Helmet/Lipstick cam questions at DVinfo.net

Michael Bendixen · March 18th, 2008, 04:04 PM

I'm in desperate need of a helmet/lipstick cam rig that will meet several of my needs. I need:

--waterproof
--professional quality. At least 500 lines res./HD, 16x9?
--records to a small device. Some sort of hard disk that is waterproof or I can make waterproof.

I have a lipstick cam already but it is SD and not 16x9 and not waterproof.
I've found several browsing on the web but I find some of the marketing deceiving and I don't think that they record to the quality that I want.

Any info?

Thanks,

Michael

Giroud Francois · March 19th, 2008, 01:36 AM

at my knowledge there is nothing like that on the market.
hd-head camera cost the hell and except few hardisk/memory card recorder (firestore, sony HDR-60 and the new compact flash recorder sold with the Z7)
there si nothing cheap that can record HD.
such solution, if you build it, would cost several thousand $.
You better had to put an HC7 or A1 into a waterproof case.

Chris Swanberg · March 20th, 2008, 07:20 PM

The SONY 1/3" Super HAD chip reports resolution in color at 520 lines. I have a lipstick cam that is small, uses that chip and with a little help can be made waterproof (to a few feet underwater anyway.)

I recently tried it out by mounting it on my car and plugging it into a Sony Handycam (about as small as you can get before spending BIG $$ for a firestore or somesuch - assuming it will even accept the signal and recrd it.) I shot over an hour of footage with it out there on my car.

Overall I was somewhat impressed with picture quality. I mean when I played it back onto a 108" front projection TV screen from the camera it wasn't too bad. Maybe a better way is to say I was not horribly disappointed with a decent SD picture. Importantly no jaggies on highway stripes as they went by, for example.

Cons: Handles varying light less than adroitly. Low light performance is so so. Is fixed at 4:3 AR.

Pros: Overall though I think it fills a niche in the arsenal when you don't want to put a camera in harms way, plus it is easy to mount. Can be adapted to digital pan (up down right left) and zoom within limits.

HD ? Forget it. For now. We can dream together. (If Hollywood will let us have a capture device.)

ps. I plan to mount it on the belly of a light aircraft - ought to produce some interesting shots on takeoff and landing.

pps. My research leads me to believe this is the upper limit of REAL lines of resolution (around 500-520). Everything else seems to be hype - I've seen cams using this chip claim higher res than Sony advertises this chip can put out.

ppps. This outputs an analog video signal.

Max Coyne · March 20th, 2008, 09:02 PM

There's this

http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/sony-hq...met-camera.htm

Not sure if there is a similar supplier in your neck o'the woods so to speak. Give em a bell, maybe they'll ship one to you.

Have a great evening
Max ;o)

Ron Evans · March 20th, 2008, 09:10 PM

Not sure if you have checked this site out for information on most helmet cams.
http://helmetcameracentral.com/

Ron Evans

Chris Swanberg · March 21st, 2008, 02:03 AM

What I am seeing on the suggested links is the same stuff I mentioned. 550 lines, 580 lines - based on a CCD incapable of delivering it. Here is the spec on the SONY 1/3" Super HAD CCD device they all use:

Effective Pixels - NTSC 768 x 492 (V) PAL 752 x 582 (V)
Scanning system - 2:1 interlace
H Resolution - 520 TV lines@Center
Low Lux Sensitivity - 1 Lux/f2.0 (30IRE, AGC Max, Day Night On

I can give you a link to where I bought mine if you send me mail.

ps. Because it is an analog signal, it is my thought that your best capture device is Hi8 or Mini-DV camcorder, which is capable of accepting and recording at that level of detail.... in fact as I understand it up to 600 lines, so it will faithfully record the 500-520 line output. Seems to bear out in my unscientific tests. Many of the solid state devices offered to record will only record at a 320x240 resolution - be careful!

Giroud Francois · March 21st, 2008, 06:02 AM

if you want to spend a lot of money you can go with this
http://www.convergent-design.com/dow...20Brochure.pdf
and an HD camera head with HD-sdi output.

Bill Ward · March 21st, 2008, 01:33 PM

And on Giroud's supplied link, look at the little camera to the left. That's the Iconix HD POV camera.

It's about as good as it gets in POV image quality.

Giroud Francois · March 21st, 2008, 04:26 PM

and these guys are nice enough to provide a pre-order form, but except advising you have to give $1000 for reservation, i have not seen any final price estimation. ($2000 or $10000 ?)
google indicates $4995.

