CANON DM-MV790 VIDEO CAMERA
CANON DM-MV790 VIDEO CAMERA
Video Clips. Duration : 1.08 Mins.
CANON DM-MV790 VIDEO CAMERA
CANON DM-MV790 VIDEO CAMERA
CANON DM-MV790 VIDEO CAMERA
CANON DM-MV790 VIDEO CAMERA
CANON DM-MV790 VIDEO CAMERA
VIXIA HF M500 Video Cameraa Sony HDR-CX190 High Definition Handycam 5.3 MP Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom (2012 Model)
With the age of digital imaging, nearly every (shallow water) diver can be involved with underwater photography. This review is of a true beginner camera outfit. The Chinese made, SVP Acqua digital outfit includes the camera system and waterproof case for under 0. There are obvious limitations and we'll cover them in this review.
Don't expect professional results with this camera, but you'll be surprisingly pleased with the versatility this little compact outfit provides. With all the features you'd expect to find in popular brand 'point and shoot' cameras, this compact system will easily fit into your BCD pocket. The specifications are listed after our review comments. Since the factory marketing brochure supplied these, we cannot confirm or dispute them.
First of all, before using this camera... view the enclosed DVD instruction manual provided with the camera. There are many features and settings that you'll need to know before you get out on the water to use your camera system. We've used many different brands and all seem to have some logical settings and some not-so-logical procedures. Like most 'point and shoot' cameras, there is a delay between pushing on the shutter and having the actual shutter operation. After you become familiar with the operation of the camera and the features you're ready for the underwater part.
Like any housing, you need to keep the housing clean and free from sand or grit that could create a leak. Since the main seal is not really an o'ring, I was very careful to clean the surfaces with a cotton tip (Qtip) and apply some o'ring grease to the surface as well as a thin film on the seal itself. The seal is sort of a wedge shape, so it should provide a good positive pressure seal. The clean part is more for all the little control buttons that allow you to change settings of the camera underwater. We'll get into the best settings we found when using the camera underwater.
When they say the housing is good to 15 meters or around 33 feet, they are not lying. Not that we were trying to flood the housing or anything, but at 60 feet the camera is not operational because the pressure is squeezing the controls and shuts the camera off. At 40 feet, you might get the camera to work, but don't count on changing the settings. At 35 feet the camera seems to work fine with all the features and settings operational. For many divers, this will be too limiting because most of your dives will be deeper than 35 feet. However, keep in mind that the red/yellow/orange end of the spectrum is filtered out beyond this depth too.
The camera and housing combination are well matched and easy to operate. With the clear plastic housing, you can easily see the settings on the camera. Like most digital displays certain angles are more difficult to see, but with the proper shading and angle everything is visible on the 2 inch screen. Even though you can change the lens focal length from wide angle to zoom, we kept the setting on wide angle for the dives during the whole process because of the water. Keep this in mind for all underwater photography; stay close to your subject and use the widest angle possible for better results.
For the still shots, the camera was set for the strobe to fire with each shot. This uses up your batteries faster, but if the subject is closer than 8 feet, you'll have better imaging and color. The best results were our macro shots where we set the camera for 'close-up' and used the flash. When using the movie mode, you'll be impressed with the sharpness of the images, but don't expect high quality audio. The housing must absorb a lot of the sound as much of the underwater audio is muted. More than likely, you'll edit with some musical background anyway.
The color balance was a little off. We did change the settings according to the instructions and the results were that the color balance was a little on the blue side for topside shots. This was not an issue for the underwater shots as the greenish tint of the water was eliminated. Most of the color balance issues can be handled in the editing phase.
The claim of being 12.0 mega pixels is a little deceiving because this is the 'hardware interpolation' not the 'image resolution' which is 5.0 mega pixels. All in all, we were not disappointed in the quality results of the better pictures. However, some of the shots showed camera shake even with the built in flash. This means that the shutter does adjust for the amount of light, so it's important to squeeze the cameral and hold it as still as possible.
