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5×5 Windy Day from Rodfather on Vimeo.

First 5×5 Vignette. It was a very windy day so I took some footage of some plants & trees blowing in the wind.

Shot from Canon TX1 at 720P. The audio had a lot of wind noise even though I turned on the wind filter. It was ridiculously windy though so it was expected. My hat flew off twice during this time.

I did an experiment in post. Edited this with my 800Mhz Fujitsu U810 UMPC using Sony Vegas. While editing, the preview screen couldn’t really keep up but it wasn’t actually too bad editing HD footage on such a slow computer. I’m somewhat glad now that the Canon TX1 encodes to MJPEG. If it encoded to H.264, there would be no way I would be able to edit it since H.264 is so processor intensive.

I ended up encoding the final product to 720P WMV. It took 54 minutes to encode 25 seconds worth of footage.

I doubt I will edit HD footage on a UMPC in the near future, but it’s nice to know it’s even possible.

Download WMV from Vimeo page – 1280×720 30FPS (99MB)

One of big challenges for any videographer is reducing camera shake.  The need for stabilizers comes up very often.  I mentioned in another post a possible mini FigRig solution for the Canon TX1 using a Wii racing wheel.

I’ve compiled a list of links for cheaper alternatives to expensive solutions.  I’ll try to keep adding to the list as I find them.

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/ – $14 Steadicam “The Poor Man’s Steadicam”.  The most popular DIY Steadycam by Johnny Chung Lee.

http://www7.taosnet.com/f10/steadycam/ – More elegant looking steadicam/monopod using a cheap Walmart tripod.

http://www.cartala.com/diy.html – Modification of the $14 Steadicam.  Uses a longer cross bar with additional weight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTR5EYO0rLc – Another variant of the $14 Steadicam.  Most interesting part is the there’s no drilling for the camera mount.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7TMa-v03aE – Another project by cinepegger.  Using a bicycle wheel for a Fig Rig.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shygantic/129121710/ – PVC FigRig.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=T1aPbwcqquk – Zero Cost Steadicam.  This is what I’m using in the meantime.   All you have to do is extend a tripod and hold it in the right place.  It’s not perfect but the result is a lot better than normal handheld.

http://homebuiltstabilizers.com/greyhandheld.htm – List of DIY stabilizers for handheld cameras.

Cruise to bowling alley (unedited) from Rodfather on Vimeo.

Unedited.

My first video with my new Canon TX1. Took a cruise to bowling alley.

It was around 5PM, overcast, and raining. Basically just stuck in traffic. Somewhat of a good test to see if the autofocus would search all over the place. It wasn’t too bad though.

I had the camera mounted on a GorillaPod SLR. The video was very shaky but didn’t go into a mess of blur. The OIS did its job I guess. The shakiness was just too much.

I encoded the raw MJPEG file (2.48 GB!!) to H.264 at 3.5 Mbps with VLC player. VLC player is a very fast encoder but probably not the best quality. Especially since it only did 1 pass.

I did a bit of handheld toward the end. Someone was pulled over so wanted to see what the cops were up to.

Download MP4 from Vimeo page – 1280×720 30FPS H.264 3.5Mbps (274MB)

It appears the hybrid cam movement is in full swing. Sony announced the HDR-TG1 high definition camera.

Weighing in at only 300g, it’s appears very pocketable with its 32×119x63mm dimensions. This is now the smallest Full HD camcorder.

You can expect to record 1 hour and 50 minutes of 1080i 30 FPS video at 16Mbps on an 8GB MemoryStick. You’ll be able to snap 4 megapixel photos in camera mode and 2.2 megapixel photos while recording video. I’ll assume the video is not interrupted while taking photos like the Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1000.

As for the lens..

“Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar® 10x optical zoom lens and 2-megapixel ClearVid™ CMOS sensor with Exmor™-derived technology”

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The specs and functionality appear to be a combination of the Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1000 and the Canon TX1 which isn’t a bad thing at all.
Wish Sony would dump the MemoryStick and just go with SDHC cards though.

It has all the latest goodies such as an Easy mode and Face detection. I’m crossing my fingers for a 720P 60FPS video mode.

Using sizeasy.com, you can see it’s just a bit taller than the Canon TX1. This is most likely due to the Sony’s 2.7 inch LCD display.

Check out the video and gallery over at Akihabara news.

Good timing. I took some photos with the Canon TX1 and now Wordpress has added a gallery feature to this very popular blogging platform.

So here we go…

New Camera, originally uploaded by Rodfather.

I only checked the door two times after hearing a truck go by. Pretty good eh? Anyway, here’s what I received.

