Recommended camera

[Someshot]

Re: Recommended camera

I've got a video taken on a Contour in a very, very low light CQB site in Bristol, I can upload it for you to see for yourself if you like? You really can see nothing until I have my flashlight on.

[Toanjuice]

Re: Recommended camera

if you can do that for me, i would really appreciate it. honestly thanks a lot, would save me from a 150quid mistake

[Someshot]

Re: Recommended camera

It's struggling to upload to photobucket for some reason, once I get it up i'll post it here for you though.

[Toanjuice]

Re: Recommended camera

thanx again man

[Someshot]

Re: Recommended camera

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/104497...ntour_example/ There you go bud (never mind the music and cheesy editing effects, the video was only made for the personal appreciation of myself and a mate)

[Toanjuice]

Re: Recommended camera

lol i love it

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in that video, without the flashlight on, can you still see minor details with your eyes alone? because it seems like the camera can literally only see what human eyes can see in the dark, though from your earlier comment, it sounds like the camera picks up a lot less detail than possible

[jonny lovegrove]

Action cams have really small light sensors, ill ask one of the reading uni guys the exact setup theyre using in the mall

[jonny lovegrove]

Even the tachyon nv has a small effective range with a rather large IR Illuminator

EDIT: go to near the end

[Someshot]

In the video I posted? I could see quite well in reality, sorta the same lighting as a road lit by street lamps at night

[meddy]

If you tinker wirht he vid on yputubes editing settings you can get bearly visable low light shots bright as day at the cost of witerning the dark spots. I did it with aome lazer quest vids awile ago

[Someshot]

If you tinker wirht he vid on yputubes editing settings you can get bearly visable low light shots bright as day at the cost of witerning the dark spots. I did it with aome lazer quest vids awile ago

I wouldn't be an expert but I'd have thought it was the same concept as with editing photographs, I.e By increasing the white balances, brightness and contrast etc sufficiently to make a very dark image 'brightly lit' the quality of the image would completely diminish?

For reference of the contrast of the Contour in light and dark, my profile pic is a screenshot from another video taken in the day outside

[jonny lovegrove]

Re: Recommended camera

for contrast i suppose, this is a contour 1080HD (the old one) on the lowest settings.

[ForceGhost]

Re: Recommended camera

I use a GoPro and in my opinion the Contours image quality and colour correction is much better suited to the weather we get here in the UK. The GoPro seems to be more calibrated towards really bright Californian sun.

In terms of low light performance the Contour is definitely the worst of the two but if i'm honest the GoPro isn't exactly anything to write home about.

[S3V3R]

Re: Recommended camera

Hi

Im currently understanding that the Go Pros are the daddies of cameras in the ******* *****, i see it being used more than anything.
However im being picky and decided that i really dont like the squared design of the go pros
Are there anything else out there? preferably with wide angle lenses so i can capture more of the action
iv seen the contours, they may be my next purchase if i dont find anything else

Hey buddy, I've been doing airsoft filming for a while now and this is my opinion. Mind you, its only an opinion from my experiences.

GoPros: Good but expensive to get a reliable one. The cheaper end fail very easily - batteries are the main failure in my experience. The mounts are not very practical for Airsoft IMO, but they get good angles and they're secure at the cost of looking like a unicorn thats run into a wall at full speed. GoPros are also fairly heavy. Battery life is about 4 hours on a single charge. Replaceable batteries though.

Contours: Good, but again expensive for a good quality one. The bottom end contour is about the same price as the mid range GoPro ATM i think. They have practical mounts which are very secure. Most of which have been designed for snowboarding so they will take a good beating. The cameras aren't as weather proof as the GoPros but will hold their own as long as its not raining very heavily. About 4 hours (sometimes as little as 3). Replaceable batteries like the go pro.

Tachyon: These are the best IMO. They've been designed for police and law enforcement use so they are quite robust. They are by far the cheapest (costing as little at £100 posted). They have a good quality and record to 720... however, they dont record at 1080 like the contours and GoPros. The main advantage of the Tachyon (over the previous two) is not only cost but also the accessories. Other than the metal "gun case" all the fixtures and fittings you need for airsoft come in the box as standard, saving you what could be £60 with the contour or GoPro. The Tachyon comes in Day Vision or Night Vision which is quite novel compared to the other two. Its not as complicated to use but admittedly only has 2 settings, still and video... the settings for each are predefined and not selectable. can record continously for upwards of 5 hours (i've recorded an entire Sunday game on 1 charge given I turn it off at the breaks). There is no spare battery as its all inbuilt. The tachyon OPS HD series is one of the smallest and lightest available.

Sony: Sony produce an action cam, which is by far the best for daylight... But also the most expensive I believe. It has loads of setting and will record up to 120fps. Unfortunately, its battery life is terrible. at 120FPS we only got 1:30hrs out of it. It does have replaceable batteries... but you'd be changing the battery almost as quick as you reload . It has some good mounts available and an action sport case which we have yet to scratch!

Drift: not really worth it IMO. Some people get along with them. I don't. They're too big and the picture quality isnt much compared to any of the others.

My advice:

Order a Tachyon OPS from the US. There are no UK retailers. It works out to be about £150 for the HD version including shipping and tax. They have a very good customer service as well If you do buy one, let them know Kiran from RUAS sent you You will only need the tachyon as most of the accessories come in the box. If you want a rail mount. Its an extra $30 but well worth the money!

Alternatively.. if you HAVE to get a contour or go pro. Get the GoPro Hero 3 black edition as first preference OR the Contour 1500+ as second. They are a lot more expensive but arguably worth the money when you see the video footage

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I use a GoPro and in my opinion the Contours image quality and colour correction is much better suited to the weather we get here in the UK. The GoPro seems to be more calibrated towards really bright Californian sun.

In terms of low light performance the Contour is definitely the worst of the two but if i'm honest the GoPro isn't exactly anything to write home about.

The GoPro colour correction is designed for diving in nice tropical waters according to my colleague (who uses his contour for diving, mountaineering and the like).

The old contours used to have manual colour adjustment. Not sure if the new series still have that.

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Depends where you intend to use it. As youre saying a good day at the mall, something with IR is a must, gopros and contours are useless in low light (contours are better in bright light, gopros for dusky areas and tachyon NV for the dark.)

Jonny, A group of the RUAS guys (mainly me) run the Tachyon OPS NV.
Use that in combination with the CREE IR bulb and you can literally see to the end of the long basement corridor in the mall :D

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hmmm i did not know the tachyons have a nv function
i would like it, though is it worth the extra price i assume that would come with it, because though i like the mall, i do play outdoors half the time as well

The NV is solely geared towards the dark. If you use it in sunlight, the hue is absolutely buggered!
The HD NV costs about $150. You then need either the Tachyon IR illuminator (which is awesome, but chews threw batteries) for $70. Or you buy a surefire replica and stick the CREE IR bulb in it.

Currently, I run both the CREE IR and the Tachyon IR however, the tachyon costs me about £6 a day in batteries D: