Looking for Cheap Handycams for DIY 3d Camcorder

[cybereality]

Ok, I have been doing even more research and now I am not so sure I want the Kodak anymore. Right now I am looking at the Creative Vado HD as it seems to have the best video quality out of all the choices I mentioned and it costs the same $130 as the Zx1. I've looked at a lot of sample footage from the Vado HD, and it all looks great. It has a wide-angle lens which gives the video a more professional look. Colors are very nice and the picture is sharp (even in low-light conditions). It has 8GB of memory, same as the Flip Ultra HD, for 2 hours of HD recording at 720P. Replaceable battery with about 2 hours of life, 2x digital zoom, pretty comparable to the other options. I still need to read more, but I think I might go with this model instead of the Kodak.



Look at these comparison videos. Notice the wide-angle and crisp, clear colors:
http://www.pcworld.com/misc/20090427_ca ... ceoff1.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Look at the amazing color reproduction shown here:
http://vimeo.com/2359739" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Some pretty impressive looking video (uses lots of filters, but still):
http://vimeo.com/2637579" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Side-by-side comparison for the Vado HD and the Kodak Zi6 (same internals as the Zx1):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hrbTnpkXKw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Video review comparison with Vado HD / Kodak Zi6 / Flip Mino HD:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr5iXO1pD4E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A comparison between the Vado HD and the Ultra HD:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChGQqeZsn34" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Comparison between the Vado HD and the Mino HD:
http://vimeo.com/2523815" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Now for the sucky part. I was reading posts saying how the video files the Vado HD creates have problems with editing. Popular programs like Adobe Premiere or Sony Vegas can't read the files. They are AVIs encoded with H.264 but with some proprietary codec thats not supported. You can however use Windows Movie Maker to convert the files to WMV and then edit with a real program, but that is a ghetto make-shift solution. Pinnacle Studio 12 is the only program I heard can read the files without conversion. Really annoying. If it wasn't for this I would be sold, but now I am not sure.

EDIT: Ok, this last video pretty much sealed the deal for me. Its only 12 seconds of footage but really it makes the Kodak look like VHS quality in comparison:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4DeeM1XEF0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[WheatstoneHolmes]

Side-by-side comparison for the Vado HD and the Kodak Zi6 (same internals as the Zx1):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hrbTnpkXKw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wow the Kodak took a long time adjusting to the lighting changes.

Hopefully the file format thing won't slow you down too much in post, I'm sure you're already aware that whatever you have to do to get 1 file to load you'll have to do it for the other also.

Check this forum post out: http://www.videohelp.com/forum/archive/ ... 65059.html

And you could try: http://chris.pirillo.com/creative-vado- ... rmat-help/

EDIT: I found this Vado lighting test video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syQRwMKA54I

[Freke1]

Is there a link to a RAW VADO video file?

[cybereality]

Is there a link to a RAW VADO video file?

I just went to Vimeo and downloaded the original source files (AVI), like from here for example (you need a Vimeo account to download):
http://vimeo.com/2550606" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I had some time to work with the files a bit, at first I was really disappointed, but I think it might work out. Bottom line is that no decent editing program can work with the raw files. I tried with Adobe Premiere CS4 with no luck. You would get the audio, but the video was just black. Same problem in Sony Vegas 9. Even with VirtualDub it wouldn't get the video stream. I guess they use some proprietary codec. The video files do, however, play perfectly fine in Windows Media Player. They can also be imported in Windows Live Movie Maker, but that program is next to useless. They also supposedly work with the included Vado Central software, but I need a real editor for 3D stuff.

Anyway, I found out that you can use a program called SUPER (http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) to convert the AVI file into a quicktime MOV and then that will work. I didn't try Vegas, but I had no problems importing into Premiere which was my program of choice anyway. Its annoying to have to go through this extra step, but at least it works. Wouldn't want to edit a full-length movie like this, but for short clips I think its something I can live with.

[Freke1]

SUPER is a great program - I use it also when ever I need to convert.

The VADO RAW avi file loads into StereoMovie Maker and then into Windows Movie Maker fine with me:
StereoMovie Maker output file: http://www.3d.wep.dk/MIS/mtbs3d/8674445 ... NOT_3D.avi
Windows Movie Maker output file: http://www.3d.wep.dk/MIS/mtbs3d/Vadotest_2D.wmv

[cybereality]

The VADO RAW avi file loads into StereoMovie Maker and then into Windows Movie Maker fine with me:

Thats interesting. I just downloaded StereoMovie Maker and tested it (with the exact same file) and I get a black screen but hear the audio. Seems maybe I am missing a codec, I wonder if that would fix my problem. I did download FFDShow with the H.264 codec so I thought I was good, but apparently not. This does give me some hope though.

