How To Video Yourself Playing Pool?

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Dr_CollieCue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
How do you video yourself playing pool?

What camera do you use (phone, camcorder or regular camera and what model)?

Do you use a tripod (floor mount or smaller) or wall mount and what model?

What additional lighting, other setup, etc.?

I imagine a lot of people use their phone and perhaps a tripod.

I am talking about videoing yourself alone, without having someone there holding the camera and taking the video.

Thanks.
 
I use the Canon Vixia HF M40. For about $400, it's a good HD camera....does what it should and fairly user friendly. I bought a cheap tripod for 5.99 and then mount the camera high on a shelf.
 
I've been looking at what would be a way to do this also. just this morning I was looking (Walmart) at trying a gopro wearable. Shopping at Walmart requires knowing all there is to know about this, which I do not, so I did not buy.
 
We use the Canon ZR960 mini DV. It is a firewire camera, very fast.

It is a great camera, you can record on tape & playback or you can record straight to hard drive.

You can find them on eBay
 
Dan_B said:
Shopping at Walmart requires knowing all there is to know about this, which I do not, so I did not buy.
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Oh come on now!!!! The 17 year old kid could not tell whether or not that was going to do the job for you? He did not know all the intricacies of setting up and using the camera? :rotflmao1::rotflmao1::rotflmao1:

I am not laughing at you but rather the situation. Everyone is so wrapped up in being the cheapest that there is no service left in the sales and service industry. I bought my wife a Cannon 35mm digital camera for XMAS, I went to a regular camera store where I could get some valuable information on my purchase rather than going to the Interweb, I may have spent a small percentage more but to me the service I received was well worth it.
 
fastone371 said:
Oh come on now!!!! The 17 year old kid could not tell whether or not that was going to do the job for you? He did not know all the intricacies of setting up and using the camera? :rotflmao1::rotflmao1::rotflmao1:

I am not laughing at you but rather the situation. Everyone is so wrapped up in being the cheapest that there is no service left in the sales and service industry. I bought my wife a Cannon 35mm digital camera for XMAS, I went to a regular camera store where I could get some valuable information on my purchase rather than going to the Interweb, I may have spent a small percentage more but to me the service I received was well worth it.
Click to expand...

oh, if I was on the market for an apple product, they were ready for that. They had no gopro up and running so... I was looking for actual line of sight, how the wide angle lens up close looks, some of what I've seen has to much of a curve to it.
 
I just use my iphone. great quality and easy to upload, edit , etc. a tripod is reccomended
 
My experience

I bought a Cheap $99 Tablet from Walmart and a $15 Tripod... I can record myself sufficiently and do other things as well.... No need for a $400 camera to see if your head moves
 
I prefer to use my Canon Vixia HF10 because it has a remote for On/Off recording (no sense in video'ing myself racking the balls, etc.). I've got an inexpensive tripod that extends to about 65". When I put it on a chair it takes the camera almost to ceiling-height.

My iPhone takes great video; it just isn't as convenient if I want a full-table view.
 
I use my Nokia Lumia.
I don't have tripod and I use own tricks to get camera on place...
Tripod would be nice, I think. Phones should get placed close because zoom sucks. I normally have to zoom little because of camera placement. :(
 
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fastone371 said:
Oh come on now!!!! The 17 year old kid could not tell whether or not that was going to do the job for you? He did not know all the intricacies of setting up and using the camera? :rotflmao1::rotflmao1::rotflmao1:

I am not laughing at you but rather the situation. Everyone is so wrapped up in being the cheapest that there is no service left in the sales and service industry. I bought my wife a Cannon 35mm digital camera for XMAS, I went to a regular camera store where I could get some valuable information on my purchase rather than going to the Interweb, I may have spent a small percentage more but to me the service I received was well worth it.
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There is another school of thought on that. Small mom and pop stores or any small chain stores can be a real pain if you have any problem

Try to get a refund from a small store on anything if you have any problem. I pretty much only shop as stores like Walmart, Sears, Best Buy and so on. Nothing there is personal if you have a problem. They don't care if you want your money back they just give it to you no questions asked.

Try that in some mall shop. They will call the manager or even the owner who will give you an argument every time or try to swap it for something you don't even want. I only shop in big stores. They also usually have the best prices as well but for me that is just an added bonus.
 