We used an 8 GB SD card because we expected to take a lot of video and had ample memory space for two dives. We didn't use the provided USB cable because we use a card reader to our laptop and then back up the memory to a portable hard drive. The power source uses two triple A Alkaline Batteries, so it's not a problem having new batteries for each dive. We didn't use the 'voice recorder' feature, but from our underwater video experience, it would not be recommended inside the underwater housing.
Now for the bottom line advice on this gear: If you plan to take your underwater imaging seriously, save your money for a more comprehensive system. This could be the perfect outfit for a sport diver that wants to share their diving experience with their friends and family. For less than 0 (prices range from -100), not including your SD Memory card or batteries, it is a value. The SVP cameras are available at some dive shops and are directly marketed from several importers online. The next "point and shoot" underwater outfits, without an external strobe, will most likely cost over 0. So, if you are going on vacation and thinking about having your own digital camera outfit for shallow water, this is the answer. Of course, for around at most diving centers you could rent a camera with everything included. Sometimes the choice is not easy, but you can know a lot more from someone who has tested the SVP out. It is a great still and video camera outfit for around the water and underwater to about 35 feet.
Specifications from the Manufacturer:
· Waterproof design: Don't be afraid to take this Aqua camera to the water-even underwater. The waterproof case will protect this camera to depths of 30 feet.
· Very sleek and small camera design
· Takes Pictures, Video, and Audio Clips with it's built in microphone.
· Resolution sensor gives you the option of taking: 5 MP, 3.1 MP, 1.3 MP, and 300K Resolution Images.
· Takes, 12 and 8 MP pictures through hardware interpolation.
· Movie mode: When a picture isn't enough, shoot 640 x 480 (VGA) video, with sound, at 30 frames per second.
· 2.0" LCD screen: This compact color screen has plenty of room to help you compose your shots.
· Zoom: The 8x digital zoom enlarges pixels to fill the frame with your favorite part of the image.
· Adjustable Flash
· Self timer: 2/10/10+2 Seconds
· Tripod Capabilities
· Onboard White Balance
· Waterproof to 50ft
· 16MP Built in Memory, Takes SD Cards to expand memory.
· Power Source: 2 triple A Batteries
· Time Stamp Options: Off/ Date only/ Date and Time
· Comes with software, hookup via USB 1.1
· Video/TV out supported- Via video out cable.
· Automatic power mode- Prolong batteries life by auto-switching the camera power off.
· Auto Flash, Auto Flash with Red-eye reduction, Slow Sync, Fill-in Flash, Flash off, Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Tungsten, Sunset, Custom etc...
· MULTI-LINGUAL INTERFACE 8 Menu Languages including: English, Portuguese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, T. Chinese, and S. Chinese.
Home video surveillance cameras are a great option if you want to beef up security in your home, and gain the ability to watch over your possessions, your property, and even family members. Regardless of exactly what you need a surveillance camera for, they are extremely useful. However, they are also extremely expensive to set up and install when you buy one in a store or online. Keep reading to learn how you can make your own video surveillance camera to keep an eye on your home and family, quickly, easily and cheaply.
Even a basic camera system that you can purchase from most general electronics stores will probably cost you upwards of 0; this is simply too much to be paying for the right to security and safety for you and your family. However, what you probably didn't know is that you can actually make a home video surveillance camera using a webcam or webcam-capable digital camera or camcorder.
This is beneficial in a number of different ways- firstly, you may already have a webcam lying around your house, or if not, they are cheap to purchase (compare around for a brand new webcam against 0 minimum for a store purchased security camera) Secondly, webcams are extremely discrete and inconspicuous; nobody would take a second look at a webcam, let alone assume that it was being used as a security camera. This really is covert security at its best.
You set up your webcam in a position to monitor whatever you want, and then connect it to a computer (either desktop or laptop) Here's the clever part- there is actually video camera surveillance software available on the Internet, often included for free with home video surveillance guides, that will then allow you to check a live feed of your camera from any computer in the world. What's more, you can even use your cell phone to check the live camera feed, now isn't that convenient?
