$200 extended video recording project help...

J

jmroberts70

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 15, 2002
Messages
2,953
So, I'm trying to record a decent quality video (like a couple of hours). I have been trying to record video with my Canon Powershot S5is but I can't seem to run it in a "tethered" mode. I'm not exactly wanting to shoot HD but at least a better format than what a webcam would shoot. I have firewire on my laptop but not a lot of cheap camcorders have that connector anymore. Do you guys have any suggestions for a setup that would work for me.

In essence, I'm hoping to use my laptop's storage to be able to shoot several hours without having to depend on the capacity of the camcorder's own internal storage...

Any ideas?
 
Well, if you say you can connect your camcorder to your laptop, if your laptop had a firewire port, my best advice is to simple buy an addon card that has a firewire port in it. Simple solution, and very affordable.

Here is a possible one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815124014

But look in that website, and find one that is compatible with your camera.
Ok, good luck.
 
Yeah, I've got a firewire port on my laptop but the camcorder I've got doesn't have the video quality I'd like. Maybe I can just find a better one on ebay or something. It's just that when I did a comparison between the video shot with my camcorder vs. the video shot with my Canon Powershot, it was like night and day. Still, for what I'm doing, I may have no choice. Hell, even the newer DSLR cameras that also shoot HD video only do it for a brief time (like 15 min or so) and I don't think they'll shoot in a tethered mode...
 
Ohh, I see. Sorry for that comment, I misread it it seems.
And yes, I have not heard of any digital camera that can do continuous recording, only webcams and camcorders. I have 2 question for you tho':

A) How bad is the quality on your camcorder?
Because if it's really bad, you can definitely use a webcam like the QuickCam Pro 9000. It has the best quality I have seen on a webcam so far and records at up to 960x720. They claim 30fps, but I can only manage around 25fps with extremely good light and Rightlight turned off. I have one myself, and love it. Look online for sample videos, and if you are interested, I can send you an original file with no compression from Youtube or Vimeo. You can get one brand new for around $70.

B) What do you want to do exactly, I'm interested?
Is it like a time-lapse, or maybe you want to record some kind of event? Because you can easily record a bunch of 15m videos, and then put them together with QuickTime, since most digital cameras record in *.mov format. QT has a feature to stitch videos together without altering the quality, if that is your concern.

Ok man, hope I hear soon from you. I'm interested on what you doing.
 
Well I'm mainly doing interviews and need to have the ability to record as long as possible since most of the time they're simply conversations. I'll be editing them down to a reasonable length but I'd like the freedom to just hit "record" and forget about it. Having to do 15min dumps all the time kinda' ruins the moment if you know what I mean!

I'll definitely check out the QuickCam Pro 9000 though. It sounds like it may do the trick. I'm expecting to have decent lighting most of the time so this shouldn't be a problem if the quality seems good. I'm betting that 25fps may be just fine for what I'm doing though. I would be interested in looking at an original file though. If you can point me to a URL or shoot me an email with a sample that would be great. My email address is my username here AT yahoo...
 
Wow! Looks like the QuickCam Pro 9000 is the best solution for me. I'm going to have to get one this weekend and start shooting with it!! Thanks so much for the thip there Odin75!!
 
Sure, here I have a few videos:

Here's a old video I posted in this website, regarding my cable management:
Cable Mess
[Right-click to save] [640x480 - 28.9MB]

And here you have 2 videos, which are part of a product review for my website. Grab them fast, because I'm removing them:
Invisible Shield
[Right-click to save] [960x720 - 12.1MB]
Plantronics .Audio 650
[Right-click to save] [960x720 - 16.2MB]

So yeah man, just ignore what I say, and focus on the video. See how the lighting definitely improves the quality and framerate. And you can definitely get better than me, just create an account on Vimeo.com and you can download the original files of videos you watch there. And if you are wondering, the software does include the ability to record sound from an external mic, and mix it with the video in real time, even tho' you can't adjust the sample rate.

Ok, good luck, and let me know what you think.
 
Looks like from your videos (I've got them all downloaded now BTW) that this camera is best suited for a static mounting application (like what I've got planned) so this may be the perfect device. I can see from the first video (about cabling) how the picture gets a little wobbly when you move it too quickly... Still, for what I'm doing, this will be great!! Thanks again for everything
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top