help me record my snowboarding trip!

February 18, 2008 1:19 PM

I would like to get some video footage from an upcoming snowboarding trip and download it to my computer at a later date. What equipment would be suitable for this? My budget is £100 (~ $200 US)

I would like to get some video footage from an upcoming snowboarding / skiing trip and download it to my computer at a later date. What equipment would be suitable for this? My budget is £100 (~ $200 US)

Does anybody have any first hand experience of doing this? Please share what you found and what gave you the best results!

I have been debating whether a single hand held model (with SD card storage) taped to my helmet (or board) would be fine or if a bullet style camera with a separate recording unit is needed. My research so far suggests that a single hand held model offers much better value..

Equipment wise, anything second hand / ebay is good, who knows if it will survive this trip anyway!

posted by oliverst to technology (4 comments total)

A Flip?
posted by special-k at 1:24 PM on February 18

Assuming you already have the computer capable of editing the video, I can vouch for the Aiptek A-HD. The memory card is extra, but a 2 GB SD card will store an hour of video at 1280 x 720p. It does some compression in the camera, but the quality looks nice, and even my videophile friend said it was "pretty good."

The microphone leaves a lot to be desired. But you're concentrating on snowboarding, which shouldn't rely on sound all that much.

I got the camera at Target for $150, and the 2 GB memory card was another 30 or 40 dollars, squeaking in under your budget.
posted by bryanjbusch at 1:27 PM on February 18

If you aren't concerned about a camera that needs to survive, you may want to look into the cheapest point and shoot you can lay your hands on that supports video (just make sure it does video in the resolution that you need).

I know that some of the bigger stores carry cameras for as little as $50, and if you were to take it and put it in a clear plastic zip-lock bag, (rubber band it so that the lens is right up against the plastic and it will get rid of most of the distortion) and you have a fairly robust little video solution. You won't get hardly any sound, and it will undoubtedly fail if completely submerged in water, but it's a really inexpensive solution that may meet your needs.
posted by quin at 2:02 PM on February 18

Sounds just like you want the Action Camera from over at Firebox... it's waterproof, helmet-mountable, takes a 2GB SD card, and runs off 2x AA batteries. In fact, I think that I want one too...
posted by Chunder at 3:43 PM on February 18