HDR-HC1 or New?

[base729 0]

So I'm setting up my 1st camera helmet. I have a HDR-HC1 that is nearly brand new, but the firewire port is busted, so I don't mind abusing it a bit. I have a HDR-HC3 which I plan to use to just tranfer the video with. I also have a Pentax K7... I know it's not a Canon or Nikon, but still has a remote port and fairly decent specs.

My question is... is it worth getting one of the ultra small new HD camcorders, or just go with the HDR-HC1? I wasn't going to put it in a box since it's 'busted'... just tape up the ports.

I was going to go with the Mantle from Bonehead, so I'm sure they'll both fit fine.

If it does make sense to go with a new, smaller camera, what's the current 'best' one available for skydiving?

Thanks.

[dragon2 0]

A HC1, nowaydays, is pretty big to jump with for a first camera, I wouldn't put a stills camera on there too anytime soon (you shouldn't anyway for a first camera helmet, get used to video first, but in this case also the weight). Other than that, it's a nice camera and if you break it, not much harm done. It's got a viewfinder which I miss on CX100. You can record in HDV and edit in SD on a pc, something I also miss with CX type cameras.

Also important is your workflow. Editing/debriefing on a pc? Switching tapes would become a pain in the &*( soon, also probably not good for both cameras, and transfering video goes faster with a memory card. Editing on a linear system or debreifing on a TV? HC1 will beat the CX100 etc because it has a remote.

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[PharmerPhil 0]

I used to jump an HC1 (A1U, same thing). Nice camera but it is huge by today's standards. If you want something cheap that you already own, use the HC3. It is way smaller and lighter and 95 percent of the same camera. The other thing is the HC-1 loads tapes from the bottom. So if you have it top-mounted (recommended) and you have no firewire, the only way to get digital video off of it will be to unbolt it. HC3 has side-loading tapes, and you can plug in firewire and power supply while it is still top-mounted on the helmet. My HC5 (similar) never comes off my helmet during a typical weekend or week of jumping.

Ditto to everything Dragon said (including starting with video only), and fill in your profile so we can either respect you or berate you.

[base729 0]

All good advice, thanks. I need to get used to flying video anyway, so might as well just setup the HC3 for now. Thought there were quality issues with the HC3... but for practice, probably doesn't matter much.

I updated my profile... wondering what I could get berated for.....???

[billvon 2,392]

>is it worth getting one of the ultra small new HD camcorders, or just go with the HDR-HC1?

The HDR-HC1 was the first HD camera I jumped, and it has produced far and away the best video of any camera I've used. It's the one I would use if video quality were the #1 factor. I recently had mine refurbished; it had a broken flex cable from the door flopping open in freefall.

However, it's also big and bulky, and to get really good video you need a big lens as well (like a Raynox 5050.) So if size is more of a concern, there are probably better choices.

[BobMoore 0]

Quote

The HDR-HC1 was the first HD camera I jumped, and it has produced far and away the best video of any camera I've used. It's the one I would use if video quality were the #1 factor. I recently had mine refurbished; it had a broken flex cable from the door flopping open in freefall.

However, it's also big and bulky, and to get really good video you need a big lens as well (like a Raynox 5050.) So if size is more of a concern, there are probably better choices.

I have to smile when I read comments about big and bulky camcorders.

After reading comments in this forum I went out and bought a CX100 last month. I have not done any skydiving videos in years and the last camcorder I purchased was the Sony DCR-VX700 back in 1995. The BATTERY of that camcorder is a bit less than half the size of the CX100 camcorder.

Everything's relative, of course, and I know I sound like my grandfather "Back in the old days we used to ...". I will forever have etched in my mind the memory of seeing B.J. Worth come out of one of those trailers at Perris with an IMAX camera strapped to his chest.

"For you see, an airplane is an airplane. A landing area is a landing area. But a dropzone... a dropzone is the people."