Video camera Question

If you're getting a video camera rather than a digital still camera that
takes videos, then frame rate shouldn't be an issue. Standard is 24fps
(frames per second) I think, or maybe 30fps. You shouldn't worry.

I HAVE A QUESTION THAT I'LL ASK HERE RATHER THAN STARTING A NEW
THREAD...

I've been having problems lately with my camera. When I point it at
bright lights, and particularly when there's high contrast, it gets
these yellow vertical lines forming around those areas on the screen.

The really odd thing is that this used to only happen every now and
then and was fixable by closing the LCD screen and using the smaller
viewfinder...which I found really odd.

A few weeks ago I was occasionally able to solve the problem by taking
the film out, turning off the camera, taking the battery out and
putting it back in again, then putting the film back in and starting it
up again, and I had to do all of those things for it to work...even
odder!

Now nothing seems to work. I was about to buy one of those head
cleaner film things but then thought that it didn't seem to fit for
that to be the problem since the problem occurs even without filming
anything.

Can anybody help me out? I've searched for people with the same
problem but with no luck. I would have taken it in to be fixed by now
but couldn't find any places that do it in Brisbane.

Thanks,
Andrew

*Edit - *Here's a screenshot of the problem. The colours go crazy even
in the less bright spots, but you can see the yellow vertical lines in
the brightest ones...

11645

+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Filename: Trials _Dec 05_ - 3 Gap Logs_0001.jpg |
|Download: http://www.unicyclist.com/attachment/11645 |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

--
andrew_carter

...well that's what i think anyway.
*'unicycling tips and tutorials' (http://www.unicycle.2ya.com) |
'my photos and videos' (http://gallery.unicyclist.com/andrew) |
'\\"dancing about architecture\\"'
(http://www.dancingaboutarchitecture.com.au)* (coming soon...)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
andrew_carter's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1052
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

I might get a digital camera that does video just to get a camera and
take a couple small vids and it might be slightly cheaper

--
Radical Reed

If at first you don't suceed, distroy all evidence that you tried

the main reason santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad
girls live.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Radical Reed's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/10427
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

Most movies off cheap still digital cameras are pretty bad quality. I
used to use a digital cam and it was actually really good but it costs
somewhere from $600-$1000 (I don't remember). You can get a canon zr100
or zr200, they are around the $300 range and are pretty good for online
uni movies.

--
litldude2

Gallery.unicyclist.com/spencer
Litldude2 (att) aol (dott) com
_____________________________

chosen said:

wish i could be in a signature...*sigh*

------------------------------------------------------------------------
litldude2's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/6134
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

andrew_carter said:

I HAVE A QUESTION THAT I'LL ASK HERE RATHER THAN STARTING A NEW
THREAD...

A few weeks ago I was occasionally able to solve the problem by taking
the film out, turning off the camera, taking the battery out and
putting it back in again, then putting the film back in and starting it
up again, and I had to do all of those things for it to work...even
odder!

*Edit - *Here's a screenshot of the problem. The colours go crazy even
in the less bright spots, but you can see the yellow vertical lines in
the brightest ones...

One thing you said makes me wonder if there's something wrong with the
battery. Maybe it's old enough to be losing some output quality? This
is a total guess with no basis, just a hunch. Your videos are always
really great.

--
unidaddy

'My Gallery' (http://tinyurl.com/cx3jh)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
unidaddy's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/7879
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

First off, the standard for consumer-level DV cams in North America is
30fps. If you buy any actual DV cam the motion will look smooth. It's
only when you start buying digital still cameras with a video feature
tacked on that you'll get the jerky motion. I believe that entry-level
DV cams are around the mid-$300 mark.

As for Andrew's thing, I doubt that it's a problem with the heads, as
if it was you'd probably be getting digital artifacting instead of the
funky yellow thing issue. I'll also assume that even though you keep
on saying film that you're actually using a DV cam and are talking
about the DV tape. Sorry, but it's a pet peeve of mine.

The battery theory sounds plausible to me, but I'm thinking it also
sounds like it could quite possibly also be a problem with the CCD,
which would be expensive to get fixed/replaced. Of course while I have
lots of experience using various DV cams I can't quite claim to have an
extensive knowledge of their internal more technical workings, so you'd
probably get more luck contacting the manufcaturer.

