Monday, August 12, 2013

Can you dub a disc from a Hard Drive or Flash Card Camcorder?

best video camera for recording golf swing
 on Which is the Best Video Camera for Recording Your Golf Swing? | Golf ...
best video camera for recording golf swing image



Ronald


I need to recommend a new camera for my coach to use. He likes to dub the video from the camera to a DVD. I'm pretty sure he does this by hooking up the camera to the TV or DVD recorder and then playing back the video. Our current camera uses mini discs. Can a camera that uses a Hard Drive or Flash Cards do the same thing? And if so, what kind of ports does it need?


Answer
Hi Ronald:

The short answer to your Question is "yes": HDD and Flash Card video files can be copied to DVD for review & archiving.

The downside is that most consumer HDD and SD Card storage camcorders use high-compression of the video information (to save space), so individual frame detail is lost in the process. And for fast pans (following a football) and quick-action footage, compressed-video can have annoying "motion artifacts" where the frame-to-frame detail is "interpolated" (mathematically guessed-at).

These 2 types of camcorders typically use USB ports to connect to a computer for transfer & editing. MiniDV tape-based camcorders use lower-compression (more frame & pixel detail is stored), but transfers have to be in "real-time", so a 2-hour game takes 2-hours to transfer. MiniDV camcorders require a FireWire port on the computer or DVD recorder. Digital video files (from HDD and cards) can be just "dragged & dropped" to copy. The files are huge, so it still takes some time (especially over USB), but it's quicker than tape transfer.

I shoot a lot of "sports combine" review videos (like on Yahoo!Sports' Rivals.com), as well as live game action; and coaches & scouts almost exclusively want MiniDV-based footage because of the motion capture quality.

There are pro-level and "prosumer" (semi-pro) cameras & camcorders that use high-speed CF-cards and/or FireWire based external hard drives (FireWire is faster than USB) as well as tape storage. These typically run (new) in the $1500-$3000+ price range, but are ruggedly built (Sony HVR-Z1 thru Z7 series are a good example).

Having the option of "solid state" memory or HDD external storage gives you the speed of quick file transfers & editing for review. The TV pros call this "DTE" for Direct-To-Edit workflow.

If your coach has a lower budget (his mini-DVD camcorder was originally around $1000 or less, like the $1100 Sony HCR-DVD300), he'll need to make a compromise between frame-detail (especially when reviewing in slo-mo or still-frame) and price. Features to shop for include variable shutter-speed, Slo-Mo "burst" record mode (for things like gymnastics or golf-swings), and pre-record mode (actually captures the video just-before you hit Record, so you get all the action).

Feel free to update your Question with exactly what sport or sports your coach deals with, which can make a difference in feature choices, and what his price range is (which makes a big difference in model selection).

hope this helps,
--Dennis C.
 

I am beginning to teach golf, what are some of the better cameras to use to record swings?




Dylon S


I have a handful of clients, but am not yet making too much money, so my budget is kind of low. I was originally looking for a high speed camera (like the one CBS uses) but figured that was too much money. Also what are the things I should look into for the best quality of seeing the swings that are 100 MPH +.


Answer
Any decent digicam with video will work. I would suggest one that records video in AVI, or some flavor of AVI, instead of Quicktime. It's just easier to work with.

Get 2, one facing the front of the player, and one facing the direction the ball is being hit... catch both at once,

You'll also need something to hold the camera, a tripod of some sort. No more than your average Canon pocket camera weighs, the $25 Walmart tripods will work.




Powered by Yahoo! Answers

No comments:

Post a Comment