Doing Your Own High Speed Video Analysis Simply and Inexpensively

[jasonfrausto]

I think we all appreciate you taking the time to contact Casio on this issue. The hunt continues.....

Edit: Bit the bullet and bought the FH100 for $435 on Ebay. Looks like prices are just shy of $500 for most of the auctions on used versions of this model.

[stotty]

Go Pro Hero 3

This camera is interesting because the top end version is designed to work well in low light. It also has a manual shutter.

http://gopro.com/hd-hero3-cameras

An LCD clip-on is required for instant video playback. And slow motion is achieved through the software rather than the camera.

I am considering this camera because much of my coaching is done under floodlight. When I phoned and spoke to support, they assured me this camera conquers this problem.

It has a wide angled lens...150 degrees at it's maximum.

Interesting...thoughts anyone?

[jasonfrausto]

This camera is interesting because the top end version is designed to work well in low light. It also has a manual shutter.

http://gopro.com/hd-hero3-cameras

An LCD clip-on is required for instant video playback. And slow motion is achieved through the software rather than the camera.

I am considering this camera because much of my coaching is done under floodlight. When I phoned and spoke to support, they assured me this camera conquers this problem.

It has a wide angled lens...150 degrees at it's maximum.

Interesting...thoughts anyone?

Average Amazon review is 3/5 stars.

http://www.amazon.com/GoPro-CHDHX-301-HERO3-Black-Edition/dp/B009TCD8V8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371657932&sr=8-1&keywords=go+pro+hero+3

I looked at it previously and decided to pass based on the user reviews. Many of the reviews complained of a very short battery life with the camera.

[johnyandell]

I think the max shutter is the high speed frame rate of 250--so 1/250. That was the one I looked at a while ago...correct me please if it's changed or I had it wrong...

[stotty]

I think the max shutter is the high speed frame rate of 250--so 1/250. That was the one I looked at a while ago...correct me please if it's changed or I had it wrong...

I'll phone tomorrow and check it out. The Hero 3 is the relatively new upgrade to the Hero 2...so it may have changed....will post tomorrow.

[stotty]

I think the max shutter is the high speed frame rate of 250--so 1/250. That was the one I looked at a while ago...correct me please if it's changed or I had it wrong...

I phoned today and they said it was 240 but only at the wide angle setting...which leads me to believe I asked the wrong question on your behalf. Are you saying you thought the max shutter speed when the camera is working at high speed is 1/250?

Mind bending some of these specifications for cameras. And it's bloody hard work trying to find the right one for tennis where you need one to work well under floodlights.

A lot of makers of the latest camcorders seem to be boasting their equipment can produce good quality video in poor light using the auto shutter speed. Can we hold them to their word? If you frequent the camcorders forums, everyone is trying to purchase the older Casio's. But if you buy an older Casio you miss out on all the lovely new features the latest models have...like taking a burst of photos in one second...that would handy.

There seems to be a market for manual shutter speed camera's for use in sport, but it obviously isn't a big enough market because none of the manufacturer's seem keen to fill it.

I found the JVC Adixxion - GC-XA1 - Action Camera and am swatting up on that now. Waterproof seems handy...rains a lot here in the UK.

I may go for the Hero 3, though, because short battery life isn't an issue as I rarely film for over an hour. They have taken care of the freezing issue their software, too.

I'll keep searching in the mean time...

Here's a clip using a Go Pro Hero camera using the wide angle feature...filming an indoor game. It's a little fisheye...other than that it shoots well. My camera wouldn't be able to do this. The picture would be very grainy and fairly unwatchable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwtyzCqmUHs

Here's an outdoor clip of a tennis game..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqqjVYmzMtY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rePJgtNXGQ

[lobndropshot]

I phoned today and they said it was 240 but only at the wide angle setting...which leads me to believe I asked the wrong question on your behalf. Are you saying you thought the max shutter speed when the camera is working at high speed is 1/250?

Mind bending some of these specifications for cameras. And it's bloody hard work trying to find the right one for tennis where you need one to work well under floodlights.

A lot of makers of the latest camcorders seem to be boasting their equipments can produce good quality video in poor light using the auto shutter speed. Can we hold them to their word? If you frequent the camcorders forums everyone is trying to purchase the older Casio's. But if you buy an older Casio you miss out on all the lovely new features the latest models have...like taking a burst of photos in one second...that would handy.

There seems to be a market for manual shutter speed for sports use, but it obviously can't be a big enough market because none of the manufacturer's seems keen to fill it.

I found the JVC Adixxion - GC-XA1 - Action Camera and am swatting up on that now. Waterproof seems handy...rains a lot here in the UK.

I may go for the Hero 3, though, because short battery life isn't an issue as I rarely film for over an hour. They have taken care of the freezing issue their software, too.

I'll keep searching in the mean time...

Here's a clip using a Go Pro Hero camera using the wide angle feature...filming an indoor game. It's a little fisheye...other than that it shoots well. My camera wouldn't be able to do this. The picture would be very grainy and fairly unwatchable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwtyzCqmUHs

Here's an outdoor clip of a tennis game..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqqjVYmzMtY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rePJgtNXGQ

The Wash Park courts are where I learned to play!!!

[DougEng]

I'll phone tomorrow and check it out. The Hero 3 is the relatively new upgrade to the Hero 2...so it may have changed....will post tomorrow.

Gopro Hero 3 is 240 fps at I think maybe 800x480. No zoom so you need to be close to the subject. But beautiful quality shooting. I almost used it for scuba diving a few weeks ago.

[jasonfrausto]

I'll phone tomorrow and check it out. The Hero 3 is the relatively new upgrade to the Hero 2...so it may have changed....will post tomorrow.

