southerndownhill.com - Forum

i am looking into getting my self a decent set up to make bike films but seein as most TVs now day are widescreen it seems abit pointless gettin a camera that only records in 4:3 so my questions are these:

1. whats the best kind of camera to go for (ive been looking at canon xm1/xl2 that kind of thing) it must be able to record in 16:9 though
2. are there any helmet cams out there that also record in wide screen?
3. helmet cams need an external source to record to any suggestions which would be ideal to stick in a bag to connect to it again i must emphersise these must all record in wide screen.

any help is much appreciated
cheers 

I've got a Sony HDR-SR12 HD camera, which records in 16:9 at 1920 x 1080 resolution. It really is a great camera, and I highly recommend it.

I have been looking for a 16:9 helmet camera, but have yet to find one.

just letterbox it like a ghetto pro!

anyway for £600 ish (im guessing your going 2nd hand so guessing thats your budget)

this is what id get
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000P4SZ80/30000273-21/?m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

as you dont really get much for that price and id rather upgrade with 35mm lenses and get a mini letus than waste my money on a xl1 which I dont really rate that highly as there a bit over glorified to general public it seems.

depends what your filming tho and how quick you are at setting up ect as there is no doubt that the hv20 needs a lot of work about tweaking for shots as most of it is software based bullshizzle which is a shame but for the monies and pic quality you will be hard pushed to find much noicer.

Are you mad?

He wants a video camera to film bikes with, what the hell use would a Letus be for that?

Second hand XM2. I got a new one for 1300 and it's great, does everything I need it to do.

xm2 are a good call well better than xl1.

i didnt say he wanted to use the letus for biking but its very noice for scenery and landscape profiling.

What makes the XM2 better than an XL1?! There's a massive difference in quality between the XL1 and the XM series!

gettin confussed now is it the XL series or the XM series im best to go for then?

The XM series is smaller, lighter and more easy to operate for a beginner. The XL series is much larger, heavier, shoulder mounted and has extremely in depth manual controls.

Personally I would say you would be best going for a Sony VX series, better camera all round than a Canon XM. Can't remember if the VX 2000 can shoot widescreen, but it probably can. Bear in mind that all of these type cameras are native 4:3 and only record "widescreen" by cutting off the top and bottom of the image.

If you come up with a budget range then people will be able to advise you much better.

i would say for the whole set-up id probably spend 1500 but i do have the funds to go over this if it is really a must