GAC Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Anyone have or have any experience using one of these for in-car?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cablack56 Posted July 15, 2006 Share Posted July 15, 2006 I just bought the Canon Elura based on excellent previous experience with Canon products plus the specific features of an external mic and external AV input. Here's my experience (your mileage may vary). In general, I'm pleased. The 16:9 mode provides a reasonably realistic view. The image quality and stabilty are excellent. However, because the camera is mounted to the rollbar (and doesn't move relative to the car) there is the odd sensation of the car being stationary and the road moving up or down. Recording to tape in 16:9 mode with image stabilization off. Widest possible image. Tape image noise over very harsh bumps. Frequent pixelation over normal bumps. Recording to tape in 16:9 mode with image stabilization on. Small reduction in image width. Tape image noise over very harsh bumps. High quality image, no pixelation problems. Recording to memory card in 4:3 mode. Significant reduction in image width. Very definite feeling of looking 'straight ahead.' Tape image noise disappears. 320x160 image at 15 frames per second is adequate for laps times and a visual history but not for home movies. Other aspects. Battery life seems to be about two hours. An external mic is needed at the engine to pick up 'realistic' engine sounds. The wide angle is a normal wide angle that captures the view ahead, but a superwide or fisheye lens would be needed to capture what the driver sees with periperhal vision (such as a car coming up along side). My plans. Good enough for now. I plan to add an external mic at the engine. I have a second battery and charger. I plan on two tapes and two batteries to cover four 20 minute sessions plus replay time. I will probably buy the Canon wide angle adapter. Later, I might a bullet camera and attach it to the AV input. The AV input would allow me to dismount the camera, put it in a padded bag and eliminate the tape noise due to vibration. Good luck with your camcorder shopping. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAC Posted July 15, 2006 Author Share Posted July 15, 2006 Chris, great to hear an opinion on what appears to be a strong camera. I have one major concern and maybe you can give your thoughts. None of the Canon consumer line (save maybe one uber-dollar one) currently have LANC ports. Were you able to control the camera with the IR remote effectively so you didn't have to turn around each time? I too like this camera for its external mic port, video in port and wide angle expandability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cablack56 Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 Hi Dan, It takes me about 90 seconds to install it and then I use the IR controller. My basic procedure is to put the camera on the mount, then switch the camera to record mode, turn the LCD over (facing forward), then position the camera by watching the image in the LCD, then tighten everything. After that, the IR controller lets me start and stop recording easily. The IR controller is quite small and it fits nicely in my shirt pocket. A note about the wide angle lens in 16:9 at the widest setting. With the camera mounted on the rollbar, it gets a view of the full windshield, dash, top of the steering wheel, and my right hand. Cars beside me become partially visible to the camera only when they are far enough ahead to safely pull over in front of me . Phrased differently, the camera seems to have about a 60 (90?) degree field of vision (roughly from 11 to 1 (or perhaps 10:30 to 1:30?) treating straight ahead as 12). I'll live with this for a while, but I'm 99% certain that I'll get the Canon wide angle adapter which has a 0.7X factor. Good luck shopping. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAC Posted July 16, 2006 Author Share Posted July 16, 2006 Chris, I think that settles it. I'll get one of these. I have the same plans you do for the wide angle adaptor...what a great feature. And then I'll get one of the Hoyt packages eventually and run a lipstick cam. That's the plan! Feel free to stay in touch and we can swap info and learnings... Oh, hey...what kind of mount are you using...an I/O Port?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric J. Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 FWIW, I'm using my Canon ZR200 on an io/port cage mount with a wide-angle adaptor. I can use the IR as described, but I can also just reach the record on/off button from the seat as long as the cam is turned on. It beeps differently for on/off, so you can tell what it's doing. I also have a power supply that I've tapped into some of the old console wiring to power the cam without worrying about the battery. Works slick, I'm quite happy with it so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cablack56 Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 Hello SHOboy, Any comments on the wide angle adapter? What field of vision do you get? What brand? What multiplier factor (some of the generics have 0.5X adapters, Canon is 0.7X). I'm trying to decide whether to get the Canon 0.7X adapter now, or wait for Santa. Thanks in advance, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAC Posted July 16, 2006 Author Share Posted July 16, 2006 Yeah, I too am curious about the lens quality of the knockoffs and which adaptor would be best. Maybe just stick with the Canon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric J. Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 I have a sima 0.5x wide angle adapter. I posted this in another thread, which is my cam in wide (16:9) mode with the adapter. It's mounted on the harness bar on my cage. Firebird with a MiniDV The compression obviously masks a lot of the quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cablack56 Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 SHOboy, Thanks for the post. The movie nicely demonstrates the wider angle view with the 0.5X adapter. Most of the benefit seems to be getting a good view of the cockpit interior. How about the area near the front fenders? I would like to capture more 'peripheral vision' with the wide angle adapter. Right now, with 16:9, with wide angle but without the adapter, the view is reasonably realistic, but a bit too much 'looking straight ahead' for my taste. (But I can't complain, the price was right, the picture is excellent and the 16:9 view is much more realistic than the 4:3 view). Thanks, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FBI AGENT Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 SHOboy what camera is that and is it user friendly? I have never used a camera and I am in the market for one. New to the site and the sport. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAC Posted August 16, 2006 Author Share Posted August 16, 2006 Elura 100 worked fabulously. Check out my first footage... http://www.specfocus.drivenasa.com/FocusSpin.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric J. Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 SHOboy what camera is that and is it user friendly? I have never used a camera and I am in the market for one. New to the site and the sport. Canon ZR200, very easy to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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