And although there is probably no manual shutter speed controls, both the Samsung Galaxy Note II and the Galaxy S4 have slow motion video capabilities at 120fps I believe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLVRxkTFEgI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TClc8e0dhoQ

[jeffreycounts]

And although there is probably no manual shutter speed controls, both the Samsung Galaxy Note II and the Galaxy S4 have slow motion video capabilities at 120fps I believe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLVRxkTFEgI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TClc8e0dhoQ

Wow that's crazy!!

[stotty]

Thanks, jasonfrausto...interesting finds you had there.

Makes you dizzy reading the specs of cameras all day as I have for two days now. I am now erring towards tennis_chiro's suggestion in a previous thread of the JVC GC-PX100. It isn't cheap but promises to be good in low light conditions. It has an excellent zoom and a wide angle lens. It shoots high speed at 600fps.

It scores very high in most reviews and seems built for the sports market.

I'll just have to take a couple of strong paracetamol before writing the check.

http://www.extak.com/catalog/118674/GC-PX100---Camcorder---High-Definition?ppc=google_shopping

[johnyandell]

Jason,

What is the shutter speed on those?

Stotty, Don,

Same question for the JVC?

[jasonfrausto]

Thanks, jasonfrausto...interesting finds you had there.

Makes you dizzy reading the specs of cameras all day as I have for two days now. I am now erring towards tennis_chiro's suggestion in a previous thread of the JVC GC-PX100. It isn't cheap but promises to be good in low light conditions. It has an excellent zoom and a wide angle lens. It shoots high speed at 600fps.

It scores very high in most reviews and seems built for the sports market.

I'll just have to take a couple of strong paracetamol before writing the check.

http://www.extak.com/catalog/118674/...oogle_shopping

Coach,

I hear ya! I've been looking at cameras, camcorders, and phone specs trying to figure out what the best solution would be for high speed filming for awhile now. I need something to replace my old DV camcorder

It definitely looks like the JVC GC-PX100 is the best solution under $1000. I went with the FH100 for portability, but I will be purchasing the JVC GC-PX100 in hopes of getting some nice footage at the Cincy masters in August.

JVC GC-PX100 Footage below

240FPS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxYJ0Gtea8U

300FPS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5Fid5xOwiM

600FPS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-7sA8H3lUk

You can see the video degradation that takes place from 240FPS-600FPS, but it really seems like a remarkable camera for under $1000.

John/Jeff,

I'm not sure if the Samsung Galaxy Note II or Galaxy S4 have manual shutter controls, but for phones they certainly are stepping up the possibilities of high speed video. The two golf swing videos below are for the Galaxy Note II. It also has a 5.5 inch screen. The Galaxy Note III should be out this Fall. I've thought about buying the Note II but want to wait for the Note III.

Golf Swing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw9e7yb0ow0

Golf Swing 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paZ0h6VqgNU

[johnyandell]

The golf swings look good! They are obviously shuttered. The second one is darker and also shuttered at relatively high speed.

[tennis_chiro]

Shutter speed adjustments

Jason,

What is the shutter speed on those?

Stotty, Don,

Same question for the JVC?

I don't even remember exactly what I found for Stotty on that GC-PX100, but it seems to me that was the newer upgraded model of what I have in the GZ-GX1, the camera I got last fall. I haven't had to use the manual settings, but I wanted to check for you.

Indeed, the GZ-GX1 does have manual setting in the video as well as still photo mode. I can manually set shutter speed, aperture, white balance, backlight compensation and focus. The shutter speed can be set from 1/2 second to 1/4000 sec with plenty of intermediates along the way: 1/2, 1/2.5, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/8, 1/10, 1/13, 1/15, 1/20, 1/25, 1/30, 1/40, 1/50, 1/60, 1/80, 1/100, 1/120, 1/160, 1/200, 1/250, 1/320, 1/400, 1/500, 1/640, 1/800, 1/1000, 1/1250, 1/1600, 1/2000, 1/2500, 1/3200, 1/4000.

This is probably a pretty important technical capability for someone who understands photography and filmaking a lot more than I do. I just know the camera takes good slow motion in very low light. But I use the automatic setting and I think it has a lot to do with the wide angle lens, an F1.2-2.8. Not only is it advantageous for wide angle shots of the entire baseline with a fencemount shot, but the wider aperture lets in more light and this enables the camera to work well in lower light situations. I think this could be very important for Stotty under his "floodlights". I wonder how much candlepower you have. Tennis lights can vary tremendously.

But the other thing I seem to remember about the GC-PX100 was that it recorded simpler files than the HD AVCHD files I get with the GZ-GX1, like AVI's or .MOV's. That means you can take the files directly into an iPad and upload to the Dartfish Express software that costs about $10 and you can immediately view your instructional recordings and play them back on the much bigger iPod screen. You can't go from AVCHD files directly to Quicktime Player. You are going to have to convert them in something else to a file that Quicktime will recognize. I do it with the full version of Dartfish, but I prefer to use my Casio ExFH-20 which records AVI files that I can take immediately into different things to play back, including Quicktime and V1Home. I intend to get an iPad as soon as I can afford it. I got the GZ-GX1 for fencemounted match recording and it is great for that. I keep it handy when I am working under the lights because the slomo on the Casio is very poor under the lights. The JVC is much better for that. Perhaps I should be playing with those manual settings to get it even better still. What settings should I be using an night, anybody? John? With daylight the auto settings seem more than adequate. Actually, shooting an night with the regular speed setting: HD at 30 fps, even the Casio takes pretty good videos. Of course, it's only at 30 fps. I haven't played with the manual settings to see if I could get somewhat crisper individual frames with that.

Hope that helps a little bit.

don
PS John, couldn't you use me and my camera to do some extra filming for you at Indian Wells next year?