EDIT: Yeah, it was a codec issue. I downloaded the K-Lite mega codec pack and now I can import the Vado HD avi files into Premiere and StereoMovie Maker. The preview in Premiere is a little faster now, which is a nice bonus. One weird thing though: when I use the media player classic (that came with the k-lite pack) now *any* video I open is displayed side-by-side in the player. Its like it knew I was going to do 3D with it or something. If I open with the regular media player everything looks normal. Weird huh?

[cybereality]

So I bit the bullet and ordered the Creative Vado HD's. Been waiting a while to get paid and the check finally cleared when I got home this evening. Looks like luck was on my side because it just so happened that Amazon was having a sale today *for one day only* and the Vado HD was marked down to $99! What is the chance of that? Pretty sweet huh? So I got two of them and some various accessories. Only problem was that they were sold out so I will have to wait a week for the next shipment (but I still got the deal, so I can wait). Expect to see some test footage on YT3D in the near future.

[WheatstoneHolmes]

Cool, man! 8)

Looking foward to it!

[Freke1]

what a good price!

[Likay]

Really nice! Looking forward to know a bit more about these cams.

[itou31]

Hi, you have mentionned in this thread aiptek and sanyo.
I've owned the 2 x aiptek Z500 (EU) for my first S3D video test last year.
They were no expensive and can do 720p60fps, and HDV (1440x1080--> 1920x1080).
They are very well for outdoor, but indoor is very noisy. Their compression rate is too high.
Recently I've purchase the Xacti FH1 and video indoor are very light. the resolution of 1080p@60fps is very cool, but not easy to handle in post-prod. I have some difficulties to play the video in Stereoscopic Player (90% to 95% of CPU, QX950@4Ghz Nvidia motherboard). however with a friend Q6600@3,2Ghz intel board, these video take only 70% to 80%. With same codec ans windows. I don't know why.
here are videos of the xacti cams with Steadycam homemade (taken by the aiptek cams at 1080p30 and reduce to 720p30) :
test_cam_xacti_720p.7z : http://dl.free.fr/oCkyN5wtX" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and two videos of aiptek cams (taken by the xacti cams in 1080p60 and in 1080p30 and reduce to 720p60 and 720p30) :
test_cam_01_720p60.7z : http://dl.free.fr/rIW0mdlIb" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
test_cam_04_720p.7z : http://dl.free.fr/rTBmO1oi2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

they are all compressed in h264 codec.
they can be decoded with divx7 codec or coreavc (Stereoscopic Player --> settings --> decoder tab --> mpeg4/AVC option).

Note : the xacti are very good but the stabilizer is awfull (doesn't work), a steadycam should be used else your videos will be very shaky and in S3D it's very jerky.

[martinlandau]

itou, yes all those cameras have been mentioned, please take the time to go through the whole thread. On the aiptek, the new model, what have you heard about the image stabilization? Also low light recording is important, because I will be inside a lot, what would you recommend? http://www.camcorderinfo.com/ratings.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is a nice site.

[itou31]

Hi,

I know this website.
I've decided for the xacti FH1 (standard form of the HD2000) because of it's sensitivity indoor. It performs really good inside, but the stabilizer is not good, even enable, you can hardly stabilise your video. You should maintain the screen with the other hand. I think the HD2000 is more handly because of it's form, but it's not easy to put two together. The new aiptek seem good to but I know that all aiptek brand are not good indoor.

[Freke1]

they can be decoded with divx7 codec or coreavc (Stereoscopic Player --> settings --> decoder tab --> mpeg4/AVC option).

How do You get the mpeg4/AVC option? I can't choose it.

[itou31]

they can be decoded with divx7 codec or coreavc (Stereoscopic Player --> settings --> decoder tab --> mpeg4/AVC option).

How do You get the mpeg4/AVC option? I can't choose it.

start stereoscopic player, go to file/settings, decoder tab, and in the filter section you should see MPEG-4 AVC video decoder option, press add and choose the codec displayed.
you should do the same with mpeg-4 stream splitter, (install haali media splitter) and then choose it.

[Freke1]

Thank You!

[Likay]