Camcorders for chasing: 2019 edition

[Bill Hark]

Well, that was useless. The CES 2021 is over, and I couldn't find any new camcorders that were announced.

 

[B. Dean Berry]

We may be at a point of diminishing returns at the moment, as pertains to video camera and capture development. I mean, we are at the point were you can get small form factor 4K cameras for under a G. I don't see much more new development until 8K starts getting pimped as the next big thing, which likely won't happen until most people have 4K TVs, and 8K TVs are in the pipe.

The next 5 years will tell.

 

[Nate M.]

I used my Gopro 9 the other day for the first time. Overall I love it, but there are some issues with battery life and the weird little side door that isn't a door at all, but a mic water drain. Don't try to pry it open or you void warranty. Like many of you, I would be a buyer for a decent 4k camcorder that didn't break the bank. There aren't a lot of options and although DLSRs are great for stills, I just feel clumsy trying to get video with my Canon.

 

[Nicholas Isabella]

Just came across this thread. Sorry my post is a bit long since this thread was camcorder specific but I figured I'd include where my current thinking is. Thought I'd chime in with my camera gear for the upcoming season. For a few years I used a Panasonic 4k camcorder. The built in stabilization and the zoom capabilities are great. But over time as I get into more documentary style videos including behind the scenes stuff of our actual chase the camcorder limitations start to show. I find that cinematic quality just isn't there. Charles Ryan Mauk alluded to this in another thread (shooting 8bit video vs higher end 10 bit / pro res raw quality). Shooting in raw video is similar to editing a JPG image vs a raw image with a dslr. You have a lot more control in post processing with exposure, shadows, highlights, etc. The downside is achieving these codecs hasn’t always been cheap but they are now. These codecs use to be restricted to cameras that cost $7000+. But many sony and nikons (the Nikon z6 is the one I use) mirrorless dslrs allow pro res raw with an external recorder like the Atomos. The file sizes are much bigger but it records directly to a SSD. The downside as mentioned above is having to switch lenses depending how far away the storm is. The zoom isn’t the same as a camcorder but I can film up to a mile or two away with my longer lens. The lenses and camera also have built in stabilization making run and gun shooting easy. It gives me greater depth of field / Bokeh that a camcorder just isn't capable of doing unless you step up to the pro ones. With that being said, here is my camera gear I plan on using.

Nikon Z6 with the atomos recorder and a rode microphone.
Nikon D750( mostly used for timelapsing and stills)
Some lenses include:
Nikon 24-70 F4 Z. (Planning on getting the 2.8).
Sigma 14-24 2.8
Sigma 70-200 2.8
Sigma 150-600
Nikon 50mm 1.8

Panasonic 4k camcorder. The majority of the time this will be my dedicated streaming camera. It stays mounted in the windshield connected to my laptop. I stream on twitch and it's easy for the weather channel to pick up the feed.

Gopro Hero 8. Usually this stays mounted to the front bumper. I can control it via and app and usually use this for a timelapses. I have a battery pack that attaches giving me 6 hours of shooting. Also toying around with running a constant power cord to it under the hood.

Go Pro hero 4. My first gopro I picked up a few years ago. Lacking some of the fancy new features but gets the job done. Usually keep this facing backwards on the outside for some extra B roll footage in my videos.

New this year is a few cheap knockoff action cameras from Amazon. They are surprisingly good 4k quality. I mount a few of these inside the vehicle facing us. One on my side and one on the side of my chase partner. Another dead center dashboard facing back. These are really good to capture discussion and reactions during chases. I use to be focused on just outward facing videos of the storms but I also want to document behind the scenes stuff. Pop a 256gb micro SD card in and it's good for the entire day.

Insta360 ONE R 360 camera. I got this a few weeks ago so I'm still learning all the features. Great investment as you can really do a lot of neat tricks with this camera.

DJI Phantom 4 drone. Had this for quite a few years and it never let's me down. It's bulky and takes up space but the quality is great. I chase the plains often but I also live on the east coast with less than ideal terrain so the drone really comes in handy.

