Pse Recommend: A 12V Waterproof Camera with large memory

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RIBW

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I have signed up for a trip that I will never repeat - up the R. Severn under the M4/48 bridges via the Sharpness canal to Gloucester. I'd like to record the trip for my dotage.

Afterwards, I would like to use the 'boatcam' occasionally on my own boat.

Put simply it would be similar to a waterproof (e.g. motorcycle) dashcam with GPS for location ans speed and, for a long recording time, 64Gb storage and external 12V supply. GoPro kit would be OTT for this.

Has anyone already looked and found such an item?
Cheers
Bob
 
There are many copies of the GoPro format .... generally called Sportcams.

They have a clear waterproof case they fit into with sealed buttons to operate etc.

I have a full GoPro Hero 4 system with WiFi controls and viewers - but to be honest - my $40 Sportcam has as good a job with 1080p HD video and 12mp photos - with same waterproof case ... takes up to 132Gb SD card ...

The problem is not the camera or waterproofing - its the batterys. GoPro and its copies are famous for crap battery life ... so you need to have a bagful !

I have many different cams' as we use the a lot of RC models ... to film the model ... to film FROM the model ...

Many have WiFi transmission now to your smartphone / tablet .. remote control .. etc.

Just to show ...

A selection of cameras in use :

DSCF8433.jpg

This does not include my Sony Handycam or Soloshot systems.

But for your use ... I would suggest the Sportcams like these :

4K HD with WiFi and rear screen. About $50 on eBay ...
4K Sportcam.jpg

1080p HD with rear screen but no WiFi - but with digital zoom .... about $30 on eBay

1080 Sportcam with zoom.jpg

1080p HD basic sportcam without zoom or WiFi ... anywhere fromabout $15 - $30 on eBay

1080 Sportcam.jpg

The X1 1080p HD tiny cam ... about $10 on eBay - but this one does not have waterproof case.

X1 1080.jpg

If you are a person without prescription glasses - then you may be interested in Sunglass Camera ... they actually do very well and available in up to 1080p HD format ... ranging from $10 up to $60 on eBay ...
 
FPS ... frames per second.

Most cameras sit at about the 27 - 30FPS rate ... (quoted at 30) ... this is ok until you start panning shots or moving about. The natural eye rate is about 25 - 27 - so this can create a sense of a flicker at times. Cameras set 30 as the usual because they want to have higher FPS than the eye - but too high and the tech as well as file size increases dramatically.

I do a lot of aerial video with my Phantom Drone ... this has 4K stabilised camera at 30FPS ... but I set it back to 1080p 60FPS to avoid that flicker and I get good results.

Do not forget also :

Most TV's at home are not 4K .... but good for 720 ... 1080

You need a really good high rated processor for editing 4K - otherwise its slow ... but general computers are fine with 1080

Youtube will downgrade videos unless specifically coded to HD - which most are not.
 
Thanks KK and Refueler,
I have tried to read up on your suggestions but finding it difficult to find enough detail about power consumption and storage capacity.
One option that came up with some detail is the Nextbase RIDE (<£100 on eBay). My portable 12V SLA battery should keep it running for the 8? hour trip (The spec is ~1A @ 3.7V - needing 1.5A @12V) and it is IPx6 in its own right. I'm still working on whether it has enough memory at a decent SD quality. Looks like it would be easy to rail-mount on a RAM mount.
Will keep researching.
Cheers
Bob
 
You could of course use any of the Runcam or similar smaller units designed for Model Aircraft use. They are all based on powered by the battery in the model regulated to usually 6V. So recording time is limited by the SD card - not power.

Waterproofing is actually very easy and does not alter image quality at all ..... clingfilm.

I have models I fly of water and often carry an 808 Keychain camera. They are not waterproof in any form whatsoever ... but what I do is take ordinary kitchen wrap / clingfilm and wrap the camera in it.. sealing in SD card and all ... power cable can exit with a twistwrap closing the clingfilm as well .... making sure that only a tight single layer is over the camera lens hole. The video shots are exactly same as without ... as long as the film is tight and smooth without wrinkle over the lens.

The cameras are very small and light .. so easy to fix in place ... bit of sticky back and a tie-wrap ....

Using the Clingfilm trick - you could use one of those In Car recorders ... they run of the 12V ciggy socket ...

Like many things - there's no need to go special marine / silly money route !! ;)

Have a look at some of these videos ...

SD card FPV cameras - YouTube

And ...



Just to give you some ideas ....
 
RIBW said:
I have tried to read up on your suggestions but finding it difficult to find enough detail about power consumption and storage capacity.
One option that came up with some detail is the Nextbase RIDE (<£100 on eBay). My portable 12V SLA battery should keep it running for the 8? hour trip (The spec is ~1A @ 3.7V - needing 1.5A @12V) and it is IPx6 in its own right. I'm still working on whether it has enough memory at a decent SD quality. Looks like it would be easy to rail-mount on a RAM mount.
Click to expand...

The Nextbase Ride can only take a 32GB card, giving 4 hours recording.
 
Time of recording ...

Standards are that no matter how long your video recording - it gets split into ~4Gb chunks .... its the file system that dictates it.

Second ... the resolution you choose will alter the time that 4Gb can run for ... record in 4K 50FPS and you will get short recording ! Record in 1080 30FPS and you will get far longer for your 4Gb ...

I run a 64Gb in my Phantom 3 Pro ... 1080p 50FPS .... I get approx 15 mins for 4Gb and when I fly for over 15mins ... I have two files .. the first 4Gb and then the extra is in a smaller file.

Work that out ... my 64Gb gives me about 4hrs total. If I knock that FPS back to 30FPS .... I would get more time ...

