Video Camcorders

imported
#1

Curious to know if anyone hikes with a video camera to record their hike? If so, what models seem best for the rigors of the trail?

Jim

#2

Hey Jim,

I have the Fujifilm finepix 6.3mp camera, and a Soy DVD cam. The DVD cam is great. You can take enless pics and have up to an hour hour of film. I would lean towards taking the camera though as it takes excelent pitures and can aso take good quality video. Unless you’re thinkiong about documenting your hike in it’s entirety the camera would be the better option. You can get 512mb cards which can hold up to 4000 regular quaity pictures (130kb average). If you had a good system of bouncing home a 512mb card for film only you could easily document your hike. The advantage of the Fujifim is it’s size and weight, roughly 3" by 2" by 3/4". Check it out online, I’m thoroughly happy with mine. It comes to work with me every day (at a farm) and has been dropped rained on, snowed on etc. It still works just great. Keeping it in a Ziploc inside it’s case is sufficient protection from the elements. The battery life is also excellent. Again either charging it in towns or having batterys bounced along the trail would work just fine.

Cheers

Cheers

#3

I did the “bounce my SD cards home” thing on my SoBo last year, it worked pretty well with 3 128(?)mb flash cards.
Make sure the person you are sending them to is responsible, well organized, and dedicated to the uniform preservation of you store of memories.
Which cameras are good for prolonged out door use? I want to upgrade for my upcoming PCT hike and waterproof is a #1 concern. I dropped my other one in a river in PA. It has taken foggy pictures ever since.

spider

#4

I have carried a Sony VX-1000 and a Canon Optura Xi on the Continental Divide Trail in Montana/Idaho. Both record on mini-DV tapes and give good picture quality. The Canon is lighter, so I prefer it. The video that results from my trips will go into a DVD titled, CDT Diary: MT/ID, which should be out late this year or early 2007 [those of you who have watched Lynne Whelden’s How to Hike the CDT will have already seen some of this footage in ‘Crash and Burn,’ an account of the near-disaster that befell me on the first leg of this journey].
Anybody can shoot good video. All it takes is a determination to keep the camera extremely steady (by using a tripod or bracing the camera against some inanimate object), and the willpower to avoid using the zoom function too much. Of course, if you’re going to edit your video, some editing experience is invaluable. What camera you use makes little difference - it’s the skill of the operator that is important.

The Hog