 

[Mark Stephens]

I switched a few years ago from separate camcorder and DLSR to a Nikon DLSR that can also take video. I used to try to juggle the two, and decided it was just more of a distraction that was taking me out of the moment. It’s already hard enough to balance the choice of just watching vs capturing, let alone two different modes of capture with two different devices. There are still some inefficiencies in switching between modes, and holding the camera for video is a little cumbersome, but it’s still better than fumbling around with two different pieces of equipment. Less to carry with me too, considering I’m a chase vacationer that has to fly out with luggage and equipment. Not sure about going with just a phone though, at least on the iPhone I know the video zoom is not very powerful and even less powerful than the phone’s still photo zoom.

Jim, Do you know what model of Nikon DLSR you were using? I'm looking into those now. Thanks!

 

[Rick Schmidt]

I just recently made the decision to switch from camcorder to DLSR video. The low end Sony Handycam digital I have been using Isn't any better quality than my old VHS Panasonic that I used to used back in the '90s. One advantage of the camcorders for me has been mounting it on the dash. I have a pair of Nikon D3300s, with a variety of lenses. The D3300 is new enough that it converts to 1080dpi video with one flip of a switch. I made the decision recently when I was photographing bald eagles at Loess hills Wildlife Refuge, NW of St Joseph, Mo. It changed my mind, although it might be slightly less convenient setting it up.

 

[Ethan Schisler]

I will be sticking with my A7SIII this season again. I sold my AX100 back earlier last spring in favor of this camera. While it is superior in many many ways, I do miss the AX100 for just being able to zoom with the touch of a button. I can do the same on my A7SIII, but it is more dependent on what lens I'm using (so there is more flexibility there), but as far as complicated factors go, it is a lot more complicated setup. I'm still working on an in car mount. Recently bought the converter for the Gripper 115 to turn it into the XL version and so far its holding my camera up, I haven't traveled extensively with it though. My main worry is the suction cup falling and damaging the camera or lens. Seems to hold pretty good in cold weather, it is hot weather I worry about though.

I should note the EVF on the A7SIII is absolutely beautiful, so I guess one downside is that it makes me want to take photos while I'm shooting footage. You can get pretty good screen caps of 4k video that you can edit in photoshop and they will turn out to be usable photos. However even the 12.9mp sensor is good enough to blow prints up on your wall. I have a 12mp photo blown up into a 24X36 canvas on my living room wall as a matter fact.

 

[JamesCaruso]

Jim, Do you know what model of Nikon DLSR you were using? I'm looking into those now. Thanks!

Hi Mark,

Its the D5300. Quite a number of years ago that I bought it, I’m sure there are much better versions/technologies now, even on the used market.

My thinking has changed somewhat since my post that you quoted, where I said I wouldn’t want to go with just an iPhone. That’s still literally true, I wouldn’t want to have *only* an iPhone, but when I chased alone for the first time in 2021 I realized how valuable it is to be able to video one-handed with the iPhone. Taking video with the DLSR is a cumbersome, 2-handed exercise. I am hoping to get one of the newer iPhones and will probably weigh camera/video functionality much more than in previous iPhone upgrades that were primarily business-driven decisions.

 

[Brett Roberts]

So, the thread still getting bumped three years after I started it really says something about how bleak the market is! Figure I should give a quick update, since I caved last spring and chose what I determined to be my least bad option for 4K/modern video.

This is going to sound comically dumb to mirrorless gurus, but I ended up with:

• A used Sony A7r ii (~$900)
• Sony E PZ 18-105mm G f/4 OS

What's really dumb about this: the lens is for APS-C (aka 1.5x crop) and does not take advantage of the full-frame sensor. So why did I end up with the A7r ii? Well, it was about the same price as newer Sony crop bodies that shared the A7r's in-body stabilization, which I really wanted for video. (To be clear, the A7r series features "Super 35" mode for video, where only the APS-C subset of the sensor is used).

This setup ran me about the same as the mid-range Sony 4K camcorders, but it gives me substantially better low light performance... at the expense of ergonomics and size. I was attracted to the 18-105 because of its wide focal range and its power zoom feature, which at least allows me to zoom smoothly during video like a camcorder if needed.

