Those of you who hunt with a through the scope camera

[Eddie B]

Was all excited about a picture posted yesterday of a camcorder mounted on top of a scope yesterday.  Reality came crashing down when I got home to find the older Sony HandyCam was just to bulky.  So, is there any sub $200 point and shoot/video cameras available that has a slow-mo feature?  Also, could someone explain the fps (i.e. 25 fps, 30 fps) and what to look for.  Also, would like to attach the camera to an Orion bracket.

[ODhunter]

We'll I don't mount on top I mount with a homemade scope mount and normally I slow mo it after just by editing I use a Samsung smart cam I thinks what it's called its lite has a big screen and works good if your mounting it on a Orion bracket if you mount it ontop of the scope not so good not enough zoom

[Edtampa]

I am looking at the same thing and I have found that the Nikon S9100 has good write ups and has different video recording speeds. You can find them on Ebay below 200.00 in very good condition.  The official review by camera tech can be found on dpreview.com

Ed

[ezman604]

I have two cameras I use for scope mount slo-mo. I have mounted a Canon PowerShot ELPH300HS onto a Barska scope mount and set the video mode to high speed for slo-mo playback. It can be set for a max of 240fps. That will give you a descent picture. Generally, the more fps, the worse the video clarity is. The camera is capable of 1080p video. And for the price, not a bad deal.





First try at slo-mo video....



My newest camera is a Fujifilm FinePix S6800. A little bulkier but also capable of 1080p full HD video. It can be set to a max of 480fps which will give an even slower slo-mo. But the weather and my time has not cooperated so I can actually test it outdoors. Indoors the quality at that speed was not good due to lighting. I WILL experiment with this camera when weather permits.
For slo-mo filming, I would look for a camera similar to my Canon and one that is capable of at least 240fps. This is a very compact camera with a lot of good features. I can report better on the larger S6800 soon though. I am hoping for a good outdoor VERY slo-mo and watchable video. To get a great quality slo-mo camera, you will spend BIG bucks. I'll stick with my sub $200 models.

[Eddie B]

Thanks guys. Now I can go to Best Buy and look at those brands and not feel so overwhelmed.   To bad Windows Movie Maker on my PC doesn't have the slow-mo feature, I'd use a tripod for the Handycam.

[starlingassassin]

i like my casio exilim ex-zr10

you can get them on ebay for $175 shipped and they throw in a nice fitted case.

i love mine,it does 240fps and 480fps,but i run it on 240 all the time,because as was said before the higher you go on fps the grainier it becomes.

i like the video setting on my casio that lets you start recording in regular speed,
and then when youre ready to squeeze the trigger you can hit the ok button and it switches to slo mo.

and to mount it i use the seben dka2 mount,
but i have some foam that i put underneath the mount on the stock to keep it from bouncing around when the gun fires.

also i use a lcd viewfinder (also ebay,under$15) attached to the camera screen so i can put my face closer to the camera in a more natural position.

ill throw a pic up.

[Eddie B]

Nice set-up Starlingassassin.

[grobe1458]

I use a seben mount and for slow motion recording a canon powershot elph330 (240fps). it was cheap, looking to replace it with a casio which gives better quality. and maybe a benq camcorder with low light (cheap night vision)

sony cameras like the one I have does 120 and 240, as you go into higher fps, the image size gets smaller, at 120fps the resolution is 640x480, at 240fps it's 320x240 so the slower you go the smaller the video size. (like looking at a small video window) also the image gets darker
as for framerate, I would google framerate as the explanation isn't short and there's a lot to understanding the pro's and con's.
I would recommend the casio cameras as they give a better picture. I also wouldn't suggest recording at standard framerate and using editing software to rerender to slow motion as all it's doing is doubling up on the framerates and that can bring out choppyness and lower quality unless you're using professional editing software or midrange software like vegas or premier. so to sum it up, a casio camera, seben mount and I think you'll be good to go.

[Bullfrog]

This is my rig. I'm using my own brand scope mount (Old Florida Outdoors) with a Sony Handycam. I film at 1080p at 60 frames per second. I slow it down using PowerDirector 11 and I'm happy with the results. On guns with Picatinny rails I can mount my scope forward so that the camera's view screen is just right to cheek the gun as normal. For powerburners with high recoil I switch the camera over to an Olympus TG2 or similar point-and-shoot camera to handle the shock. The Olympus can record in true slow-mo but I find it often darkens the image too much for my liking.

[bigben]

I wish the cost of entry into scope cams was a bit lower....  I wish i could get my go pro hero 2 to work....  as it is even the mounts are likie 50 bucks and then a decent camera... grrrrr

[Eddie B]

The salesman at Best Buy looked as though I was talking in a foreign language when asked about FPS.  I left without buying.  They do have the Canon Elf 330 HS in stock for about $130.  Sadly, it didn't give the FPS in the description.  The Nikon Coolpix S9400 at $199 looked good as well.

[starlingassassin]

best buy knows nothing! LOL

i like to go in there and mess with the employees you would think they would at least need a double digit I.Q. to work there but i guess not LOL

heres a link for the one i have,and its from the same seller,i couldnt be happier with mine.

besides slow motion it also shoots in 1080pHD video,and takes superb stills.
plus the high speed photo ability is very cool,ive got some excellent pictures of lightning using it.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Casio-Exilim-EX-ZR10-High-Speed-Digital-Camera-12-Mega-Pixel-Free-Case-Card-/161205672103?pt=Digital_Cameras&hash=item25889b58a7


high speed photos are much fun to play with

[starlingassassin]

I wish the cost of entry into scope cams was a bit lower....  I wish i could get my go pro hero 2 to work....  as it is even the mounts are likie 50 bucks and then a decent camera... grrrrr

nope, only $38.99 and free shipping

also if you look around,there are some good instructions for making your own camera mount out there.


and most any camera will work, even if it does not have the slow motion capability,ive used cheap point and shoots,my sony handycam,phones,etc....

[Tater]

That Exilim looks really nice Chris, I love the 7x optical zoom. I haven't bought a camera in years and man, they've improved a heck of a lot.

For real cheap, a member here named Marno took some really nice looking slow-mo video with his cell phone. Search for his posts in the hunting gate section. In one or two threads he gives some good info on his set up. Haven't seen him post for a few weeks though.

[renval]

[Eddie B]

Wow! That's all business.  Would love to add something like that to the collection.

[4nDone0331]

Hi EddieB, I too have been looking at getting a better slow-mo camera for sometime now.  I go to the manufacturers websites and look at the camera's specs, with that said the best camera's that I have found for slow-mo are this Olympus
and this Canon

Both record in HD at high framerates, IIRC the Olympus will do 120FPS at 720p and the Canon will do 60FPS at 1080p.  Those are the best settings on each camera respectively, you wont get anything really in-between (settings wise) on either camera.  Meaning the Canon wont do the 120 FPS at 720p  IIRC it only does 24 or 30 FPS at 720p.  The Olympus is about $150 cheaper than the Canon though, at about $250, and it offers double the frames albeit at a lower resolution (but it's still HD).  I know it's a little out of your budget but maybe wait a little longer and  spend the extra $50 to get a worthwhile camera.  I personally am leaning towards getting the Olympus, I was hoping to get it for Christmas but I got a new Vortex LRF instead which I am very happy to have gotten nonetheless.

I hope this helps and I hope we get to see some of your videos soon.

[Eddie B]

Thanks folks!  Just bought the Canon Powershot Elph 330 HS.  The budget agreed with this selection.  Friday, the Orion camera mount will arrive via UPS.  Can't wait to get started!