OT: Flip or similar HD cameras?

[John Rofrano]

[Chas Smith] “Anyone have any experience with any of the new(er) Flip style HD camcorders for vid acquisition? I’ve been seeing flipstyle vidcams offering 1080HD coming out & I’m sure these devices have some useful applications in the right setting (i.e. inconspicuous use for newsgathering, documentary, travel, etc. ) “

I would stay away from the “Flip” brand if you own a PC. They seem to produce files that work better on Macs. For this reason, I bought a Kodak Zi8 and takes great movies and it edits smoothly in Vegas.

Whatever you decide to buy, don’t buy it unless you can download some source footage and ensure that it edits properly in Vegas. Many of the $99 HD cameras use proprietary AVC/h.264 formats that are extremely difficult to edit.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Ken Mitchell]

I also use a Kodak Zi8. Works great for the price. Just use a tripod. The Zi8 is also one of it’s kind to have an external microphone input.

[Chas Smith]

Thanks for the reply guys. I saw the Kodak and thought it might be worth a look. Thought about the Sony “flip” versions but reviews are mixed. Was thinking they might be seamless with Vegas but haven’t found any reviews to that effect.

Chaz

[John Force]

I second (third?) the Zi8 recommendation. I bought one on John Rofrano’s recommendation (in an old post). It was $110 at the time. The video quality is great (for this type of camera). I also second the tripod recommendation (whenever possible), because I find it much harder to hold this type of tiny camera as steady as a “regular” size video camera.

[Chas Smith]

Got my Kodak Zi8 over the weekend and am testing it out. Hooked up the HDMI output to my 42″ Plasma and all I can say is the footage looks fantastic. For a little palm-corder, the HDMI out shows some great video. My PC / Vegas Pro is a bit older and I really need to get a faster machine to take advantage of the HD. Has anyone captured footage from the Zi8 using an HDMI connection? Seems like there’s some convergence box that allows for this.

I got a flex tabletop tripod to use as a handle…helps steady things out a bit. Can’t imagine zooming in too much unless I was using tripod only. But this little Zi8 is impressive. I think using the EIS setting helps keep the moving image from “stroboscopic effect” (i.e. “Saving Private Ryan” action sequences look). Got a spare battery as I understand it’ll suck power.

Any tips on edit ingesting, etc. would be much obliged.

Thanks,

Chaz

[John Rofrano]

[Chas Smith] “Any tips on edit ingesting, etc. would be much obliged.”

Glad you like it. I would make sure that you record at 30p and not 60p unless you are doing slow motion. The 60p footage really bogs down editing and since you are probably going to deliver at 30fps there is no reason to record faster than that for regular use.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Chas Smith]

Thanks for the tip John. I’m guessing the 1080 is 60fps? Can’t seem to find a 30/60fps option for the 1080. Any thoughts?

(I really am impressed with this little camera pic-wise… shooting outdoors and even in limited light it does a heckuva job!)

Chaz

[John Rofrano]

[Chas Smith] ” I’m guessing the 1080 is 60fps? Can’t seem to find a 30/60fps option for the 1080.”

1080 is at 30fps. 720 can do either 30 or 60fps.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Chas Smith]

Thanks again John. For the price and package, this little cam packs in a lot of stuff. Not going to replace my main gear, but for special applications and convenience… not a bad little tool to add to the gear bag.

Chaz