C
Cyclezee
Guest
What do the experts think, is it any good and should I ask Santa for one or are there better buys for the money
Maginon Action Sports HD 1 ?
Maginon Action Sports HD 1 ?
I am no video expert, but the demonstration footage doesn't look very HD to me. The footage quality looks acceptable, adequate or satisfactory, but not outstanding. When I see something promoted as being HD, I expect the output to look like it does on my telly. This doesn't, its blocky and pixelated.
With HD video recorders, are we witnessing something similar to when HD Ready TV sets were launched? That is, they were plastered with HD Ready stickers to such an extent that you couldn't actually see the product beneath them, and they were in fact incapable of receiving an HD transmission or displaying an HD picture. Will there be something called Non Deceit HD Cameras launched in the future in the same way they HD replaced HD Ready TV sets?
I'm not knocking the post, I'm just a bit mystified as to how anyone could think that the output is HD.
With HD video recorders, are we witnessing something similar to when HD Ready TV sets were launched? That is, they were plastered with HD Ready stickers to such an extent that you couldn't actually see the product beneath them, and they were in fact incapable of receiving an HD transmission or displaying an HD picture. Will there be something called Non Deceit HD Cameras launched in the future in the same way they HD replaced HD Ready TV sets?
I'm not knocking the post, I'm just a bit mystified as to how anyone could think that the output is HD.
How much?
It depends on what price Aldi will be selling it. That Aldi cam is the earlier 720p version, currently the latest 1080 HD model is around £60 direct from China.
To give you a comparison price-wise, a recently purchased F9 1080 HD cam cost just £45. The video quality is superb and the cam is complete with some very useful mounts.
F9 1080 HD action cam
EDIT: This is the 1080 HD version of the same cam
£60 delivered
If the Aldi cam is more than £30, ask Santa for something else
It depends on what price Aldi will be selling it. That Aldi cam is the earlier 720p version, currently the latest 1080 HD model is around £60 direct from China.
To give you a comparison price-wise, a recently purchased F9 1080 HD cam cost just £45. The video quality is superb and the cam is complete with some very useful mounts.
F9 1080 HD action cam
EDIT: This is the 1080 HD version of the same cam
£60 delivered
If the Aldi cam is more than £30, ask Santa for something else
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C
Cyclezee
Guest
Aldi price is £90 so I will give it a miss and check what you recommendIt depends on what price Aldi will be selling it. That Aldi cam is the earlier 720p version, currently the latest 1080 HD model is around £60 direct from China.
To give you a comparison price-wise, a recently purchased F9 1080 HD cam cost just £45. The video quality is superb and the cam is complete with some very useful mounts.
F9 1080 HD action cam
EDIT: This is the 1080 HD version of the same cam
£60 delivered
If the Aldi cam is more than £30, ask Santa for something else
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TheThis is most fortuitous
My dear old Ma-in-law is 91 & always sends a nice cheque for Christmas: I was thinking to put it toward a decent camera to replace my act20, which has probably been dropped once too many & has gone out of focus.
Just to confirm, Blew it - You being the resident video geek
The F9 in your top link is the one you reccomend?
Seems excellent value - I was thinking I'd need to spend at least double that, on a contour to get good mobile footage.
What's the battery life like? My act20 is about 3 hours.
My dear old Ma-in-law is 91 & always sends a nice cheque for Christmas: I was thinking to put it toward a decent camera to replace my act20, which has probably been dropped once too many & has gone out of focus.
Just to confirm, Blew it - You being the resident video geek
The F9 in your top link is the one you reccomend?
Seems excellent value - I was thinking I'd need to spend at least double that, on a contour to get good mobile footage.
What's the battery life like? My act20 is about 3 hours.
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Yes, that's the F9 cam, same as the one I've just purchased. Nice find!
I can't honestly say what the run-time is, I haven't had time to use the camera in earnest yet. I don't think it will be much more than two hours at 1080. Please be aware, this cam has a built in battery. As with all such types, when the battery reaches end-of-life, it's a bin job.
The generic name for the cam is F9, a search may give the answer to run-time.
Bear with me Jack, I'll give you an answer soon. Duffer that I be, I only had a 4gb card in the camera which I used to make sure it was working. Doh!
Camera is now recharging, 32gb card installed and formatted. You should have your answer soon, sometime during the next 48hrs I shouldn't wonder.
Hi John,Aldi price is £90 so I will give it a miss and check what you recommend
At least you haven't lost out.
MS.
Update
Recording at 1080 HD, 30 fps, time-stamp off. 7·6 gb in 37 three minute segments. 1 hour 45 minutes to lvc.
On play-back, the stitching is seamless, suggesting the last 5 or 6 frames of each segment are re-recorded to the start of the next segment.
The camera got a bit upset by the low voltage shutdown, requiring a reset to allow access to the footage.
For my own purposes, that of unusual POV's of various parts of bike suspension which call for a small-ish cam snugged into limited spaces, this camera fits the bill nicely.
The three minute segments may be annoying to some, but for wannabee video editors such as myself, this is actually a very useful characteristic.
