What should I add to this list?

[bmoney]

I’ll be shooting motocross racing. I will purchase an editing workstation after I get all of the camera equipment. Can you think of anything other than the computer that I should add to this?

Here’s my shopping list:

1. Sony DCR-VX2100

2. Sony NP-F970, L-series, Info-Lithium, Battery Pack (qty-2)

3. Sony BC-V615 Portable AC Charger for L Series Lithium-Ion Batteries

4. Bogen / Manfrotto 3221WN (055BWB) Tripod Legs with
701RC2 Fluid Head and MBAG80 Softcase – Supports 9 lbs

5. Sony LCH-FXA Hard Case – for HDR-FX1 Camcorder

6. Petrol PRC-DV Camera Rain Cover DV – for Canon GL2, GL1, Sony DSR-PD150, DSR-PD-100, DSR-PDX 10 & similar size camcorders.

7. Petrol PMH-1 Mini Monitor Hood – for 2.5″ LCD Monitors

8. Glidecam 2000 PRO Camcorder Stabilizing System – Supports up to 6 lbs

9. Audio-Technica ATW Series – Camera Mountable UHF Diversity Lavalier System with ATW-R100x Receiver, ATW-T101x Body-Pack Transmitter and MT831cT5 Lavalier Microphone with TA5F Connector (for interviews)

10. Power-2000 V-9D AC DC Mini DV 2 Way Tape Rewinder

11. Sony HVL-20DW2 20-watt Video Light – for use with L Series Batteries

12. Mini DV tapes

So there ya go. What would you add knowing that I’ll be outdoors in a dusty invironment and shooting very fast moving subjects?

Thanks!

[bmoney]

Thanks for the feedback man.

The problem getting another camera stems from the fact that I have a budget of 10K total. And although the list above comes to a total of $4,100 give or take… I still need to put together a good editing workstation. From my research, the workstation looks like it will cost around the same amount (around $4000-$4500) so the additional camera may put me in a bind.

The 20 watt light was a suggestion from B&H. I didn’t see the same light in a 50 watt. Any suggestions on that one?

Does the 2100 accept lenses? If so do know any model numbers? Man that would be great to add to the list!

Thanks again.

[bmoney]

Well I found some more accessories for the DCR VX2100 at B&H.com.
And I decided to go with your suggestion of two cameras. That decision along with duplicating some of the accessories to go with each camera, brought my total up to $8,337.77 in video equipment. Still no workstation.

My brother (mega geek) told me to check out Velocity Micro for a computer. Anyone heard of them or if their stuff is good quality?

Thanks

[Endeavor]

How about a steadicam? Not the JR but the full sized &100,000 one?

[bmoney]

WAYYYY outside my budget.

[Endeavor]

Ohhhhh! You have a budget!

[bmoney]

Sorry about that endeavor I had posted my budget in another thread and thought it was this one. It’s 10k.

And compusolver I took that advice and basically doubled everything on the list. You’re right one angle would bore people to tears. I realized that the second you mentioned it. Thanks for the feedback.

[Anonymous]

I second the motion for getting a 2nd camera. I’d add a camera before a steadicam/ stabilizer, personally. Have you considered a cheap helmet cam? The “lipstick” cams are really cool. I have used em, and they work well. If you know one of the riders, attach one to the handlebars for POV shots.

-a

[bmoney]

Well I just got the call from my investor that a check for 13k is in the mail. This is to cover the editing workstation as well as the video equipment. I didn’t budget for a helmet cam but I may need to re-think it.

It’s a great idea but as I start out, it may overload me a little. I’ll be doing to good to just handle what I’ll have. My wife is a wicked good sports photographer and I hate to pull her away from that, but for cost sake I will have to in order to man the other cam.

I did however double just about everything on the list above and had money left over to purchase a nasty editing system from Velocity Micro. It’s got a teribyte of storage, 2 gigs of RAM, a Dual Core Athlon and just about everything else worth having.

I’m pumped!!! Wish me luck.

[Anonymous]

Shoot as much “B” roll as possible. Spectator shots are really part of the big picture. Practice days are good for this. I do tons of micro-cam/helmet cam work.(over 400 so far) I’ve done mostly aviation extreme aerobatics, but now getting into mountain biking. This type of “B” roll is a big bonus when it comes to the edit. I have helmet cams made by Viosport. These will plug directly into a DV Camcorder. 300-500 bucks gets you going. I have some micro-cam video on my web site: http://www.kbvp.com Select extreme vids on the nav bar.
If you have any questions, fire away!

[bmoney]

My main question is, does the rider have to have a camcorder on their person? If so, it might be seriously risky for my sport. One, the camera could injure a rider (worse) if he falls while wearing it and two, that would be an expensive clip. LOL

Helmet cams are used quite often in my sport however and I see what you mean about the added value so I guess I need to do some research.

I’ll share my results.

[Anonymous]

Due to the vibration levels, the rider would have to wear a fanny pack for the recorder. Find a rider willing to test it out on practice runs. If they are comfortable with it, fine. Crashes are bad for the equipment, but makes great footage. I wrap the recorder in a rigid foam. I’ve been researching solid state recorders that use compact flash cards. This technology is avaible now, just have to be vary careful when looking at the recording format and it’s specs. You want mpeg4, “DVD” quality or better at 30 frames per second. Some record at less than this, so read the fine print.

[bmoney]

Ok thanks for the tip. The funny thing is, I’ve heard of a guy that rents helmet cams at big races, and I’ve heard that there is a line around his trailor to get one. I can’t imagine he is putting a camcorder on each of those peoples backs, but I guess anything is possible depending on your budget. lol

I’ll have to do some digging but I came across a helmet cam company some months back and they’re equipment looked really light and durable.

[Anonymous]

here’s the ones I have: http://www.viosport.com Adventure Cam 3 has interchangeable lens and filters.

[bmoney]

Wow! I’m impressed. And they have a great website too. Very easy to get the scoop.

Do you think the Cam II package for $578 would be good? Is it last year’s model or is just a lower grade cam? I’m too worried about eye popping footage from the head cam so saving the two hundred bucks on the Cam II over the Cam III would be desirable.

[Anonymous]

The difference between the two is resolution- the CamII is 380, Adventure cam is 520. Cam II does not have interchangeable lens. It will still work well, but you may want to opt for the Sony camcorder since it has a lanc remote control. The Canon is what I have and requires starting via the camera’s buttons. It depends on the ability of the rider to start-up the system. It’s really simple and Viosport has an on-line tutorial for all of it.

I have some videos on my web site. Go to the Nav Bar and select Extreme Vids. Some of these are pretty violent. If you are prone to motion sickness, beware! http://www.kbvp.com

[bmoney]

That’s some pretty crazy footage man. Were each of those the Adventure cams? If so that’s pretty sweet.

[Anonymous]

Sorry if I am hijacking the thread here.

However I have a couple of questions. I certainly got a sony hc42 and a 480 helmet cam from Helmetcamera.com. I needed a waterproof setup as I am using for windsurfing.

The probelm is that the image that I am getting from the setup are not that good of quality. Is it settings or is it the gear itself. I looked at the footage from the planes and mine looks nothing like that. You can see all the pixels and looks like a camera phone video.

Could you offer some advice.

Thanks,
Britt

[Author]

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