--
LikeableRodent
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LikeableRodent's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/10154
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

Thanks for the help guys. I didn't know I should be calling it DV tape
instead of film, but now I do.

Battery - Most likely not the problem as the same thing happens with
both of my batteries and they're not really old anyway.
CCD - Scary thought, but it sounds like you may be onto something here.

-I just realised this thread is in RSU. I'd assumed it was in JC,
otherwise I wouldn't have asked my question here. Sorry.-

Andrew

--
andrew_carter

...well that's what i think anyway.
*'unicycling tips and tutorials' (http://www.unicycle.2ya.com) |
'my photos and videos' (http://gallery.unicyclist.com/andrew) |
'\\"dancing about architecture\\"'
(http://www.dancingaboutarchitecture.com.au)* (coming soon...)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
andrew_carter's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1052
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

have you tried a new tape? looks like the dv tape might be wearing out.

--
markf

stuck in iowa and unemployed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
markf's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/8102
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

If the problem occurs prior to recording, how can the tape possibly be
the cause?

Andrew

--
andrew_carter

...well that's what i think anyway.
*'unicycling tips and tutorials' (http://www.unicycle.2ya.com) |
'my photos and videos' (http://gallery.unicyclist.com/andrew) |
'\\"dancing about architecture\\"'
(http://www.dancingaboutarchitecture.com.au)* (coming soon...)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
andrew_carter's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1052
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

'All of my videos' (http://tinyurl.com/a3avl) are from a sheap $70 still
camera that takes 15 second videos.

But we recently bought a Samsung MiniDV camcorder.

--
forrestunifreak

'My gallery' (http://tinyurl.com/bbf9x)

www.seattlebikesupply.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
forrestunifreak's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/6828
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

Radical Reed said:

I might get a digital camera that does video just to get a camera and
take a couple small vids and it might be slightly cheaper

Digital cameras that also do video come in a wide range of video
quality. In the past they were all pretty weak, but now there's a
pretty wide range of picture size and frame rate.

Things to look for:
- VGA size, aka 640 x 480 video
- 30 frames per second
- Unlimited record time (limited only by memory card size)

A camera that does all of those may be beyond your budget. But for
smoothest motion, stick with 30fps. For highest quality picture, stick
with 640x480. Also note, at least one camera on the market can't zoom
while shooting video--mine (Casio EX P-600). Zooming is nice too.

Compare cameras at these two sites:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html
http://www.dpreview.com/

Yeah, this thread belongs in JC...

--
johnfoss

John Foss
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com
-----------------------------------------------

"Idiot America—where fact is merely that which enough people believe,
and truth is measured only by how fervently they believe it." --
Charles Pierce, in Esquire Magazine
------------------------------------------------------------------------
johnfoss's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/832
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

andrew_carter <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I've been having problems lately with my camera.

could there possibly an unsuspected settings problem? maybe a white balance
taken against a blue sky? light source set to metal vapor?

I know you make a lot of movies, so i know you know about this stuff, but my
experience is that often problems arise from things like the above -- things
we know are right, but got mysteriously changed.

..max

Thanks Max, and I wish that were the problem but I've checked all those
settings. Funnily enough setting the white balance to the "outdoor"
setting did help a -little- bit but it's nowhere near solved.

LikeableRodent, yes it is a digital video camera. A Sony DCR TRV-22E
to be precise, only a couple of years old now.

Andrew

--
andrew_carter

...well that's what i think anyway.
*'unicycling tips and tutorials' (http://www.unicycle.2ya.com) |
'my photos and videos' (http://gallery.unicyclist.com/andrew) |
'\\"dancing about architecture\\"'
(http://www.dancingaboutarchitecture.com.au)* (coming soon...)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
andrew_carter's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1052
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

Radical Reed said:

I might get a digital camera that does video just to get a camera and
take a couple small vids and it might be slightly cheaper

I've got a few cameras here that do video and a proper Mini DV camera.
The DV camera completely blows them away quality wise.

The standard cameras are okay quality until you start moving the
camera, or doing things that require the focus to change in the middle
of a shot. They're also nowhere near as good as the DV cam in low
light. Oh and they seem to be not so good at recording fast moving
objects, even if they can do 640x480 30fps.

Having said that, our DV cam is quite a good 3 ccd one, so I guess it
might not have been cheap, and the cameras are all 1 year old or more,
but not cheap ones either.