Still to early to pass judgement on this camera yet. So far, so good.
PS. My new policy is; I do not make recommendations, neither do I give advice. (too many come-backs when things go wrong)
I will however say it the way I see it, others can make their own decisions based on such statements of fact.
The results are in!
Recording at 1080 HD, 30 fps, time-stamp off. 7·6 gb in 37 three minute segments. 1 hour 45 minutes to lvc.
On play-back, the stitching is seamless, suggesting the last 5 or 6 frames of each segment are re-recorded to the start of the next segment.
The camera got a bit upset by the low voltage shutdown, requiring a reset to allow access to the footage.
For my own purposes, that of unusual POV's of various parts of bike suspension which call for a small-ish cam snugged into limited spaces, this camera fits the bill nicely.
The three minute segments may be annoying to some, but for wannabee video editors such as myself, this is actually a very useful characteristic.
Still to early to pass judgement on this camera yet. So far, so good.
PS. My new policy is; I do not make recommendations, neither do I give advice. (too many come-backs when things go wrong)
I will however say it the way I see it, others can make their own decisions based on such statements of fact.
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Thanks for that - Despite the fact that that you do Not recommend it & accept no liability as to its fitness for purpose...
I've just ordered one
At that price I don't see how it can be a huge disappointment.
I've just ordered one
At that price I don't see how it can be a huge disappointment.
C
Cyclezee
Guest
Hi Blew It,
Please excuse my ignorance, but what is the 3 minute segments all about?
I quite understand that you don't make recommendations and why, but is there anything else in that price range worth consideration?
Please excuse my ignorance, but what is the 3 minute segments all about?
I quite understand that you don't make recommendations and why, but is there anything else in that price range worth consideration?
The camera records in blocks, every three minutes it saves the block to the storage medium. When accessing the footage for play-back, there be a long list of separate files on the micro SD card. To play the files, 'select all' and the player will stream the footage sequentially and continuously. I have looked at the ·inni file, but it cannot be changed on this camera. One advantage of recording to separate short files is, should the camera lock up for any reason, the segments already saved are 'safe'. On a camera which records in one continuous block, the entire footage could be corrupted in the event of a lock-up.
On some cameras, the length of the segments can be changed, typically 5, 10 or 15 minute segments. The Gopro hero3 records in fixed seventeen minute blocks, each segment, or block being 1·85 GB in length. I have another camera here which insists on recording in one huge continuous segment, and it cannot be changed. It really is a pain if I only want a short section for editing purposes.
Depending on the video editing software in use, often it is neccessary to convert the footage to a different video format before editing. If I only want a short fifteen second clip to include in a video, then it stands to reason that a short three minute block containing the required footage takes much less time to convert. The camera I mentioned above which records in one huge segment can be a right pain, I have to convert the entire block just to get a clip of a few seconds. Even on a fast PC, this may take around thirty minutes to convert.
Those who use their camera for evidence gathering will not be too bothered about how the camera records the journey. It is only of concern for those of us who dabble in video editing.
The F9 cam is currently out in the garden recording nothing in particular, I want to check the stitching on the footage recorded in natural light.
In answer to your second question, yes there are. But I also have two pond filters which require de-sludging before the winter sets in proper.
Youtube is an excellent place for researching action cams, partickly (Jack!!
) those that include examples of footage in use.Have fun.
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C
Cyclezee
Guest
Hi Blew it,
Many thanks for your detailed explanation, maybe I will get one in my Christmas stocking
Many thanks for your detailed explanation, maybe I will get one in my Christmas stocking
Thank you for the heads up on the F9 camera Blew it, I've just ordered one myself. Allegedly 3 days delivery, quite excited about it. I've been meaning to get something like this for some time to video various activities.
As a complete novice to such matters, what is involved in editing the footage? I guess there are software packages available, can you suggest a very simple one, (without recommending it of course!) that a video dummy might be able to understand.
As a complete novice to such matters, what is involved in editing the footage? I guess there are software packages available, can you suggest a very simple one, (without recommending it of course!) that a video dummy might be able to understand.
I've tried quite a lot of cheap action cameras and never been happy with any of them. I'm trying to talk my girlfriend into a Drift HD Ghost-S for christmas though.
I may be pickier about image quality than most people, having spent 14 years as a photographer.
I may be pickier about image quality than most people, having spent 14 years as a photographer.
Eaglerider - Windows Moviemaker (FREE) works fine with 720p footage from my act20 helmet cam, but time will tell if it accepts the 1080p from this one.
Sony Vegas works with 1080p AVCHD footage from my camcorder, but can be obstreperous about saving to some formats... And it's quite pricey.
Either way, you'll need quite a quick computer to avoid loooonng ( yawn) render times.
Sony Vegas works with 1080p AVCHD footage from my camcorder, but can be obstreperous about saving to some formats... And it's quite pricey.
Either way, you'll need quite a quick computer to avoid loooonng ( yawn) render times.
C
Cyclezee
Guest
I have watched a few videos on YouTube featuring the F9 camera and found when used by cyclists and motorcyclists the wind noise was rather off putting, is this normal?
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