like a good solution for a bit of fun on the water ....

[bigNeil]

Okay, had it for about a week now, but only used it for the 1st time properly yesterday.

Samples photo and video (17secs, 6Mb, please don't abuse my download allowance) (you may need Apple Quicktime to view it)

I'd say Pros
- Small, light, easy to use
- Camera is quite good
- SD cards cheap (4Gb = £20 = ~3 hours recording)

Cons
- I find the zoom button is in an akward place, bit sore/fiddly after a while
- quality, as the review says, is great for PC viewing, but not fantastic on a TV
- video colour is very saturated

Haven't used it enough to give a better review, but it's not bad and seems like a simple cheap small solution for on the water video.

Feel free to ask questions!!

[Erin]

Yea, I had a quick play with the Sanyo CA65 in the shop the other day. I found it somewhat complicated to use, compared to the Pana. You seem to have to go thru menus to select record or playback, rather than just turning a dial. I'm swaying towards a bullet cam and a separate recorder. My new GPS can show videao input, so I fancy the idea of dangling the cam over the side and looking at underwater things.

Keith

[bigNeil]

Originally Posted by Erin

You seem to have to go thru menus to select record or playback, rather than just turning a dial.

You switch between record and playback modes with one button, just above the on/off switch, so pretty quick and easy