Poolmanis said:
I use my Nokia Lumia.
I don't have tripod and I use own tricks to get camera on place...
Tripod would be nice, I think. Phones should get placed close because zoom sucks. I normally have to zoom little because of camera placement. :(
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I use a Nokia Lumia that used to be my main cell, but I broke the front glass so nowadays it's my video phone. Instead of a tripod, I use Blu-tac to mount the phone. Easy, cheap and effective :)

Edit: Here's a sample vid of a basic lineup drill of mine in 720p. I feel that using 1080p is too much without a really good camera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6buoDfmfWo
 
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mjantti said:
I use a Nokia Lumia that used to be my main cell, but I broke the front glass so nowadays it's my video phone. Instead of a tripod, I use Blu-tac to mount the phone. Easy, cheap and effective :)

Edit: Here's a sample vid of a basic lineup drill of mine in 720p. I feel that using 1080p is too much without a really good camera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6buoDfmfWo
Click to expand...

Yeah Lumia 920 does get frozen frames too much at 1080p. If I really wanted good quality stuff I would buy HD camera + tripod what you could bring up to two meters.
1080p is awesome for pool vids. Example : Last World Cup of Pool.
 
I have a Mitsuba 505 video camera on a tripod. It was an inexpensive solution.
 
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It all depends on you plan, set up and intentions

Do you have a table at home or do you plan on going to the pool hall?
Do you have good lighting at the pool hall or home and what's the condition of the cloth?
Is money a factor or is common sense more of a factor?

At home or the pool room the phone/ipod route is a good cheap way to go. The apple products take great video but know that apple saves files in AVCHD and not AVI this could be an issue for depending. Next is they save the files in 100% raw format so expect a 15 minutes session to be up to about 1 gig.

You can use other manufactures in that you can now save the data to a sim card of larger space, keep in mind you will need card readers to view on you computer, again I don't know what your plan is.

Phones are going to have some issues when comes to focusing and capturing light through the lens and crap like that, that's why lighting or table cloth becomes an issue (i.e. if you've ever watched a stream from joe blow and see a bright glare on the table) and here is a nice little tripod that can be use at the pool hall or at home sometimes depending on layout, they are also able to attach to tripod for more hight. (http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...Xphone+tripod.TRS0&_nkw=phone+tripod&_sacat=0)

If you are going to be doing this at home I say use your laptop and a webcam, I suggest the logitech C920 or so series. (here is what it looks like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5wAZRiwZm0) that way you save it straight to the hard drive, view it right there and maybe even on the TV via HDMI.

Now again, I don't know you or what you plan is or what you're hoping for or expecting or what you knowledge about this stuff is, soooo.

Lastly you can go the camcorder route, this could be hard or easy. You could over think it and spend the next 3 months looking for one or buying the most expensive one thinking its the best. Again, don't know you so don't know how you're going to approach this.

This is the camera I currently use (http://www.amazon.com/Canon-VIXIA-Image-Stabilized-Camcorder/dp/B006UMMPGE) in my world this was a win cause I was bought with the intention of capturing my daughters taekwondo, her singing or plays in school and family vacays, oh yea and some pool. I use this tripod (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bower-Profe...885?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4adc89ee65) with it. I tape some of my friends games burn to dvd and give to them from time to time. I shoot everything in 1080 but my practice in MP4. The cam records mp4 for 30 mins a pop so it works great as i spend about that much time on a particular exercise. I use a 32gig card and that get's me 3 hours easy of 1080p but 1080p is not small so expect the same size files as using Apple or i guess shooting in HD anyway.

Don't want to be bother with all the above, just want to record yourself and view it on your own time as easy as pie. Go get a tripod, make a Ustream account, buy the device listed below (wifi connection needed, a good wifi signal) and shoot to your hearts delight and have Ustream save all your data then watch it on the computer when you have time.
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Broadcaster-Streaming-Calling-Recording/dp/B009C98NQS
 
7forlife said:
and i think a perfect example of what i mentioned about the flares on the table.
hey dave you should look into one of these, it will help with getting an angle that has less glare
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No thanks.

That was filmed with an iPhone 4s. I have since upgraded to an iPhone 6+. I have zero issues recording with my newer iPhone. My iPhone is always in my pocket, fits easily in my case (if need be), and doesn't need separate equipment to run. Nite-Ize geaties are cheaper than a Gorillapod and I keep a few tucked neatly in my case. I can hang my iPhone from anywhere that has a small protrusion from the wall (hook, nail, screw).
 
It seems like a mix of phones and camcorders, each on tripods. I think I will get a small tripod and holder for my phone and then decide from there what else makes sense for better videos. Thanks.
 
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