In Car Video

#1

Its time to get an in car camera and I think I have made up my mind. Im pretty sure Im going with the $149~ or so, Aiptek based on reviews and video I have seen here.

Would anyone that has this camera care to comment about it? Battery Life, ease of use, software compatability etc?

Is there a wide angle or fish eye lense available for this camera?

What about the HD version of the camera? I seem to remember something about it not being the best choice for our sort of use.

Thanks in advance,

-Soon to be racing again, Beertech #380 Brian

#2

The only thing to watch for on the Aiptek stuff is recording format. Lots of them record .MOV files, which kinda suck IMO. You might also consider the Go Pro HERO camera. http://www.goprocamera.com/

#3

I’m using the gopro currently. It has pros and cons. I can provide a full run down if interested.

#4

TheRedBaron wrote:

I am interested, I like the look of your videos using it and I also like the versatility of the camera for other things too.

#5

I have an Aiptek HD and it takes really good footage the only problem is like mike said it records in .mov format. For those of you who edit video often you probably know .mov files are a pain in the ass to edit. With that being said I would get a canon ZR series camera. They are cheap and are what I have used for the longest time.

#6

I want to hear more about the gopro from someone who has one and doesn’t work for the company…Anyone have a full resolution clip that they car share?

#7

Aipitek cameras up to 480P version uses ASF format which can be handled by Windows programs easily. They went to MOV format after that.

Here is a video from my camera combined with MaxqData GPS info. The password is ‘cmp’

I’ll be at RA if anyone would like to see the camera and the set up but I’ll be on the ‘poor side’ of the town across the rail road tracks since I am doing the HPDE.

#8

If you ever plan to add the traqmate and money was no object, I’d go with the traqmate video system. Pretty slick, but also pretty pricey.

One of the features I don’t like about my video camera is, if it is turned on too soon, it will go into park mode. After strapping in, I can’t reach the camera switch so I have to ask linemen to turn my camera on for me. Half the time they get it on and the other half is blank tape.

#9

Steve,

You may want to check your camera settings. I was messing around with mine yesterday and stumbled across and option that lets you extend the amount of time before it goes to sleep.

#10

I’ll be using the gopro at Road Atlanta for anyone that’s there and wants to check it out (I’m in no way affiliated with gopro although I should be :wink: ).

The pros are:

It’s super small, light and “solid state.” It’s waterproof to 100? feet (more than I need) and pretty versatile. Seems extremely durable as well and smartly designed (the bulletproof lens cover is replaceable). The motorsports mount kit is pretty kick a$$…comes with a suction cup mount. The kit is a must for using it in/on a car due to the case design difference. It shoots non-interlaced which means to the laymen that every frame is essentially a digital picture (easily extracted).

The cons are:

It can only take a 2 gig memory stick currently, limiting it to about 60 minutes or something of video with audio. The other problem WAS that the interface is clunky. I have since read the instructions more carefully, practiced and now have it all figured out. While still a bit on the kludgy side, it works well and is very simple to operate. It records in motion JPEG (video track), which while cool in the sense that you get non-interlaced video, may present problems to the computer illiterate (and non-pro software apps). Not sure… I personally use FCP Express on a mac… works fine in that.

If anyone wants to see uncompressed, raw footage:

http://racing.brandnewengine.com/video/dr_grill.avi

(uploading now… wait until like 1 pm today to check it out)

#11

Here’s a link to a vid shot by a buddy of mine using my GoPro:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efC81m6fp-k

hope this helps ya!

#12

I recently bought a Flip Video (60 Min. version) and am planning to use it this weekend at VIR.

Does anyone know much about this? Is it too much of a “toy” to handle being in the racecar for 35 minutes?

Carter