recording your hunts

[etfelix]

I am sort of new to recording my hunts, scounting, etc. My question is which type of camcorder is best ? The problem i have is when i want to video something 500 yds away it is never clear. I hear I should be concerned with the optical zoom and not the digital zoom. Does anyone out there have any advice for me? Also which camcorder is best for a person on a budget?

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

 

 

Having just returned from Africa this spring where I was using the "professional grade equipment of the day" as was the other camera man on the hunt...I was supplimenting with my $700.00 Sony HD handycam and the video quality is just as good however the sound was not.... But on a budget a top of the line HD handy cam will get you the quality for under a Grand..... Where the Proffesional grade will set you back about $3K to start. Costco, Cameraland, Fry's electronics....

[Coach]

A couple years ago, I was getting pretty serious about video for hunting. I did a ton of research on "prosumer" cam corders. The Canon GL2, Panasonic AG-DVC series and Sony HDR models were all the rage. I plopped down around $1800 for the Panasonic AG-DVC30. It's a great CCD camera with a Carl Zeiss lense, all the bells and whistles...

 

I hardly ever take it with me. It's just too big - like packing a spotting scope around everywhere. I consider it an expensive learning experience. It's similar to the high priced Canon DSLR camera I bought for my wife as an anniversary gift. Truth is, the big cameras, big lenses, big prosumer cam-corders have their place. But for most of us, in real-life practical applications they are way overkill. They're too big and too complicated to mess with in field conditions.

 

I'm downsizing my video camera to a Sony DCR-SR68. It fits in the palm of your hand, and can easily fit in a cargo pants pocket. It has an amazing lense ( Zeiss, 60x optical zoom) 80GB internal hard drive, and runs around $350. In addition, I'm buying a tiny Panasonic Lumix camera to take the place of the huge, DSLR we are accostomed to lugging around.

 

What I'm getting at is, keep it small and simple. That $2K "prosumer" camera is worthless if it's too big and bulky to carry around with you when you're on the move. Get a good palm-sized camera that you will actually be inclined to carry around - and a good "shirt pocket" camera for still shots.

 

 

 

[DesertBull]

Digital zoom is almost worthless. It's the same looking at one of your photos on the computer and zooming in with your mouse. The more you zoom in, the less quality the picture.

 

There are a lot of websites that have pretty in depth reviews of camcorders.

[etfelix]

sounds good, thanks for the response. Is there a certain amount of optical zoom I should be looking for? I saw 60 optical zoom in there, is that what I should be trying to get?

[.270]

i usually just wait and watch it on COPS. Lark.

[Red Rabbit]

i usually just wait and watch it on COPS. Lark.

 

Not to hijack the thread, but this video is the first that came to mind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziNvB-JVi9k

[200"mulie]

i usually just wait and watch it on COPS. Lark.

 

Not to hijack the thread, but this video is the first that came to mind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziNvB-JVi9k

 

 

 

 

 

omg . . . . that was me !!!! just kidding still funny. He goes on to the next round on america's got talent

[Ernesto C]

that was Lark

[youngbuck]

I knew what video it was before i clicked on it, perfect doug! Back on topic i bought a panasonic 30x zoom or so a few years back. Its good for shots up to 500 or so. I videod a lope getting smoke poled last weekend from about 3/4 of a mile off. You can see it, but heat waves killed it. I would love to have a 60x optical zoom. I need something small or id never haul it. Im not filmin for shows, just friends and family.

[ultra300mag]

Panasonic makes a very nice, very small compact camera with a 70x optical lens. It records on a SD card so there are not really any moving parts inside. It has an image stabilization feature and it works quite well. This camera was less than $300 at Best Buy when I bought it this spring. If a person is concerned with HD it also comes that way for about $100 more. I recently used it on my daughter's Antelope hunt and it works great! I videoed a nice buck at over 800 yards and I could still see pretty good detail even at that range. She ended up shooting her buck at a little over 150 yards and I zoomed the buck in close enough that it fills the entire screen and could have zoomed even closer. Take a look at one in the store and see what you think. It is small enough that I can fit it in my t-shirt pocket. I just looke it up and one of the models is the SDR S50 and one site has it on sale for $204.00. They also have models with a built in memory but I chose the one with the SD card so that I could easily change for different hunts etc. Good luck.

[catclaw]

Canon Vixia HF20 or HF21 depending on how deep your pockets are. True HD, holds TWO SD cards and has a pretty good sized hard drive. To add to that, arguably the best anti- shake feature in its class.

 

I think the HF20 will set you back about $800 and the HF21 about $1300. You will need better batteries though.

 

You are crazy not to buy an HD camera these days.

[The Claw]

+1 on the Canon HF20. 15X optical zoom which is more than the standard 10X in that class. You can buy them in the 600's now. They also make a nice aftermarket tripler that you can get through B & H Photo. In the 300 range. Good quality footage. Only one sensor which is not as clear as the three sensor HD cams but the 3 sensor cams will set you back 3K and it is more cumbersome to carry so you have to factor that in.