UKC

Hello,

I am looking for some advice.

I wish to buy a smallish camcorder. We are finding the the quality of the video taken on phones isn't brilliant and at times would like to record our little one doing things as she grows up (yes we are that boring).

I was wondering about getting a go-pro/other action camera as pre-child we used to do a fair bit of skiing/kayaking/climbing and thought something robust and waterproof would be good as we slowly get back to them. The other half is less keen as she would like to have a screen to see what we are filming and also wondered if the wide angle lens would be a bit much for the standard going to the park type stuff...

So does anyone have any suggestions for a robust hand-held camcorder with a screen? Or have any other ideas?

Thanks!

In reply to dti:

what about a compact camera with video capabilities

In reply to dti:

Some of the more memorable stuff I have filmed of the kids has been with a go pro, which rather than being used to film my extreme adventures has been used to film the first swim, bike ride messing about on canoes/paddle boards and jumping of various things.
It really captures the unadulterated joy in doing stuff with the kids if you use it up close.
Used in conjunction with a good compact in video mode you will have all bases covered. Don't underestimate an action cams ability to take still as well,

In reply to dti:

With the new GoPro 5 and the updated firmware for the Gopro 4 they have added linear mode which removes the fisheye. So it could be used in lots of situations. Most of my filming recently has been with linear mode enabled and it looks great.

In reply to dti:




Shameless plug.



http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=653343

In reply to dti:


You can buy an LCD screen for the go pro. Only down side of Gopro is the price.

In reply to JamesWoolley:


Second that. It also has a fairly good screen and and excellent photo modes.

Also, apart from the action shooting, a small camera with loads of ways to attach to to things opens up a lot of creative possibilities to make your videos more interesting.

In reply to Bootrock:


I just use my phone screen with my GoPro 4 camera if I need to compose the shot or fiddle with the settings.

In reply to StefanB:



If you go down the road of a action camera then the best attachment that you can buy to improve image stability is a gimbal. Those things take your videos onto a whole new level with mages that are more pleasurable to view compared to a subject bouncing all over the place.

They aren't cheap, but worth it for image quality and can be used for smartphones too.
http://swiftcam.com/





BTW, still got my camcorder for sale.

In reply to The Lemming:



They certainly aren't cheap for looks like a lump of cheapo grade plastic. I've still got the original SteadiCam Merlin which you can get for a bit more than the swiftcam but its solid and much more versatile.

BTW Swiftcam will do nothing to improve image quality it will just make crappy footage smoother.

In reply to Indy:



They are tools just like anything else, it depends how well you put those tools to use.