Posts Tagged ‘gadgets’
Get Great Sports Videos With Helmet Cams
Posted by Reyes Manetta in Cameras Friday, 5 June 2009 03:04 No Comments
Point of view cameras, formerly known as helmet cams has dramatically changed sports videography in the last few years. The helmet cam moniker came about because early sports video fanatics would duct tape regular videocams to their bike helmets. Things have changed quite a bit since then.
Point-of-view cameras are so called because they provide an immersive image or video from the perspective of the person shooting the video. You get to see and experience from the perspective of the main character. Point-of-view or POV camera technology has been embraced by many action sports fans and they have even found their way into more job related uses for technicians, firemen and even police tactical units. Look for helmet cameras to become mainstream in a big way over the next few years.
One popular use of this technology has been the attachment of point-of-view cameras to helmets. This technological enhancement makes it possible for people wearing helmets to capture images and videos wherever they travel. For example, a biker wearing a helmet camera can record all of the scenery that he or she experiences on a journey.
Since many helmet cams are designed by people who use them regularly in harsh outdoor environments point of view cameras benefit from their refined knowledge on making cameras that can stand tough physical and environmental abuse. That is why you can take it for granted helmet cameras are water resistant, shock-absorbent, and durable.
These extra considerations built into helmet cameras means they can handle all sorts of traveling conditions. Dirt bikers don’t need to worry about vibrations or a little bit of mud getting on their camera, skiers don’t need to hide their cam whenever a small rain drizzle appears. These extras make a big difference to action video jocks.
Of course you don’t want to lose your concentration and safety by fiddling with knobs and controls when you’re in the middle of the action. Helmet cameras are also designed to be very easy to use. Many units often have just a few buttons on the case unlike the cockpit like buttons and knobs you see on some consumer video cams.
Being able to shoot hands free is a major advantage of helmet cameras. Once mounted the user just hits the record button and shooting starts immediately. The camera takes care of focus, contrast, white balance and the other technical issues, recording until the battery dies or the memory card is full.
The actual cameras that attach to the helmets are extremely light in weight. Most users do not even notice the unit when they are wearing it. Some of the smallest units can weigh as little as 10 ounces. In most cases, the camera is covered in an aluminum shell to help it absorb any unwanted shock. Developers have performed tests to ensure that the helmet cameras can withstand a significant blow. Some units have even survived a car being driven over them.
While helmet cameras are rugged, water resistant and extremely convenient, they are not necessarily expensive. You can buy one for as little as $140 or so. Mid range units like the excellent Vholdr Contour HD go for around $300. High end models like the Vio Pov with the works can cost up to $600. These are very reasonable prices for such specialized equipment that can shoot DVD quality videos. Considering all the benefits a point of view camera brings to sports videos and with a price range to suit everybody it is hard for anyone recording sports not to consider a pov cam.
Digital Camera And Accessories Buying Should’t Be Difficult
Posted by Eric Stonebred in Cameras Wednesday, 3 June 2009 01:30 No Comments
A digital SLR is photographer’s best friend and that’s mainly because it shots some amazing images. But there’s a downside to all that: they a very robust and heavy, not to mention that the lens are detachable. That’s why finding the perfect bag for the camera can be pretty challenging. Below you’ll find a list of SLR bags along with their features.
A great camera doesn’t necessarily guarantee great pictures. I’ve seen some pretty amazing pictures taken with cheap little point and shoot cameras. Its true, sad but true. Money may not be able to buy you love and happiness, but it’s also true that it can’t buy you the camera to make you the next Annie Lebowitz. It just can’t. The only thing that can get you to take better pictures, is to learn to be a better photographer.
Lowepro Mini Trekker Classic. This backpack camera bag is perfect if you want to carry around with you two bodies and their lenses. It fits perfectly a regular SLR and its 80-200mm f/2.8 lens, five extra lenses and also an extra body.
Landscape shots capture the beauty of nature. This means that if you’re into landscape photography, the best digital SLR camera for you would be one that has settings and features that are optimal for outdoor conditions. There are some dSLRs that can capture nature’s beauty in detail, while some are better suited for indoor or portrait shots. You should go for the former if you’re into landscape photography.
