recording in 16:9 with a helmetcam...possible??

[Mr. Ron]

To all of you who like to document their travells with helmetcam, i have a few questions: Has anyone found a camera that records in 16:9 through the external camera? I'm just learning to edit my many hours of video from miniDV, but its all in 16:9. I'm purchasing a new camera, most likely a Sony, with AV in to acomadate a helmetcam, but i've only seen them display in 4:3. Unless i can turn 4:3 into 16:9 through Final Cut Pro, it will be hard to cut the final product together, mixing my helmetcam shots with my stationary video. This whole mess has left me in quite a cucundrum, actually. You see, i already own a Sony HDR-HC1 High def. This is an absolute KICK ASS camera! Problem is, it doesnot have AV in and you cannot plug in a helmet cam Sony has offered an in-store credit for the camera, and i'm considering the DCR-HC96. Unfortunately this model is missing some important functions, like the manual focus ring and pop-up view finder. It also pales inn comparison in picture quality and function. Maybe i should keep the HC1 and buy another cheap camera for the helmetcam stuff?? DVD and harddrive camera's are out due to editing problems and media quality. So far, miniDV, as far as i can tell, is still the recomended media for video editing (the least amount of compression). Any advice out there?

[Lone Rider]

Mr Ron,

I suggest calling the dealer(s) for the info. It's what they do.

[Mr. Ron]

Sorry, but i have to disagree with you there. Dealers only know how to sell the products they know nothing about. When i purchased the HC1, i was very specific about it having AV-in for the spycam. It is for this reason that they will give me my money back for the now used camera, well, an in-store credit anyways. Today they seemed quite baffeled when the LANC remote wouldnot work on ANY of the camera's they sold when in play-edit mode.Forums like this provide real experience and problem solving, dealers only supply a venue for distribution.

[mollydog]

Hey Ron,
I should know all this stuff, I work as a sound guy in film and video, have done
for 20 plus years. I've not really kept up on formats and such lately, but I have a few ideas.

Your correct about most dealers. But there may be a few places in Vancouver
that can help you. Since you guys have got most of my work up there now ;-) there should be some really good rental houses around. Equipment Rental houses KNOW their gear, they have to.

The other place to head would be trade shows. For years I went to NAB
and other big trade shows. Here I could pick the brains of the actual engineers in some cases or at least the national reps for the products. Very
knowledgeable and usually are set up to provide really good demos of the features and know everything about every accessory on the planet. NAB is
coming up, usually is in Vegas.

You might also try to contact some independent film makers up there and
see who the tech guys are. Every town has some nut ball genius that has figured out a thousand cool mods and work arounds on gear.

Most of these guys tend to go with the high end stuff, but many doc's I've worked on lately are using smaller HD-DV units. Damn good quality, and even the audio sections are .....finally .....getting better.

If you want some tips for getting decent sound while on the bike, let me know. Once again, for this type of stuff, I'm sure Vancouver is all set. They
even have a Location Sound Services up there from what I understand.
Look them up.

These guys know everybody doing anything. They will be a really good resource for any tech questions, audio or video. If they don't know, they should be able to point you right.

Good luck,

Patrick
Production Sound Mixer IATSE Local 16/ Local 695

[Mr. Ron]

Thanx Molly, thats some great advice! I'm gonna call Lorne Lampan tomorrow, they rent specialty camera-gear. I'll also have a chance to talk to one of the editors on the show i'm currently working on. They should provide some answers, but i'm also interested in what the world travellers out there are using, and the problems they're solving. Afterall, we don't ALL work on filmsets, do we?

Ron...
Special Effects Technition
IATSE local 891

[Mr. Ron]

So, for the few of you who may be interested in this thread, here is an update. After filming in 4:3 with my helmetcam, i can crop the photo to 16:9 and then expand it to fit the frame to match with my other 16:9 video...it is possible For that matter, i can edit my helmet cam stuff in with my HDV, no problem. You will notice a huge diference in picture quality, but the footage will be worth it!

[Locul@hotmail.com]

Do you have any pics of how you have mounted your helmet cam??

I´m searching for some ideas

Mikael

Denmark

[Chris of Motocross Africa]

I think (correct me if I'm wrong) but it is an external camera that is being used...see photo in this link:

http://www.motocrossafrica.co.uk/Equipment.html

[MCP]

Mikael you asked,

"Do you have any pics of how you have mounted your helmet cam??

I´m searching for some ideas

Mikael

Denmark"

Do you have a camera yet?

Theres lots of helmet camera options if you just Google Helmet Cameras.

I've just put together a system, there are several mounting points besides just your helmet, just depends what you want.

I'll post some links and can offer some advice if you can be more specific.