Hello

I have got myself a little DVR recorder so next step is a bullet cam, but what one.

CMOS looks like a load of rubbish so will not bother with one of them, so now a couple of choices.

Sharp seem to make the lower end, 420 lines.

Sony the top end, 420, 480, 520, 580.

Now I have tried to look at previews on sites, 420 looks pretty grainy, but 480/520 is looking pretty good but is it worth the extra for a 520 camera?

Anyone got any vids I can have a looksee using 480/520 sony powered stuff.

NB/ If I record straight from the TV on to my DVR then play back on my laptop its comparable with BBC iplayer quality.

Of course anyone got a camera going cheap let me know

Cheers Mark

You also need to consider the audio quality, I have a bullet cam that came with a dvr the picture is good but the audio is crap when you film in the car all you can hear is a constant noise, it appears that the microphone is way too sensitive. I have seen bullet cams where the mic can be placed away from the cam they appear to have better sound quality.

stick the mic in a padded bag, that sorted the noise for me.

Microphone in a condom usually kills most buffeting sound, but usually you need a remote mike.

quote:

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Originally posted by oldtimer
Microphone in a condom usually kills most buffeting sound, but usually you need a remote mike.

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Sony 480 is more than adequate if you're using a composite analoge connection ie. the AV in on a DV a camera.

On my Striker I use a remote mic tucked out of the air buffeting. On our Radical Clubsport I used a "Zorst" mic from DogCamSport.co.uk which only records the really loud stuff without destortion.

Example clip from a Radical Clubsport round Combe

[Edited on 9-2-09 by bimbleuk]

Great fun to watch but the picture quality is wee awfull.

Is it the web hosting site that is rubbish or the camera?

What compression does the DVR use? I have a 520 lines bullet camera and DV cam but compress down to mpeg2 for storage (720x576, 25fps). The quality is excellent but it's a right pain having to process/compress everything. I'm therefore thinking about a DVR.

This results in a 300Mb file for about 10 mins of footage so anything you see on the net is compressed much further. I'll do a short clip at full resolution tonight. Be interested to see if anyone's DVR experience compares. TVM.

trawl round some of the cycling sites - quite a few peeps have these as helmet cams to record bad motorist behaviour.

ive got a 4KAM set up (google 4KAM) their mics are espically set up for car/bike noise but the wind may be a problem. that said, the mics are remote and can be placed anywhere. Good bit of kit. need to work out how to edit video next

Here's a sample from my camera at proper res. It's compressed (MPEG2) but it's still very close to the quality straight from the cam. Be interested in any feedback compared with a DVR.

http://www.filefactory.com/file/afhfg69/n/smaller_mpg

just downloading it now. 4kams DVR is good value @ £169

seems good, i would say around the same as a solid state DVR. i would have thought the camera has more to do with it?

Where do you place your mic please?

The compression has an impact too. I put the mic in the passenger footwell. Out of the wind.

thats what i was planning on trying, basically under the dash somewhere. Looking at your vid again i rate the quality as very good, you could do a lot worse!

my camera has the mic in the bullet camera not seperate this is why I have a noise issue tried everything to reduce the noise, the camera body increases the noise levels, I will be disconecting the mic and making it seperate from the camera to get around the problem

Thanks Jubal

That's a nice clear image, 520 lines does it for me, I suspect its better than my DVR recorder.

Cheers Mark