CivicSiRacer wrote:aeronca65t wrote: Just for fun, here's a recent ~Sample Video~ from my regular Flip.Cool video to watch but the frame rate might be too high as you can see the video is not smooth.
OOOPs my bad! I had something else running in the background (just noticed). Closed the application and now it looks good sorry! :)
What was the end decision and why Keith?
Haven't really settled yet. My big concern is the fixed lens in the Flip. I've been distracted by other things, haven't been able to concentrate on this yet.
Pssst... Got to upgrade to the GoPro HD, it solves all of the problems of the "regular" one... 
Okay, I just ordered a Flip Ultra HD with a spare battery pack (free!).
I decided to go with the Flip for a few reasons. After I discovered it had a real tripod mount and could be mounted like any other camera, I took it a bit more seriously. So the main decision became: do I get a toy camera, or a higher-end one? I do like the extra abilities of the real cameras, especially the image stabilization. The Hero is simply not in the running, as I got burned too hard on the previous version. It might be awesome, but it's going to be someone else's awesome. I have trouble taking the engineering seriously with such a retarded interface.
Looking at image stabilization, it appears the Canon I'd been drawn to has some weak points. But there's a Panasonic with stabilization that's so good it's freaky - there's a Youtube video that compares them both in the same car side by side. So it was Panasonic HDC-SD20 vs Flip. In-car video shows the Flip does suffer from a lack of stabilization, but with a good mount this is kept to a minimum.
The fixed focal length of the Flip was a bit long for me - I like a fairly wide angle for in-car. Then I discovered that a lot of people attach threaded rings to the face of the Flip and attach an inexpensive lens to that. Videos show this to be fairly effective. Okay, there's an option.
But the kicker was when I thought about what bothered me with the current DV setup, and the biggest problem (besides the fact that the camera fell apart) was the effort in getting the video off the tape on to the camera. I liken it to shooting photos on film, developing them, scanning them and then manipulating them. The Flip is just so easy to use, and the Panasonic uses a fairly high-end format that would have me playing the conversion dance. That sealed it. I'm going to try the Flip and see how it does. If I go back to the Targa, I might do something else. But for track day goofing around and general having fun, I'm going to go for convenience over ultimate quality.
After all, the best camera in the world is useless if you don't use it.
I'll follow up after a couple of track days - I have four days planned in the next three weeks, including a long weekend at Laguna. Should be a good test.
Well I didn't mean to change your mind... 
And now I see that my video link never made it into my old post. Argh! Oh well. Congrats on the choice! I'll be curious to see how that works with your I/O Port mount. In my experience, it's a great mount, except on a Miata. Too much vibration got transmitted through the roll bar to it, no matter what I tried. But I was using a Digital-8 camcorder at the time, and since the Flip has no moving parts it might work OK for you. And clearly you've shot decent video with that mount before - I've watched all your Targa videos. 
At any rate, congrats! I'll look forward to seeing the results.
I look forward to your new videos!
Okay, first testing is done!
The first thing I did was to install a wide angle lens adapter. Quick and easy.
Here's the effect it had on the in-car view. Video tests with the standard lens were a bit disappointing - and interestingly seemed to be less smooth.
I mounted the camera on my IO Port rollbar mount and took it for a test drive up a fairly bumpy road to check for shake and noise. The car's got some fairly stiff springs and you can see how rough the road is, but the camera did a spectacular job. I think it's because it's so light. No buyer's remorse here!
YouTube video of the bumpy road test.
So, at the moment - big huge thumbs up!
Nicely done!
That looks awesome. Now you got me thinking.
Hey...I know that road! It looks chilly there now, though.
Good job, Keith! How does the camera deal with contrast issues with the top down vs. top up?
Keith, I'm going to sneak over there at night and steal your Targa Simulation Road.
The best part is that it's about 4 minutes from my house - and it keeps going after the end of the video. There's also some awesome mountain biking just off to the right of it. Tom, you're going to enjoy the road we take everyone on this year.
Haven't tried the camera with the top down yet. I'll see if I can get something this weekend. The video I posted is on a mostly cloudy day with the hardtop on.
Thanks to those who kept telling me to try the Flip and got me past my "it's too simple to be a real camera" preconceptions. With the addition of the wide angle, the only potential problem is that there's no way to record more than 2 hours of video at a time. I can see that being a problem at the upcoming Laguna event (I have an all-access run group pass 
) but I'll just dump the video to a laptop at lunch.
I know its a little too late, but just in case anyone else is interested in getting a similar camera. I would also suggest looking into the Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera Camcorder. One benefit of this camera is the option to plug in an external mic which you can place in the trunk to reduce the wind noise.
http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camcorders/kodak-zi8-pocket-video/4505-6500_7-33740624.html
Keith, with everything I've learned from you about Miatas, nudging you toward the Flip was the least I could do.
Nice vid! You know you need a higher angle so I won't bug you about that. As well as the video quality, I love the way the car sounds - especially the engine. It's not quite as musical to me as a Ferrari V12, but darn close!
Where did you find the adapter for the wide angle lens? What lens are you using?
Yeah, I am looking to copy your choice, wanna make something out of it?
The lens I used was a Sunpak wide angle adapter. It comes with a series of adapter rings. I took the biggest (30.5mm) and superglued it to the front of the Flip. Voila, I can now screw the wide angle lens on and off quickly and easily.
That lens is getting a bit harder to find. There's a magnetic mount version that is easy to find and $30. I hunted around a bit to find the screw-on type (got it from Best Buy and paid another few bucks) because I wanted to make sure the lens wouldn't fall off on hard hits in the car.
I use the mag mount with my aiptek and secure it by wrapping it in electical tape. Works pretty well.
You'll need to log in to post.
