Anyone using this camera on jobs? I had one of their SD cameras a few years back and it was very nice. Be interested on input from owners prior to buying their HD version. Some nice discounts now.

Hum, surprised no one has used this camera. Well I just ordered one with their $100 discount till the end of the year. I also have 4 GoPro and 1 Contour. Interested to see which work best in different situations.

I'm actually REALLY interested in this camera. I'm going to be filming some training video's in the spring for a sail maker and they want to get some Mast head footage looking down on the sail and crew. Most people use a GoPro for this, but when you run out of batteries or memory you have to drop the mast and reload. My thought, is with this camera all the guts are remote from the optics so if I buy some extension cables (once they come out for the HD cam, I can keep the recorder in the boat and change batteries and cards as needed without even going to shore. Another thing I'm looking for is finding a camera with very little if any fisheye. That really distorts the sail shape which is a large reason for the footage. I'm REALLY interested to see what you think of this camera. And would love to see some of your work with it.

HI Paul,

Interesting the sailmaker wants video of the dinghy sails not stills that they can digitize.

Not sure how much distortion there will be but i am told less then the GoPro's.

I have not sent an email on the extension cable but I will check and see what they say. Did you have a response from them on the timing?

I actually had emailed them before seeing this thread. They said the cables are in the works but the best they could tell me on time frame was to keep an eye on their website :-P With regards to the sailmaker... it's for tuning training, not sail making. They have a kick Butt still rig they use for that which takes a series of photo's at set intervals. My project isn't going to be till spring or summer... Water's going to start to get hard around here.

I have one.

Exposure adjustments happen in sudden steps. Same with color balance. I'd like to see something a whole lot smoother like the Replay 1080XD.

Would be nice to "lock" white balance, too.

But the big advantage: seeing what the camera is seeing via an LCD monitor. That's it's biggest and best feature.

Thanks Dean,

I did notice the sudden jumps in exposure & WB and would not use that part of clips.

Agree it would be nice to lock WB. Who knows maybe they are open to input lets find out? I will write them and if we all did who knows a firmware could improve the camera.

I look forward to the extension cable and also sent them a note yesterday.

Paul,
Sounds like a fun project with the sailmaker. Mine will be use filing boat reviews and on my Quest 30 during single handed and double handed ocean racing. I used my old SD one when coaching sailing for different countries Olympic teams. Great tool along with a nice camera on my shoulder. Will be interested to see the quality compared to the GoPro and Contour. I have the screens on the back of the GoPros which helps framing.

I've used both cameras. less distortion on POV cam but a flat port on Go Pro gives less too.
Batteries on all these little cams is a problem. Lead on recorder isn't huge, certainly not mast length. Buy & Try. Great pics on both cams.

Thanks for the input Peter,

I have one on the way so I will be used along side the GoPro and Contour so I will see over a few jobs which I like best.

There will be a 3.5 meter extension cable soon I am told.

Hi Paul,

Do you have the Contour or the Contour+? I recently got a Contour+ and I'm interested in any comparisons with the other POV cams.

Thanks for the input Peter,

I have one on the way so I will be used along side the GoPro and Contour so I will see over a few jobs which I like best.

There will be a 3.5 meter extension cable soon I am told.

Thanx Paul. I will keep an eye out for the lead. Will be very handy, Pete

Hi Denies,

I have the 720p version that I have used for a couple of years. Very nice picture and it makes me want to try their 1080p. Also have their water proof case.

It's been a month since the last post. I'm really curious about this POV.HD too. Is its visual quality about the same as the other small pov cameras? The 4 AA batteries can be a plus for many situations (like shooting overseas where carrying extra chargers and converters, or simply finding an electrical outlet in the first place, can be a major obstacle). Nice to be able to lock in exposures, for sure. Lots of mounting options too.

The single best thing about the previous model was it was CCD based. No Jello.

Sorry for the delay I am flat out.

So far I am not very impressed with the VIO POV HD. The picture is about the same as GoPro and transfer to FCP is not as easy.

In two weeks we are giving the camera a try as one of our POV on a upcoming shoot. I will have more info at that time.

I've watched some of the sample clips POV has posted on their web site. But I'm not sure what I'm watching, as they're not upfront about whether it was shot entirely with POV or whether only the "trick" shots were and then mixed in with other camcorders.
I'm going to call them to ask.
If they were entirely POV, then it's a pretty impressive camcorder to my eyes. But I doubt it.

The Gopro produced videos are impressive too, reason why it's shot in perfect conditions, edited correctly and only the best clips selected out of thousands. POV HD would have done exactly the same thing. These 2 cameras are completely different form factors and as such are suitable for different applications.

Your H2 was designed to record live loud music or instruments, not birds in the distant background.

I just ordered a POV to try out for a few weeks. I'll let you know what my impressions are.

So far my impression of the VIO POV vs. the bunch of GoPros I have used for years is a very similar picture. I do not think the VIO has a better picture and the change in exposure is not very smooth. But if you want a wired POV with a screen then it is worth getting. They tell me the extension wire is a long way off. Also the customer service is below average.

I am also buying a Sony HDR-CX560V camcorder. This has a much better picture then all the small POV cameras on the market at 3x the price but it will be the king of my POV group.

I think all the POV companies spend a lot of time producing their demo videos to give results that 98% of the users will never get.

Paul, be very weary of the Sony Sony HDR-CX560V, it consumes twice as much battery in 1080 60pmode (not much over 30mins stock battery) and the demand on the camera processing affects the focusing big time, extremely slow to refocus. Not really what you want as a POV cam. The only thing this camera does well is the excellent OIS.

Thanks for the input Ian,

I have not purchased the CX560V yet since I don't need it right away. I always shoot 30p. Is there the same focus/battery problem at 30p?

Enjoyed your site. Nice job on using flashlight cases for waterproof cases.

I see you use a HF100. Do you recommend the HF30 over a CX560V? Always looking for marine industry user input. I did have a HF10 and it worked well.

Edit:
After looking over a few specs and some online videos the HF30 is another camera in the running for one of my POV's. It says it has a LANC, wonder if it works in the Sony SPK-HCE housing?