I bought my Panasonic NV-GS11 video camera from eBay and for the cost, it seemed perfect. I liked the feel of the camera, it's simplicity of use, until I tried to transfer my movie to a PC and that's when the trouble started!
Normally, when you connect a camera using the USB connection, your PC recognises the device and you can use it straight away. I had no end of problems getting the PC to do this and I thought the driver was at fault.
The answer, in hindsight, is that in the menu there are 2 items for the USB Function, "web camera" and "DV Studio" - the software for acquiring still photos from the camera. Choose "web camera", connect your camera to the PC via the USB connection and switch on the camera using the Playback mode. Check "My Computer" and there should be a video camera icon with "USB Video Device" beside it. Double click onto this icon will open up a page, where if you start your movie from the camera, you can see the results on the PC screen. Unfortunately, there's nowhere on this page where you can save the movie itself.
I searched with Google and found the answer. Many people had the same issue but there didn't seem to any answers. Eventually, I found one reply on a forum way down the page which provided the solution.
Download Windows Movie Maker from the Microsoft page. This is for Windows XP:-
http://www.download.com/Windows-Movie-Maker-Windows-XP-/3000-13631_4-10165075.html
Open Movie Maker and you will see " Capture from video device" This allows you to save your movie into a directory of your choice and later burn the movie onto a CD using your favourite software.
I hope this is of some help to you all with the same problem I had. If you need any further assistance, drop me an email to brianparkin@parkinspatch.com
From shooting squirrels in your backyard to calling coyotes in Arizona. Whether it's spring or fall doesn't matter to most hunters. Hunters will take the time to scope and catch their hunt. What better way to catch the action of the whole hunting adventure, than with a helmet cam. Catch your hunting trail videos with a the best cameras available on the market. One of the most important decisions in the camera buying process is picking between one cable helmet cameras and multiple wire cameras. Obviously, the biggest question is how many wires do you want to have to deal with? Learn how to be a better hunter with recording your tactics and the behavior of the hunted.
The other thing to think about is quality of low light videos. With an sub .1 lux monochrome camera, night video will remain in black and white. The VIO Pov is a quality proven camera with clarity and resolution making the picture much clearer. The picture quality also varies between camera brands and lighting conditions. It is also important to take into consideration the range of the object you are recording. Using a lens with the wide field of view, such as the 110 degrees, will insure a steady shot. With this helmet camera system there's no need for bulky recorders, battery packs and no mess of tangles wires. The compact recording unit connects to the camera head via a single water-tight, detachable cable. Instantly playback recorded videos and watch them on the built-in 2 inch LCD screen display or on your TV. Transfer files to your PC via the USB port for editing and posting. Hunting outdoor video cameras are rugged weather resistant and will with hold most harsh weather conditions. The operating temperatures of these cameras are from below 14 degrees to over 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Using this hunting video camera system with a remote control will save time and effort. A remote allows you to hunt, instead of messing with your camera when you see your target.
A helmet camera makes a great gift for the hunt club outdoor hunting enthusiast in your family. Whether you're bird hunting, boar hunting, elk hunting, trapping or fishing, be sure to record every last moment on video with a helmet cam. When purchasing a helmet cam, it is recommend to contact a reputable, established dealer , with toll free number for any questions and special holiday pricing. A friendly, helpful voice will reassure you that you your helmet cam purchase will be handled with attention to detail and care. Happy Hunting!
Getting the most out of your digital video camera can mean being able to create some really cool stuff. You just have to step outside the manual a bit and find the cool things you can do with your digital video camera and your editing software.
We have all seen them in a movie or a TV show, those very cool shots where they speed up time and capture a long segment of time and condense it into a very short amount of video. An example is many of the TV news stations nowadays have a camera that captures the day's weather and then they process it down to a 20 second clip to show the clouds and weather racing by on screen.
