Looking for Action Sports Video Camera

[ThunderChunky]

Hey everybody I am looking for another Video Camera as what I have now is a DSLR and a Sony Handicam. While I like the Sony, it lacks a lot of features I need.

 

I am looking for a Video Camera that has a high FPS, 120-600, interchangable lenses, and shoots good quality video and a wide dynamic range would be nice. Also gotta have time-lapse and other manual/custom setting like Zebra, contrast, shutter speed, apeture, etc. I am shooting mainly action/ extreme sports, but film anything really. Looking to spend under $3,500.

 

This is gonna be my go to ole reliable camera for the next few years as I try to go to school for this and need something proffesional/capable so I can start spending my money on the accessories I need (Stabilizers, Lenses, Sliders, Jibs) instead of upgrading my camera.

 

I would just use DSLR as I like the image better, but a lot of what I do is follw shots snowboarding and skateboarding and other like shots and a DSLR is just not meant for this.

 

I am looking at the JVC GC-PX100 but I am pretty sure the lens is not interchangable and everything else I find that would fit my bill has the standard 60p or 60i.

 

I've searched around and haven't gotten much so I figured I'd ask here and someone might know of something I'd missed.

[brunerww]

Hi ThunderChunky – it sounds like what you're looking for is a $1698 (body only) Panasonic DMC-GH4. It looks like a DSLR, but it is not (no mirror to block your viewfinder).

 

But it behaves like a camcorder – the viewfinder actually works while you're shooting video (so does the autofocus).  It has interchangeable lenses and is compatible with power zoom lenses.  It doesn't have a DSLR's stupid 30 minute continuous recording limit.  It has focus peaking, zebras, color bars, SMPTE time code, master pedestal, gamma curve adjust, intervalometer for timelapse, manual aperture and shutter adjust (you can use shutter speed or shutter angle).  The only thing from your list it doesn't have is 120fps – but it does shoot at 96fps and can produce video that looks like this:

 

SLOW MOTION:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TIME LAPSE:

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see more examples of what this camera can do on the GH4 group I moderate over on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/groups/gh4k

 

I have shot with this camera (as well as its predecessors, the GH1, GH2 and GH3), and when I leave the house on a shoot, I take a GH camera and leave the camcorder at home.

 

 

Hope this is helpful!

 

Bill

Hybrid Camera Revolution

 

 

 

[ThunderChunky]

Hey thanks for the reply!

 

That does look really promising. The only thing that makes me hesitant is the way it is a DSLR body. I am definetely going to give this a good look.

 

Did you use Twixtor for those videos? I shot at 60fps and can't get anything good below 75% playback rate.

[ThunderChunky]

Thanks. I am just curious about the slow motion because I do mine in Movie Studio and it always comes out shitting with 60fps. Was wondering if using Twixtor was the only way to get good slow motion.

 

Thanks again.

[brunerww]

Hi again, ThunderChunky – Glad to be helpful.  Sadly, I didn't shoot the slo-mo examples, but I've never heard of anyone using Twixtor with the GH4.

 

All you have to do with this camera is take the 1080/96fps and conform it to 24fps for 4X slow motion.

 

As for the GH4's form factor – I wish Panasonic had put it in a camcorder box, but they didn't 🙁

 

Perhaps someday soon, we can get something like the third party Logger's Lunchbox and overcome the ergonomic challenges of the DSLR form factor.

 

 

 

 

Cheers and good luck with your decision!

 

Bill

Hybrid Camera Revolution

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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