Joe

--
joemarshall

my pics http://gallery.unicyclist.com/albuq44
------------------------------------------------------------------------
joemarshall's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1545
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

I know there was a recall of certain CCDs that started to go funny a few
years after production. You might want to have a look into that.

--
flyer
------------------------------------------------------------------------
flyer's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9894
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

andrew_carter said:

I HAVE A QUESTION THAT I'LL ASK HERE RATHER THAN STARTING A NEW
THREAD...

I've been having problems lately with my camera. When I point it at
bright lights, and particularly when there's high contrast, it gets
these yellow vertical lines forming around those areas on the screen.

The really odd thing is that this used to only happen every now and
then and was fixable by closing the LCD screen and using the smaller
viewfinder...which I found really odd.

A few weeks ago I was occasionally able to solve the problem by taking
the film out, turning off the camera, taking the battery out and
putting it back in again, then putting the film back in and starting it
up again, and I had to do all of those things for it to work...even
odder!

Now nothing seems to work. I was about to buy one of those head
cleaner film things but then thought that it didn't seem to fit for
that to be the problem since the problem occurs even without filming
anything.

Can anybody help me out? I've searched for people with the same
problem but with no luck. I would have taken it in to be fixed by now
but couldn't find any places that do it in Brisbane.

Thanks,
Andrew

*Edit - *Here's a screenshot of the problem. The colours go crazy even
in the less bright spots, but you can see the yellow vertical lines in
the brightest ones...

Hey, I might now...

When we bought our video camera recently, the guy in the electronics
department of the store told us the all digital camera's needed to be
cleaned twice a year, and if they're not they can develop problems
after 2+ years. The main problem is getting tiny dust particles in the
lens, and the zoom not working. He said the second most common problem
was somthing like what's happening to you.... gradual loss of color.

Of course, you can only get them cleaned with the store you bought it
from, by expert technitions, and it costs a lot...

--
forrestunifreak

'My gallery' (http://tinyurl.com/bbf9x)

www.seattlebikesupply.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
forrestunifreak's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/6828
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

forrestunifreak said:

Hey, I might now...

Of course, you can only get them cleaned with the store you bought it
from, by expert technitions, and it costs a lot...

When I worked at Futureshop, long enough for the employee discount on
my current camera, Sony HDR-HC1, I found out that buying the extended
service plan from futureshop and bestbuy (where they already have nice
prices) comes with annual (or more if neccessary) professional
cleanings, and the cleanings alone would make the extended service plan
worth it.

--
Brian MacKenzie

'Training Wheel Not Required DVD'
(http://www.LBMmultimedia.com/videos/TWNR.wmv)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brian MacKenzie's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/7650
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

Brian MacKenzie said:

When I worked at Futureshop, long enough for the employee discount on my
current camera, Sony HDR-HC1, I found out that buying the extended
service plan from futureshop and bestbuy (where they already have nice
prices) comes with annual (or more if neccessary) professional
cleanings, and the cleanings alone would make the extended service plan
worth it.

Yes, we got the extended service plan.

Which is why we ended up with the cheapest camera availible, a Samsung,
instead of an expensive Sony with Ziess lenses....:p

--
forrestunifreak

'My gallery' (http://tinyurl.com/bbf9x)

www.seattlebikesupply.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
forrestunifreak's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/6828
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

hey andrew, i just saw your post, i never checked this thread again
until replying today.

your camera is relatively new isn't it? is it still under warranty?

you should post a description of your problems in
www.videouniversity.com (the video equivelant to unicyclist.com)

--
Brian MacKenzie

'Training Wheel Not Required DVD'
(http://www.LBMmultimedia.com/videos/TWNR.wmv)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brian MacKenzie's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/7650
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213

Brian MacKenzie said:

you should post a description of your problems in
www.videouniversity.com (the video equivelant to unicyclist.com)

Done, thanks for the link.

--
andrew_carter

...well that's what i think anyway.
*'unicycling tips and tutorials' (http://www.unicycle.2ya.com) |
'my photos and videos' (http://gallery.unicyclist.com/andrew) |
'\\"dancing about architecture\\"'
(http://www.dancingaboutarchitecture.com.au)* (coming soon...)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
andrew_carter's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1052
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/46213