Travel and the Outdoors. If you’re a frequent traveller and cannot go to different places without bringing your camera alone, it’s important that you choose a camera that’s light and easy to carry around. Of course your camera should also be able to adapt to various weather and outdoor conditions, but it’s also equally important that your camera is small and light so you can bring it with you when you go hiking, mountain climbing, etc.
If you don’t know what and aperture is, or have a basic understanding of field of depth and color matching, then just stick with the point and shoot cameras. They do much of the thinking for you.
Kids and pets will rarely pause for a photo, so it’s important that your camera can capture the quick and spontaneous movements of your subjects. This also applies to those who like taking pictures of athletes in action.
Indoor or Studio. For those who use their SLRs for studio or indoor shots, size and weight may not be the most important thing to consider in buying a digital SLR camera.
Lowepro Pro Roller Mini. This rolling camera bag looks a lot like a suitcase and it’s perfect for travel photography because it fits four lenses and two camera bodies. Also if you really need it you can always attach an extra tiny camera bag or a tripod.
Facts To Keep In Mind When Digital Camera Shopping
Posted by Eric Stonebred in Cameras Wednesday, 3 June 2009 00:10 No Comments
When looking for a digital camera deal, you might consider looking online for some of the best deals around. You can find every digital camera made online. The only thing you cannot do is try the camera for size as well as how comfortable it feels in your hand.
The best thing to do is find a camera or two online and then comparison shop locally to see if the camera is what you want. You can also check to see if the store can beat the price of the online camera. In most cases, you will find that buying online is more affordable even with shipping.
The other used digital camera tips and tricks are more for advanced users, but easy enough for the beginner to check as well. Take the batteries out and then place them back in the camera to make sure there are no errors reported. Take the memory card out and then place it back in the camera.
It’s not a very lightweight camera, but not hard too, being comfortable to hold. It’s 6x optical zoom will bring an object or a subject twice as close to you. You can get the optional conversion lenses, but they are expensive.
The camera has four scene modes (like night and portrait) five picture quality/size settings and three sharpness levels. It’s included memory allows it to store up to eight pictures of the highest quality or 16 of the previous level of quality. It also has a macro mode for objects under four inches away from the camera and a soundless AVI movie shooting of limited-quality feature.
If you find a camera for one hundred dollars that has less features and functions that a two hundred dollar camera, chances are, you are not going to get the best deal with the cheaper camera. Always look around and compare the camera and the accessories that come with the digital camera before selecting the best deal.
Good camera prices, and good digital cameras, don’t always find themselves on the same shelf. There are however deals out there for the savvy consumer, who knows good Digital Camera Recommendations, when he sees it.
I’m Still Hunting For The Perfect Digital Camera
Posted by Eric Stonebred in Cameras Tuesday, 2 June 2009 02:39 No Comments
Minolta digital camera reviews help consumers decide on which camera is the best for them. The reviews are from users that have bought the cameras and have used them. The technical reviews from the manufacturer are also useful to see what features the camera has and what technology is used to perfect your photographing experience.
Look for a camera that has some functions that will delight the kids, but you do not need to buy them a camera that you would like. Chances are, any camera a parent would like is going to be too technical for kids to, learn how to use.
Most people nowadays claim the automation did/does not benefit the user of the camera. Many people feel that they are not as user friendly compared to the simple SLR cameras made previously. Users were getting confused at the idea of the automation feature. Many preferred a simple “point and shoot cameras”, rather having to learn how to use the complicated auto SLR cameras. Soon,
Minolta came up with a solution for this. In 1981, they released a midrange SLR camera. It had consumers shocked and excited because the camera went back to the basics, where user friendliness was the priority. The camera was a big seller, and it was one of the most successful cameras of the time.
The camera is known for bringing an exciting atmosphere to the somewhat boring photography market during that time In the 80′s. It set a trend for many cameras to come, as it was easy to use, user friendly, with no strings attached. The camera also had a “fun” feature to it, in which it had three exposure control modes. Many users like this because it was quite basic.
The system used by the camera (called MPS), works on a basic focus and shoot. The shutter and aperture speed are set over a wide range automatically, while viewfinder readout speeds being set simultaneously. The system used was made to be able to keep the fastest speeds as light dims, and would beep so the photos do not turn out blurry (if the camera was not still).
While Casio is one of the best when it comes to high quality digital cameras for kids, they’re certainly not the only game in town. There are equal and better cameras around, you just need to know where to look.