The time is dependent on the resolution and FPS chosen ... and actually if you have a colour intensive subject - that can also eat up bytes !!
 
Refueler said:
...Waterproofing is actually very easy and does not alter image quality at all ..... clingfilm.......Using the Clingfilm trick - you could use one of those In Car recorders ... they run of the 12V ciggy socket ........Like many things - there's no need to go special marine / silly money route !! ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks for this suggestion. (I had assumed that clingfilm would be too distorting).
I shall experiment with this method. I have a dashcam (Violo?) in the car. It is inevitably 12V and has GPS for position and speed. Its SD card records for 5+ hours with video quality that is more than adequate for my needs. Taking a spare SD card and swapping it in Sharpness lock should deal with the total travel time issue.
Cheers
Bob
 
Just make sure the clingfilm is single layer and tight across the lens with no wrinkle or fingerprints !!

Another idea of course is what is termed a Hatcam .....

Many of us for videoing RC models fix a camera to the peak or top of a baseball cap. Some in fact mount onto a Safety Hard Hat ...

Simple Velcro holds an 808 Keychain camera to a peak .... only thing with such is - the angle the camera sits at has to be set to counter the down slope of the peak. Also every movement of the head is exaggerated - what you think is a slow pan - is a WHIZ on screen !

Your In Car unit - is actually a good idea as it has the 12v adaptor for power .... its SD card - so that is your recording time control instead of internal memory.

I'm pleased that I may have saved you money and you may have a viable solution ...
 
I would also buy something like a passport solid state drive. Whenever the card in the camera is full you plug just the card into the drive and it automatically copies the entire contents in very quick time. You will produce an enormous amount of data especially if you record in HD.

Think about the definition in which you record. The current GoPros for example require very powerful computers to edit the data in raw format and very few are up to the job. Playing back may also be slow and jumpy - but in your dotage, who knows higher definitions may be the norm! You can decide what definition you film in on most cameras.

64GB will be no where near enough for the whole trip.
 
Not wanting to risk my top end GoPros, over years I have bought a range of SJCAMs. They are almost as good i.e. clear HD and later 4K video, but at a fraction of the cost. We often have 3 or 4 running while sailing. Each child gets one when diving, etc.

SJCAM was the original GoPro clone coming from China. It was so successful that it was copied by more Chinese manufacturers than GoPro itself. I would avoid other brands unless you trust them or they have good and trusted reviews.

I am sure there are other good ones as well... my intention here is to help people avoid the bad ones.
 
EugeneR said:
Not wanting to risk my top end GoPros, over years I have bought a range of SJCAMs. They are almost as good i.e. clear HD and later 4K video, but at a fraction of the cost. We often have 3 or 4 running while sailing. Each child gets one when diving, etc.

SJCAM was the original GoPro clone coming from China. It was so successful that it was copied by more Chinese manufacturers than GoPro itself. I would avoid other brands unless you trust them or they have good and trusted reviews.

I am sure there are other good ones as well... my intention here is to help people avoid the bad ones.
Click to expand...

One of the silly problems with some clones - depending on model you get ... the video format is not compatible with many PC / Mac editors and needs conversion. Just because it says MP4 ... AVI .... etc. is not enough ... if you have 265 format - you will struggle to edit and play.

SJCam is a good clone brand ... but there are many out there just as good at less than half the price. The other beauty of these - the batterys are easily bought and cheap on eBay ... along with multi chargers etc.
 
RIBW said:
I have signed up for a trip that I will never repeat - up the R. Severn under the M4/48 bridges via the Sharpness canal to Gloucester. I'd like to record the trip for my dotage.

Afterwards, I would like to use the 'boatcam' occasionally on my own boat.

Put simply it would be similar to a waterproof (e.g. motorcycle) dashcam with GPS for location ans speed and, for a long recording time, 64Gb storage and external 12V supply. GoPro kit would be OTT for this.

Has anyone already looked and found such an item?
Cheers
Bob
Click to expand...
Out of interest; which club has organised the trip to Gloucester? must be a great trip to do.
 
Last edited:
ip485 said:
I would also buy something like a passport solid state drive. Whenever the card in the camera is full you plug just the card into the drive and it automatically copies the entire contents in very quick time. You will produce an enormous amount of data especially if you record in HD.

Think about the definition in which you record. The current GoPros for example require very powerful computers to edit the data in raw format and very few are up to the job. Playing back may also be slow and jumpy - but in your dotage, who knows higher definitions may be the norm! You can decide what definition you film in on most cameras.

64GB will be no where near enough for the whole trip.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the thoughts. Based on my current dashcam files, 2x64GB will do it at the quality I am after and the files easily transfer to and play back on my spare laptop.
 
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC said:
Out of interest; which club has organised the trip to Gloucester? must be a great trip to do.
Click to expand...

12 of us (All long retired from the Grey Funnel Line) charter the 'Pride of Bristol' once a year in an attempt to rekindle old memories and swing some lamps. We choose the destination and have visited Lundy, Ilfracombe, Combe Martin, Swansea, Cardiff and Portishead over the years. See-

The Pride of Bristol Trust |

They also scatter ashes!
Cheers
Bob
 
RIBW said:
12 of us (All long retired from the Grey Funnel Line) charter the 'Pride of Bristol' once a year in an attempt to rekindle old memories and swing some lamps. We choose the destination and have visited Lundy, Ilfracombe, Combe Martin, Swansea, Cardiff and Portishead over the years. See-

The Pride of Bristol Trust |

They also scatter ashes!
Cheers
Bob
Click to expand...
Sounds like great fun
 
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