* Canon TX1
* A-Data 2GB SD card which came free with the camera
* A-Data 16GB SDHC card
* Dolica Canon Accessory pack. For only $15 it came with a mini-tripod, 2 screen protectors, case, and most importantly, a spare battery.
* Another Dolica spare battery

This should cover me for now. 3 batteries and a 16GB SDHC card.

Immediate impressions? A bit heavier than I thought. Very solid build. Trying to figure out how an AC adapter plugs into this.

I ended up choosing the Canon TX1 as my next hybrid cam. It should arrive in a few days and I’ll post my reasons and thoughts leading me to this camera hopefully later in the week.

I’m just relieved I don’t have to go through all the research anymore. I am giddy with excitement.

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Since the TX1 is so small, I tried to look up any discussion on stabilizing a small digicam for shooting video. The TX1 has Optical Image Stabilization but I’d imagine it’s still difficult to keep stable using such as small device in a non standard form factor. To achieve a nice floating-like motion, gained from using a stabilizer like a SteadiCam, would be awesome on a tiny hybrid cam.

So how about a Fig Rig? This is a wheel-like anti-shake device created by Director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas, Time Code) to gain stability with DV sized cams. There’s a bunch of DIY projects trying to emulate Manfrotto’s expensive version. Here you can build your own with only $10 in parts.

Of course this is way too big for a TX1. So.. what’s shaped like a wheel and small???

The UbiSoft Wii Steering Wheel! These are basically shells to stick a Wiimote in to try to simulate the feeling of a real racing wheel. Call it air steering.. whatever.

This one comes with GT Pro Series for the Wii but there’s a few shady looking sites selling it separate for $10. There are other cheap wheels available as well.

I don’t have either yet but it might be worth looking into. You can probably screw in a bolt to mount the TX1 in the middle. It might just work!

So ya, anyone want to try to mod that into a small DIY Fig Rig?

I doubt this is scaled right, but you get the point..

I’m looking for a new cam.. Thinking of the Sanyo Xacti HD700 or the HD1000.

I’ve been playing around with the Aiptek A-HD and a bit with the Flip Video Ultra and I’m disappointed with the CMOS sensor. It creates the typical ‘wobble’ effect. characteristic of digicams. I know the higher end HD cams from the big 3 (Sony, Panasonic, Canon), don’t have that effect with their CMOS sensors, but we’re talking about cheap webcam parts strung together and hope the chip is smart enough to figure it all out.

What appeals me with the Aipteks are the technical features, solid yet cheap build, and price to go with them. For $130, I have a 720P cam that produces H.264 video at around 4Mbps. I won’t feel bad bring an Aiptek along while surf fishing. If I end up catching the big one and have to sacrifice a cam to the Ocean, then so be it, I could always grab another.

I will always strive to be at the place where I can have a nice balance of a solid build, high tech, and portability. So, now, I’m looking a step up. Sanyo’s.. Or perhaps a Panasonic HCD-HD9 (not very durable or portable). I’m leaning toward the Sanyo HD700 though. Pocketability (!) is fairly important.

The Sanyo E1 is very appealing as well. It’s freaking water proof. You can submerge the MoFo 5 feet deep and it’ll record all that in at 640×480 using the H.264 codec. It’s a bit bulky though. I cruised over to Fry’s and compared the E1 to the C6 , which has the same build as the CG65 and HD700; the E1 is pretty huge in comparison, but it does look durable.

What’s lacking for these cheaper hybrid cams.. are the essentials to compete as a heavyweight in the camcorder field.

Let’s see:

• Opitical Image Stabilization (OIS). Much better than EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization).
• Auto/Manual Focus. Fixed lens cams have their use. For day-to-day use, autofocus is convenient. The option for manual focus is gold.
• Optics. The big players (Sony, Panasonic, Canon) all focus on their optics #1 priority. They don’t bother with cheap webcam parts. I love the pistolgrip form-factor, but it’s tough to combine a huge lens and portability. The big 3’s solution for their flash based cams are bullet shaped. House the best optics and ergonomics goes out the window.
• Standard? This is one to argue about. Sony and Panasonic are going AVCHD which has caused a bit of trouble for those trying to edit video with both Mac and PC. Every format seems have trouble working with your favorite video editor though. Basically, most people have trouble even playing 1080p/720P H.264 footage since it’s so demanding. The thought of them even editing HD footage is a shiny new computer, long, far.. away.
  For me, Sony Vegas has worked well. For you videographers/vloggers using digicams, MP4Cam2AVI has been gold for converting video to an editable format.
  Installing ffdshow also helped in viewing/editing video with the preinstalled Windows Movie Maker.