Using it last spring was a learning experience, and I totally flubbed focus for portions of every tornado I saw. Still, I think I'm reasonably happy with it... I just need to practice focusing more before next season arrives. A couple samples shot with this setup:

Vernon storm:

Sudan/Earth storm:

In theory, I could get a Nikon F adaptor and use the lens lineup I'm already using for stills on the A7r ii, but I haven't messed with that yet. Honestly, I'm now stuck with the same paralysis about where to go next with my gear for stills as I was with video a couple years ago... but that's for another thread.

 

[Mark Stephens]

Hi Mark,

Its the D5300. Quite a number of years ago that I bought it, I’m sure there are much better versions/technologies now, even on the used market.

My thinking has changed somewhat since my post that you quoted, where I said I wouldn’t want to go with just an iPhone. That’s still literally true, I wouldn’t want to have *only* an iPhone, but when I chased alone for the first time in 2021 I realized how valuable it is to be able to video one-handed with the iPhone. Taking video with the DLSR is a cumbersome, 2-handed exercise. I am hoping to get one of the newer iPhones and will probably weigh camera/video functionality much more than in previous iPhone upgrades that were primarily business-driven decisions.

Thanks for the updated advice, Jim. This was the latest thread I could find on camcorders!

Being someone whose primary purpose of storm chasing is not the photography aspect, I am okay with not having state of the art equipment. My feeling has typically been my iPhone 11 would be sufficient, however whenever I go back to look at my pictures/videos I feel slightly disappointed. To my understanding the iPhone is not great for long distance.

Your updates here are quite helpful thought given that I am more often than not chasing solo. It also does not help that I have no real experience filming anything other than with my iPhone! Maybe I'll just stick with the basics for another year, and stop overthinking it.

 

[Ethan Schisler]

So, the thread still getting bumped three years after I started it really says something about how bleak the market is! Figure I should give a quick update, since I caved last spring and chose what I determined to be my least bad option for 4K/modern video.

This is going to sound comically dumb to mirrorless gurus, but I ended up with:

• A used Sony A7r ii (~$900)
• Sony E PZ 18-105mm G f/4 OS

What's really dumb about this: the lens is for APS-C (aka 1.5x crop) and does not take advantage of the full-frame sensor. So why did I end up with the A7r ii? Well, it was about the same price as newer Sony crop bodies that shared the A7r's in-body stabilization, which I really wanted for video. (To be clear, the A7r series features "Super 35" mode for video, where only the APS-C subset of the sensor is used).

This setup ran me about the same as the mid-range Sony 4K camcorders, but it gives me substantially better low light performance... at the expense of ergonomics and size. I was attracted to the 18-105 because of its wide focal range and its power zoom feature, which at least allows me to zoom smoothly during video like a camcorder if needed.

Using it last spring was a learning experience, and I totally flubbed focus for portions of every tornado I saw. Still, I think I'm reasonably happy with it... I just need to practice focusing more before next season arrives. A couple samples shot with this setup:

Vernon storm:

Sudan/Earth storm:

In theory, I could get a Nikon F adaptor and use the lens lineup I'm already using for stills on the A7r ii, but I haven't messed with that yet. Honestly, I'm now stuck with the same paralysis about where to go next with my gear for stills as I was with video a couple years ago... but that's for another thread.

I have the A7RIII and even with my A7SIII, I notice I have to pay attention to the view finder and histogram if I'm in auto-focus vs manual focus mode. I was out a couple days ago doing some high speed videography of eagles and basically screwed up the whole shot because the foreground was too light and it caused my subject to be way out of focus (the ice in the background was crystal clear though!). I find this is mostly a problem on longer focal lengths, so I usually do a manual focus over-ride and just play it manual there lol. I haven't had to shoot many tornadoes at 600mm yet though, just one at 400 and the photo still turned out like crap, because it was like 20+ miles from us. But I do agree it is nice having that APS-C feature and still getting a 4k readout, having the clear image zoom as well, is also very nice. Allows you to effectively double your lenses focal length in zoom without giving up any quality. This should be located in the setup menu under zoom, you change optical to clear image. Note: This is only available for video and JPEG images, not RAW, unless you have the Alpha 1, it does RAW with CIZ enabled, but that's another story.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

I decided to go the Canon EOS R route, with the adapter for my existing lenses. Keeping my Sony CX900 for mostly dashcam on my suction mount, but plan to shoot video and stills with the EOS R.