A Flip that doesn't shimmy?
June 22, 2008 7:46 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for an alternative to the Flip Video that doesn't shimmy the video when I move it side to side.
I just got a Flip Video and it's awesome... I love the low light and convenience factor. But when I move it side to side, or up and down, the video gets shimmy -- a straight up and down line will tilt sideways. Now, I seem to recall some article online about how with some cellphone cameras you could tilt buildings and telephone poles sideways by moving the camera sideways. Something about reading the lines one at a time from the CCD. So I know why it does it.
Problem is, I hate it. Makes me seasick. Is there any little camcorder about the same price that doesn't use that technology, but does 640x480 30fps video that does well in low light like the flip? Ideally it could record to SD or something. I don't mind if it's a little bigger as long as it fits in one hand. If there is a digital still camera in the right price range that has the right video specs I'd be interested too.
Alternatively, do you know what the technical name of the shimmy is, so I can tailor my google searches more accurately?
On preview: I read through the suggested links, and looked at some camcorder sites, and I'll give the following qualifications to my camcorder search: I'd rather not go mini-DV with tapes but will if I must, I don't give a fig about high def, or zooms, and I'm really serious about the low light quality. I mean, I took out my Canon 20D and shot a picture of my kitchen lit by a single 25 watt bulb at f2.0, ISO 1600, 1/40th of a second. I shot a video with the flip in the same lighting conditions and the video and the still picture had the same image quality! That's some serious mojo and it's the only reason I hesitate to return it. But editing action videos makes me want to barf, I get so motion sick.
I just got a Flip Video and it's awesome... I love the low light and convenience factor. But when I move it side to side, or up and down, the video gets shimmy -- a straight up and down line will tilt sideways. Now, I seem to recall some article online about how with some cellphone cameras you could tilt buildings and telephone poles sideways by moving the camera sideways. Something about reading the lines one at a time from the CCD. So I know why it does it.
Problem is, I hate it. Makes me seasick. Is there any little camcorder about the same price that doesn't use that technology, but does 640x480 30fps video that does well in low light like the flip? Ideally it could record to SD or something. I don't mind if it's a little bigger as long as it fits in one hand. If there is a digital still camera in the right price range that has the right video specs I'd be interested too.
Alternatively, do you know what the technical name of the shimmy is, so I can tailor my google searches more accurately?
On preview: I read through the suggested links, and looked at some camcorder sites, and I'll give the following qualifications to my camcorder search: I'd rather not go mini-DV with tapes but will if I must, I don't give a fig about high def, or zooms, and I'm really serious about the low light quality. I mean, I took out my Canon 20D and shot a picture of my kitchen lit by a single 25 watt bulb at f2.0, ISO 1600, 1/40th of a second. I shot a video with the flip in the same lighting conditions and the video and the still picture had the same image quality! That's some serious mojo and it's the only reason I hesitate to return it. But editing action videos makes me want to barf, I get so motion sick.
Response by poster: No, I'm not talking about interlacing issues (the flip is progressive scan). The video wobbles when you move the camera back and forth.
posted by the_W at 12:46 PM on June 24, 2008
posted by the_W at 12:46 PM on June 24, 2008
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posted by CharlieChu at 9:31 PM on June 23, 2008