Looking to get a video camera after Christmas, it's going to be used in various street cars for a project next semester.

Criteria-
LONG battery life (2+ hours), since it will be in different cars (that aren't mine) hardwiring won't be possible
Preferably SD Card or easily uploadable format
Ability to shut the LCD screen off to extend battery life
"HD" not required
Reasonable price
Decent in camera editing allowing for large chunks of film to be removed quickly
Wide angle would be nice same with a remote

Cameras I was looking at

Samsung SC-MX20
Non HD Aiptek (do they have decent battery life?)
Sony DCR-SR45 30GB
Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG9

Any recommendations or suggestions?

 

Go with Sony. We use their products in our business all the time and they never disappoint. I've tried the Samsungs, Canons, etc. but they always burnout if used for extended periods of time as you describe.

For the type of battery life you need to get a secondary battery as the one that will come with the camera is only about an hour long. With the backup battery you don't have to go with a Sony battery as they have a 30-40% premium over a generic brand that's just as good. For example, you can get a 4 hour battery (with the view finder flipped open no less) for about $79.

The only downside to Sony is that their stuff is proprietary. So you'll have to use their cards vs. a generic SDcard.

General rule if you want to buy something that will last it's Sony for moving pictures, Nikon for stills. Good Luck!

 

^ +1 on Sony generally, but the Sony DCR-SR45 is hard disk based, and that is a non-starter for in-car applications.

- You want a camera that stores to a card, and can take an 8Gb card.
- There have been several high-spec cameras that have given very poor results due to the CMOS Rolling Shutter problem. Basically, the CMOS shutter technology together with Image Stabilization results in a very wavy image. Click HERE for more on this issue

 

FYI_
collated from multiple sources:
-stay away from CMOS - unstable images
-stay away from Sony HDR-CX7 series and Panasonic HDC-SD1 -- not applicable for vibrations in car
-need to be able to use 4GB or 8 GB cards - buy cheapest from Newegg.com
-Aiptek cameras have limited battery life -- search Rennlist for thread to convert lighter plug in cell charger to camera.
Also, Aiptek does not have great sound quality, but great pics. Also, the HD-1080 has #X zoom and remote.
And, you want a remote in the car.
-Samsung SC-MX10 has great stabilization, and mobility feature: up/down/left/right; good sound

Again, this is just a pool of info I've gathered from all the threads, print data etc...I've seen on this topic so I can make the right choice too.
Hope this helps,

Nick

 

Thanks for the info guys, I like the idea of a Sony and a new longer life battery. That being said it looks like all their SD card models are over $400, which is out of my price range. Anyone have an idea the battery life on the Samsung SC-MX models?

 

Also, my tape based camera died after a few years of track usage - my guess is that these cameras aren't meant for the vibrations of the track or the G-forces seen on the track.. As such, I might recommend getting the extended warranty (which I usually avoid like the plague).

Having bought the Sony HDR-CX7, I agree about staying away from it. It's a nice camera if you want to use it for something other than the track, though.

 

Looking to buy my first in car video equipment and was searching through these forums. Question on the Samsung MX line....from what I read, they don't have a tripod screw hole? Wouldn't that complicate mounting?

 

First of all an update to this thread since someone brought it up...

I landed on a SC-MX20. I'm pretty happy with it, quality isn't stellar, but it isn't bad either. The 3 hour + battery life is excellent and was the primary thing I was looking for since im not able to hardwire in most cases. I had a problem with it throwing out write errors, Samsung had excellent customer service, they sent a tag, and I had it back with in a week.


If your referring to the standard camera mounting thread on the bottom (forgetting the size), mine has it so I'm not sure who said it didn't?

 

I read it on the Samsung.ca web site! Could be I just misinterpreted something, but that's good news that it has one.

How is yours mounted in-car? I'm looking for the cheapest/simplest way, suction cups not allowed in my region BTW. Car is a 964.

 

Maybe we are referring to separate things? All I know is my SC-MX20 has the 1/4 20 camera threads on the bottom.

Relating to incar mounting I did it a very non typical way involving fabricating a custom mount to hang from the rear hand hold on an E30 BMW. If you have a harnass bar or cage you can use the bar behind the seats which is the most typical mounting spot, if not using one of the headrests could get you started.