Quality of video

[Joe's Dad]

So JD is thinking about a video camera. I saw these two videos and need ur help in choosing the quality of the video.

Here's the first video:

YouTube - Men's Traditional-Crow Hop - 7th Spring Pow Wow Uniejów 2009

[Joe's Dad]

And this is the second video:

YouTube - Men's Traditional...Crow Hop...Muckleshoot Powwow 2010

Wachu think?

[Grits & Beans]

well the first video looked out of focus, which is probably because of the person taking the video and not the video camera itself, whoever it was shooting the video couldnt keep the camcorder steady lol...

the second clip definitely had a sharper picture and better sound....that's the one i would pic....

[Toolbox]

Ok here's my analysis of those 2. The first one looks like it was recorded witht the video function of a point and shoot digital still camera, possibly a cell phone cam. Some points to note here are the fact that the only available resolution was "240p", which means 240 lines of resolution which is the same as the max for standard VHS, half of the 480 line SD NTSC, there are other variables in that example but I won't get into them. Another point is the compression looked very poor, especially considering that the video was compressed twice - once in the camera and then again by youtube. The sound also alludes to a tiny microphone.

The second video was either shot with a lower end video camera, one of those FlipVideo cameras (or similar cam), or possibly a higher quality point and shoot video camera. Unless youtube's compression system is really that bad, I saw some evidence of a lower quality lens and sensor, so it wasn't shot with anything special.

Are you looking to buy a new video camera JD?

[wyo_rose]

TB, what do you think of the new FLIP UltraHD video cameras that do 720p?

Flip Video UltraHD Camcorder - 720p - 0.92 MP - Black

[Toolbox]

@Wyo: Keep in mind when reading my review below that I have a higher standard when it comes to what I'm looking at in a camera, and given my background I tend to nit-pick on the technical side of them. Also I have never used one before, outside of messing around with a demo at the store, and am basing the infor below on the specs from the manufacturer's website.

For what it is, being a small pocket sized video camera for under $200, its not bad, but... Looking at the specs on that thing it only be ideal to catch those candid moments or when you want something that fits just in your pocket and that records better than a point-and-shoot digital still camera. As for recording powwows or anything else that has lots of motion and detail, it would not be the best choice.

The sensor that it uses is 1.6 megapixels squeezed onto a chip that is only 1/4" in size, which means that it will not perform all that well in dim or in the dark without noise (the grain in a video signal). Furthermore, given the price of the camera they probably used a lower end CMOS sensor which is more prone to creating that "jello" effect when the camera is shaking in your hand or too much motion, probably just a bit better than a cell phone camera.

The other issue, is that the codec* that it uses only averages about 8.8Mbps, this creates a lot of issues with the video because at that low rate the image will start to pixelate or become muddy when there is too much detail and motion. If you were to recod a grass or fancy dancer there could possibly be af pixelation or blurring on and around them.

Another thing that may or may not be an issue as per personal tastes, the thing only has a digital zoom and not an optical one, so therefore the camera digitaly magnifies the image which only makes it look worse.

There are some test charts and videos on here that show that it is capable of 600 verticle lines of resolution, 120 short of 720. Keep in mind that the camera in the test was on a tripod so there was no motion introduced by the user's hand. Pure Digital Flip UltraHD Camcorder Review - Flash Memory - CamcorderInfo.com

[rodond]

looking at the second video can anyone give me the history behind the one feather bonnet the one dancer is wearing

[AmigoKumeyaay]

Sony DCR SX-41 under $250

This is my "powwow cam" very small, yet you can zoom across the arena to catch a dancer on the other side.
DCR-SX41 | 8GB Handycam® Camcorder | Sony | Sony Style USA

Honest review-Sony Handycam DCR-SX41 Review (silver) - Digital Camcorders - CNET Reviews

This camera will fit into a coffee cup, can hold hours of recording in internal flash memory, or click-in Sony ProDuo Sticks (4G $25, 8G $40) and record to memory stick. Battery charges up to 125 minutes total time.

Touchscreen menu very easy to navigate. This unit so light you can hold it up to film over people's heads. I've had it for 2 years now, powwow dust hasn't killed it.

Majority of peeps give me good ratings! I never upload to internet, just cut a DVD with Sony DVDDirect machine, let people take home a memory to share with family and friends, I don't charge, DVD's average 26 cents each from Cosco.

[wanjica_the_one]

So JD is thinking about a video camera. I saw these two videos and need ur help in choosing the quality of the video.

Here's the first video:

YouTube - Men's Traditional-Crow Hop - 7th Spring Pow Wow Uniejów 2009

wow! did this come all the way from poland?

[Toolbox]

This is my "powwow cam" very small, yet you can zoom across the arena to catch a dancer on the other side.
DCR-SX41 | 8GB Handycam® Camcorder | Sony | Sony Style USA

Honest review-Sony Handycam DCR-SX41 Review (silver) - Digital Camcorders - CNET Reviews

This camera will fit into a coffee cup, can hold hours of recording in internal flash memory, or click-in Sony ProDuo Sticks (4G $25, 8G $40) and record to memory stick. Battery charges up to 125 minutes total time.

Touchscreen menu very easy to navigate. This unit so light you can hold it up to film over people's heads. I've had it for 2 years now, powwow dust hasn't killed it.

Majority of peeps give me good ratings! I never upload to internet, just cut a DVD with Sony DVDDirect machine, let people take home a memory to share with family and friends, I don't charge, DVD's average 26 cents each from Cosco.

Thats not a bad cam for being a small SD cam.

In the realm of small HD, relatively inexpensive camera, I have seen some nice results out of the Vixia series from Canon, good glass and overall decent video quality. Remember, in general, the larger the sensor the better the image will be, especially in dark and dimly lit scenes. Consumer video cameras will 'typically' have 1 imaging chip that will either be 1/8", 1/4", 1/2", usually there is some variance there as some are a fraction of a fraction of an inch bigger or small depending on the manufacturer.

[AmigoKumeyaay]

Here's a great site, complete with forums:

Best Camcorders - CamcorderInfo.com

[wardancer]

J'sD : I think in the first video the operator had very little knowledge of the camera ! The focus was bad , as was the concentration . Probably didn't understand the true meaning of the camera or the history. I think also there was a lack of understanding of the audio. I couldn't understand it....sounded like a foreign language !
The second video was much better ! I understood the audio just fine and they obviously understood the true meanings and history of their camera. Their focus was much more in tune with the world !
I hope that's the answer you were looking for !

[Toolbox]

So JD is thinking about a video camera. I saw these two videos and need ur help in choosing the quality of the video.

Here's the first video:

YouTube - Men's Traditional-Crow Hop - 7th Spring Pow Wow Uniejów 2009

So JD, are you actually thinking of buying a video camera?

[Joe's Dad]

LOL I was...kinda.

I got the 720 HD recorder on my Droix X, just found out I won a Flip HD camera and looked at a Nikon camera with video capabilities on black Friday morning.

But...what I was seeing how many would catch the cowboys doing NDN dancing vs the NDNs doing NDN dancing!

I was at the Fantasy Springs powwow last night and there was a guy next to me with a 30X optical zoom camera and was burning CDs on the spot.

What I need is to find out if there's any A/V software available to convert .3GPP files to .Mpeg or .avi or something. The free software wants to leave a watermark.

[Grits & Beans]

But...what I was seeing how many would catch the cowboys doing NDN dancing vs the NDNs doing NDN dancing!

YouTube - Men's Traditional-Crow Hop - 7th Spring Pow Wow Uniejów 2009

dead giveaway funny guy

you didn't think that i didn't catch that didya?