Camcorder Recommendation for Badminton

[ctjcad]

So I took my brand new SR82 to a tournament and start using it. I certainly appreciate the small size of this thing. I was able to fit it inside my old Camera bag with room to fit a couple of batteries. And since it has 60GB of harddrive, I don't need to worry about diskspace or changing disks or tapes.

I taped many matches throughout the day and the it's simple interface made it easy to start and stop between games.

The quality of the video is not the best as it's in Mepg2, but it's expected. The video looks great on normal tv, but not as nice on my computer because it has higher resolution.

I recommend wide angle lens so that you can get most of the court without moving too far away. and extra battery is a must.

overall, I am very happy with it. It is so strange looking at yourself playing badminton.

cheers.

...hmm, wide angle lens...yes, i would agree on that..Does your camcorder allow interchangeable lens(es)??..
Yeah, 60GB is a LOT....Btw, what is/are your MPEG2 max. file size(s) of those videos, when imported to your computer??..
Now, do you mind sharing a bit of video with us??..

[Shiryu]

Yes, sony does sell those lenses as add-on for this model. But I doubt that there are 3rd party models.

I haven't encounter any max file size yet. The biggest file I have created so far is about 3GB.

Seriously, you don't want to watch me play.

...hmm, wide angle lens...yes, i would agree on that..Does your camcorder allow interchangeable lens(es)??..
Yeah, 60GB is a LOT....Btw, what is/are your MPEG2 max. file size(s) of those videos, when imported to your computer??..
Now, do you mind sharing a bit of video with us??..

[ctjcad]

Yes, sony does sell those lenses as add-on for this model. But I doubt that there are 3rd party models.

I haven't encounter any max file size yet. The biggest file I have created so far is about 3GB.

Seriously, you don't want to watch me play.

..sure, we would like to..even for a brief 10-15 sec. clips ...Just for the purpose of seeing the quality of the Mpeg2(raw) file..

Wow, 3GB heh??..I wonder how many minutes is that??..
I know for a 20 min. recording on a reg. DV tape, it'll take about roughly a good 4GB file size, transcoded/imported as an .avi file..

[Neil Nicholls]

Wow, 3GB heh??..I wonder how many minutes is that??..

depends on the bitrate I guess.
On a single sided DVD, 4.7 Gbytes, you get 60 minutes at 9.2 Mbits/second
(+ sound at something like 128k)

9.2 Mb/s is quite high quality for normal TV
4.6 Mb/s is still good (supposed to be better than VHS)
for recording from TV, I find 3.0 Mb/s is still pretty good

[Hierkommtnils]

I use a Sony DVD-Handycam, which burns direct on mini-dvd (30min). Its a easy way...

I have won my camcorder in a competition of Powerade

[martin8768]

get a Canon ZR-500 or ZR-600 its the best camera for the value, uses MiniDV and its better then a 800$ Sony handycam at 1/2 the price about check them out

[yoyomonkey]

canon hv20, HD badminton.

[carlo]

It seems some cameras these days have a "super slow motion" function that allow you to film at a higher frame rate for a few seconds (several Sony handycams like 5E etc seem to have this). I'm not an expert though so maybe I'm being fooled by clever advertising.

Has anybody tried using this to film badminton practice? Is it useful at all to have 120 frame per second instead of the usual 25-30?

I guess just watching yourself play at a normal speed should be helpful to see just how bad you are, but slow motion can help you analyse specific movements and hopefully make better corrections.

Or do you feel that for badminton 30fps are enough? (after all we're not studying the areodynamics of butterflies...)

[taneepak]

The type of camcorder or video recorder to chhose will depend on its end use. If you want to record tournamnet matches like the super series, the best is a dvd recorder to record from cable or tv. If you want to record badminton for training purposes, the best is a quality P & S digital camera with at least a 28mm to 140mm zoom lens that can record in movie mode at 30fps. You can then buy an inexpensive portable dvd playback machine (one that measures about 5" to 7") for playback. The combination of the two is a powerful teaching tool and can be used instantly at court side. There is nothing like instant playback of, say a power shot played with a bent arm vs one played with a straight arm.

[Cheung]

Just met somebody who had a JVC HD camcorder.

Some problems he has had:
1) slow focussing
2) slightly inaccurate colours.

That's with 3CCD.

He said go for Sony or Panasonic

[ants]

I'm planing to get this SOny High Definition Camcorder HDR-CX7. But it runs on memory stick. I used to have a JVC HDD camcorder.. but it crashed.

[A2JLP]

I would recommend the Panasonic NV GS 5000. I've used this at the Sudirman Cup Glasgow from the audience and I was very pleased with the results. Tripods were not allowed when using VC's so the footage was handheld balanced on the railings or on my knee. The anti shake mechanism was invaluable. The picture quality is superb with 3 CCD's and you can take stills during and after shooting from the footage. The stills are great for web use. A leica lens and 12x optical zoom are more than adequate for most occasions and it has good low light capability. The zoom is smooth, and the manual focus ring on the lens is a reasonable size to grasp and operate. Some users have been a bit critical of the camera but with full control (aperture / shutter speed combinations) and several manual modes including sports mode, you have to spend time deciding on the best settings. I don't understand anyone critisicing the quality of image or sound.

One thing often overlooked is how easy is it to transfer video to computer. This camera uses AVI files and comes with software that works. One nice feature is the program to link the camera to a laptop by USB and 'see' and capture live. Great for coaching. Load the image into V1 home for instance and you hava a great budget video analysis tool. Replaying in slomo is surprisingly good in terms of image quality.

Search on Google for specs and reviews but some of the user reviews didn't do the camera justice (IMO).

[Cheung]

http://www.cnet.com.au/camcorders/camcorders/0,239035915,339283392,00.htm

Looked up a few reviews of the camcorders and it is a minefield.

All these HiDefinition models are coming out. If I buy HD now, then I can't play it on a normal DVD players.

HDD seems a good option but from some of the reviews, this is on its way out.

What to do?

[carlo]

I agree with cheung. Everytime I read a review on a model that seems to have what I want I discover immediately afterwards that it has just gone out of production, and a different (more expensive) one has taken its place. Alas it's much more complicated than buying a racket!

Though for this money you could get twenty hours of 1to1 instruction with a top coach (at least where I live), so I haven't made up my mind yet....

[Cheung]

A firendhas recommended to me the AVCHD format.

Sony looks quite good.

I need to get something soon. My old miniDV seems to falling apart.

[demolidor]

Any Sony with an Exmor (R) sensor will do the trick . The only thing AVCHD has over MPEG2 (HDV) is better compressability imo.
Then there is the choice between harddisk and flash memory/memorysticks (lighter & cheaper for camera only). Keep in mind the average for a badminton match in full HD is around 5GB .
Too bad most (all?) HDV cams seem to record on miniDV only, a 60GB harddrive is so convenient .

[demolidor]

HDV is on it's way out though as far as consumer cams are concerned. Sony doesn't have one in the current lineup, maybe Canon still has one this year but will probably be (one of) the last time.