Best second camera for fast-moving sports?
 

I'm an EX1 shooter and want a second and smaller camera. I record my kids in horsejumping and lacrosse which require fast pans to follow the action. I use an EX1 on a Miller tripod at 720p60 and edit in FCP3. Here's a 45 second snippet of the resulting work:
I want a second and small camera...to record b-roll in the barn or locker room etc. (And because the EX1 is painful to handhold and sometimes I just don't want to travel with the big rig). Once enjoyed the Sony HC1 but it gave up and died. Tried a friend's Canon Vixia HF11 and loved the small size. But I haven't had the chance to compare cameras available now.

I didn't know where to post this question...let me know if there's a better place.

JVC HM100. Even records same codec as the EX-1.

Ned Soltz

Thanks for the fast response Ned. I'll check it out.

I second the JVC HM100. It cuts well with the EX-1 and EX-3. The small chips aren't that great in low light though. It's a small compact camera yet big on features.

And I'll third the HM100 by reflecting that a colleague has two EX1Rs and two HM100s for multicam shoots. He can do a 3 camera shoot from a standard airline carry-on.

I hope you don't mind if I ask a somewhat off-topic question. What shutter speed are you using? The video looks nice and crisp, which is a problem that I've been having with the video I'm shooting of fast action subjects. I'm shooting high-speed radio control cars, airplanes, helis etc., and it's like trying to shoot a mosquito. They travel at speeds up to 50 mph on average, and they're only about 20 inches long and are totally unpredictable in their movement. So, panning only gets me so far. I've shot up to 1/250, but I'm think I may need to go faster on the shutter speed. Any insight would be much appreciated.

Here's a recent video where there's considerable blur. The action starts after the 3:00 mark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go1azB6Y2EE

How get a crisp image of moving objects?
 

Sorry for the slow response. Steve, I'd don't have my notes with me, but have generally settled on 120 for shutter speed. 250 is a bit crisper, but to stroby. Looked at your sequence...you're getting the same result that I get, moving objects just aren't clear, like stationary objects. Wish I knew what trick I'm missing.