Well this technique is not just a tool in the hands of the movie makers or the big TV stations. You can do this with your digital video camera gear too. I will go into two ways that you can accomplish this effect and get some cool results for your next video project. This one is worth playing around with in order to find the right settings to get the most dramatic effect.
Technique number one is to use the camera itself to do the time lapse recording for you. Almost all digital video cameras have the ability to do an interval recording. What this means in a nutshell is that you tell the camera how long you want to record for and how long in between recordings and it will go on autopilot for you for as long as the battery lasts or the tape runs out. This is what those cameras at the convenience store do, they record a few seconds of motion every 30-60 seconds giving the overall view of the traffic in the store over time.
Now if you want to capture some time lapse in your digital video camera you will need to get into your cameras menu and find Interval Recording (or in my case Int Rec, as I use a Sony PD 150 for my camera) When you select this option you will decide how long of an interval between shots you want and how long to record each time. If you are trying to capture something that takes a long time to occur and in which not much happens quickly you will want to set the interval at around a minute and the record time as short as possible on your camera. An example would be if you wanted to record a day in the life of a flower or the clouds rolling by in the sky. Suppose however that you want to capture an event that has lots of action and occurs over a much shorter time frame. Then you would want to shorten the interval between recordings and increase the time of each recording. So in this case you might record every 15-30 seconds and record up to 2-3 seconds of video each time.
I used this technique to capture an afternoon of work being done by a team of carpenters on my house remodeling project. The result was a flurry of activity as workers raced hither and yon nailing boards, carrying equipment and building walls. I have added it to my photo collection of the project. (Hey I had to live through the project so I might as well have a great record of it for posterity!)
Now suppose you have one of the great software video editing packages on your computer to work with your digital video camera. Now you can do it in post as they say in the business. You can record any length of video you want (subject to the limitations of your tape length) and then import it into your editing program.
Sidebar:
I use Adobe Premiere Pro for my editing jobs, but I have also used Avid DV Express, Final Cut Pro, and others in the non linear editing world. These are all great programs and are very powerful products that can create some very professional looking videos. You don't have to have these products to create your own videos but if you are serious about digital video editing it might be a good idea to take a look at these options.
I digitize my raw video of the scene I am doing time lapse on into my computer (big hard drive, video eats up GB's of space) and then import the clip into my time line. From the timeline you can then select the clip with a right click. From there you will be given a menu with options depending on the software you use. Select the option that says "duration", "speed" or something similar. Change the speed of the clip so that time will speed up considerably. If you have an hour of video in the clip and want to shorten it to 2 -5 minutes then you need to increase the speed of the clip to 3 or 4 thousand percent of normal. This will require your software to render the clip at the higher speed and may take some time top process depending on the speed of your computer.
Once you have rendered the video clip at the new speed you will want to play it to see if the movie flows evenly or if you will want to readjust the speed setting to make it better. Sometimes you may want to shorten your raw video and adjust the speed down somewhat in order to get a smooth flow of action. Once you have rendered the clip at the new speed you can now cut and splice it as you see fit with the speeded up action intact. There are some things you will record that might only need a slight speed change, take for instance some digital video of your kids playing sports. Double or triple the speed of the clip and show it to them and you might have them rolling on the floor.
You can also use these techniques to capture the growth of a flower or plant over the course of days or weeks. Simply set you camera in exactly the same place at the same time each day and record an interval that works each day fro however long you want to document. May be you get the seedling just breaking soil and follow it all the way through turning into a full grown plant.
Another interesting idea is to capture the path of the moon across the night sky. Set up your camera on a tripod in a spot that can see the path of the moon for several hours. Set the camera to interval record and put the moon on one side of the frame so that it will pass across the frame as the night passes. This one may require some testing in order to get the exposure and framing right as well as the right interval to record at. Most likely you would want to set the interval as long as you can and the record time as short as you can but do a test run first to see what works.