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General Climbing Discussion

Topic Date User

Cheap Div X cameras ?? 19-Sep-2003 At 2:55:37 PM V

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On 19/09/2003 James wrote:
>V - I think I remember your high-tech rain cover & also the "head cam"
>from up at Gardiner Hut. I would be keen to see how the head cam turned
>out & also the finished video when you're done.

Yep, that's the one! I didn't actually get to use the head cam in NZ. I knew that the quality would be poor because it doesn't have a lens, so I was only going to use it when it wasn't possible to get a hand free. But the problem with this is that you have to reach into the rucksack to start and stop the camcorder recording. Which means that if you're going to be on steep, inhospitable ground for a while, the camcorder has to be rolling the whole time.

So I'm thinking the camcorder needs some kind of a remote -- it has an infrared remote, but of course this won't work through the wall of a canvas pack and padded camera bag. So some kind of wired remote that would clip onto a jacket would be necessary.

All the same I managed to get some good climbing action footage. The trick is either to climb solo or have more than one rope party, so that you can stop and shoot footage of someone else moving. I managed to do this successfully in a couple of places, and got some spectacular action footage.

I still have some fine tuning to do, mainly cos some of the titles currently look crap, but I'll let you know when the movie is ready for distribution -- maybe I can spin you a copy. It fits on a single SVCD, so I can put in on a regular CD-R. It's approximately 45 minutes long. Maybe we could organise a chockstone review? :-)

BTW, I also brought a solar panel with me up to Tasman Saddle and used it to recharge the spare camera battery. The panel was a little heavy, but suitable for base camp (we were camped on the hill) and much cheaper than commercial rigs I've seen advertised on the web. I don't know of anyone else that's done this.