Parents Video: What do you use?

[Committed]

I know there has been talk of cameras, but what about video devices?

I hate my camera. It always seems to focus on the nearest thing to me: someone's hair, a dividing rope, etc.
I see a lot of parents use iPads or tablets of some sort to get video and they look pretty nice. I'm thinking about investing in one.

What do you use, specifically? Pros/cons?

 

[rbearclaw]

I use a Canon Vixia (don't know the model # off hand) video. I researched it and it got the best review for not only quality, but low light issues and zoom quality. So many times my daughter is far across a dark lit gym, and iPads/iPhones don't do well in low light or zoom. My two cents!

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Personally nothing ticks me off more then a huge IPAD blocking my view.

Whatever you use you need to get comfortable with it. Practice when it doesn't count. How does the zoom respond, the focus etc...
Get familiar with your camera/video settings. They have recommended settings for light, sports, close, far etc....

We use a Sony camcorder. My husband has gotten pretty good. No cursing any more, rarely hits record with the camera facing the floor. But none of that is the devices fault. In my former career we called that a "loose nut in front of the start button"

 

[gymdog]

If you're not a camera person I'd probably get an iPad. It works pretty well plus it is functional for other things.

 

[Sasha]

iPad mini here. Doesn't zoom, but does fine in low light. Also makes it easy to edit and post to Youtube/FB since it's already on a Wifi device with movie editing apps, and has a decent amount of storage and battery life for a meet.

 

[Ali'sMom]

I have a small Panasonic camcorder. My main goal was to have a video camera that saved onto a memory card so I could come home and pop it into my laptop.
I didn't spend a lot of money (I think $130) because I use it only for meets, but it turned out to be great! even to watch on a 46" HD tv

 

[raenndrops]

I use a Kodak Easy Share CD 82.

I like that I can go from stills to video and back with a "flick" of the thumb. It is small enough to fit in my pocket. Works best in more intimate environments though (I am usually not more than 20 feet away from what I am recording).

I also used it when I was making our team videos... thousands of individual videos taken and edited into a 1 hour team video - suitable for big screen watching.

 

[skschlag]

Personally nothing ticks me off more then a huge IPAD blocking my view.

I couldn't agree more!!

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Personally nothing ticks me off more then a huge IPAD blocking my view.

I couldn't agree more!!

And do you notice whoever is using it never sticks the huge IPad in front of their face, only other people.

 

[Granny Smith]

I use a Kodak Playsport HD camera. It is tiny, fits into my back pocket. they do seem to be a lot more expensive now, but when I bought my, easily 5 yrs ago, it was under $100. I think for those who use a camera with an SD card is that you use the proper SD card. You want to focus on the class number on the card. For my dd's videos, I only use a card that is a class 10. Here is a very easy to read article about what the class means: Link Removed. This is the number that is on the card that is in the tiny circle.

 

[LJL07]

We have just used our iPhones and gotten pretty good quality video. It's so easy to upload to iMovie or YouTube and really easy to edit.

 

[Kcanflip]

I got a refurbished Bloggie years ago for cheap! It is small and not intrusive. Newer and older models on Amazon including used and refurbished.

 

[Becauseisaid]

Personally I'm not a fan of the quality of video of tablets or cell phones. I look back at old videos of my DD's first years of gymnastics meets and wish I had a better quality camera then.

I'm of the mind that you don't have to spend a ton of money on a video camera, you just need to know what is important to you. For example: I'm allowed on the floor during home meets to get video of our girls to be used (ultimately) for college applications. That means I'm spoiled. So at away meets, I want a camera with a great optical (NOT digital) zoom. Quality was also a top priority. I want HD quality. I want to know that someone can watch the video on a big screen HD TV without loss of clarity. Since I'm generally taking video with 2 hands (1 for my cell phone on Instagram/Facebook and 1 with my video camera) for an entire weekend, I wanted something light weight. Everything else was negotiable. I managed to find a great deal in the clearance room of my local Best Buy.

Decide what features are important and go from there. You'll find something you like.

 

[Momof2]

We use a small Sony camcorder which works great but I also use an iPad Air 2 so I can easily go back and look at the videos if we want. I have had no issues with the iPad Air 2. Always works great.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Personally I'm not a fan of the quality of video of tablets or cell phones. I look back at old videos of my DD's first years of gymnastics meets and wish I had a better quality camera then.

I'm of the mind that you don't have to spend a ton of money on a video camera, you just need to know what is important to you. For example: I'm allowed on the floor during home meets to get video of our girls to be used (ultimately) for college applications. That means I'm spoiled. So at away meets, I want a camera with a great optical (NOT digital) zoom. Quality was also a top priority. I want HD quality. I want to know that someone can watch the video on a big screen HD TV without loss of clarity. Since I'm generally taking video with 2 hands (1 for my cell phone on Instagram/Facebook and 1 with my video camera) for an entire weekend, I wanted something light weight. Everything else was negotiable. I managed to find a great deal in the clearance room of my local Best Buy.

Decide what features are important and go from there. You'll find something you like.

So what camcorder did you pick????????

 

[Becauseisaid]

So what camcorder did you pick????????

A Samsung WB250F.