March 18th, 2008, 04:04 PM	#1
Michael Bendixen Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Corvallis, OR Posts: 109	Helmet/Lipstick cam questions I'm in desperate need of a helmet/lipstick cam rig that will meet several of my needs. I need: --waterproof --professional quality. At least 500 lines res./HD, 16x9? --records to a small device. Some sort of hard disk that is waterproof or I can make waterproof. I have a lipstick cam already but it is SD and not 16x9 and not waterproof. I've found several browsing on the web but I find some of the marketing deceiving and I don't think that they record to the quality that I want. Any info? Thanks, Michael __________________ Wonderstar Productions Communicating Science Inspiring Curiosity and Wonder

March 20th, 2008, 07:20 PM	#3
Chris Swanberg Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 904	The SONY 1/3" Super HAD chip reports resolution in color at 520 lines. I have a lipstick cam that is small, uses that chip and with a little help can be made waterproof (to a few feet underwater anyway.) I recently tried it out by mounting it on my car and plugging it into a Sony Handycam (about as small as you can get before spending BIG $$ for a firestore or somesuch - assuming it will even accept the signal and recrd it.) I shot over an hour of footage with it out there on my car. Overall I was somewhat impressed with picture quality. I mean when I played it back onto a 108" front projection TV screen from the camera it wasn't too bad. Maybe a better way is to say I was not horribly disappointed with a decent SD picture. Importantly no jaggies on highway stripes as they went by, for example. Cons: Handles varying light less than adroitly. Low light performance is so so. Is fixed at 4:3 AR. Pros: Overall though I think it fills a niche in the arsenal when you don't want to put a camera in harms way, plus it is easy to mount. Can be adapted to digital pan (up down right left) and zoom within limits. HD ? Forget it. For now. We can dream together. (If Hollywood will let us have a capture device.) ps. I plan to mount it on the belly of a light aircraft - ought to produce some interesting shots on takeoff and landing. pps. My research leads me to believe this is the upper limit of REAL lines of resolution (around 500-520). Everything else seems to be hype - I've seen cams using this chip claim higher res than Sony advertises this chip can put out. ppps. This outputs an analog video signal. Last edited by Chris Swanberg; March 21st, 2008 at 02:07 AM.

March 19th, 2008, 01:36 AM	#2
Giroud Francois Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: switzerland Posts: 2,133	at my knowledge there is nothing like that on the market. hd-head camera cost the hell and except few hardisk/memory card recorder (firestore, sony HDR-60 and the new compact flash recorder sold with the Z7) there si nothing cheap that can record HD. such solution, if you build it, would cost several thousand $. You better had to put an HC7 or A1 into a waterproof case.

March 20th, 2008, 09:02 PM	#4
Max Coyne New Boot Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 18	There's this http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/sony-hq...met-camera.htm Not sure if there is a similar supplier in your neck o'the woods so to speak. Give em a bell, maybe they'll ship one to you. Have a great evening Max ;o)

March 20th, 2008, 09:10 PM	#5
Ron Evans Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,220	Not sure if you have checked this site out for information on most helmet cams. http://helmetcameracentral.com/ Ron Evans

March 21st, 2008, 02:03 AM	#6
Chris Swanberg Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 904	What I am seeing on the suggested links is the same stuff I mentioned. 550 lines, 580 lines - based on a CCD incapable of delivering it. Here is the spec on the SONY 1/3" Super HAD CCD device they all use: Effective Pixels - NTSC 768 x 492 (V) PAL 752 x 582 (V) Scanning system - 2:1 interlace H Resolution - 520 TV lines@Center Low Lux Sensitivity - 1 Lux/f2.0 (30IRE, AGC Max, Day Night On I can give you a link to where I bought mine if you send me mail. ps. Because it is an analog signal, it is my thought that your best capture device is Hi8 or Mini-DV camcorder, which is capable of accepting and recording at that level of detail.... in fact as I understand it up to 600 lines, so it will faithfully record the 500-520 line output. Seems to bear out in my unscientific tests. Many of the solid state devices offered to record will only record at a 320x240 resolution - be careful!

March 21st, 2008, 06:02 AM	#7
Giroud Francois Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: switzerland Posts: 2,133	if you want to spend a lot of money you can go with this http://www.convergent-design.com/dow...20Brochure.pdf and an HD camera head with HD-sdi output.

March 21st, 2008, 01:33 PM	#8
Bill Ward Major Player Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 580	And on Giroud's supplied link, look at the little camera to the left. That's the Iconix HD POV camera. It's about as good as it gets in POV image quality.

March 21st, 2008, 04:26 PM	#9
Giroud Francois Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: switzerland Posts: 2,133	and these guys are nice enough to provide a pre-order form, but except advising you have to give $1000 for reservation, i have not seen any final price estimation. ($2000 or $10000 ?) google indicates $4995.