Video Taping Your Game

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stevesdl

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I did a search but only found a few posts regarding video taping one's game.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a fairly inexpensive video camera that would work "very well" in taping ones game. It would have to be able to be on a tripod but other than that I am not sure what to get. I have never had a video camera and I don't have a clue what would make a good camera for a pool game. I do see that some have hard drives which makes it a lot easier for taping a long game.

Any suggestions are kindly welcomed.

Thanks
Steve
 
Video camera

I made a wall mount to put the video camera on appox 7' up on the wall. Take a L bracket and bend one side down on a angle towards your table. Make a small platform with sides, so that the camera will not slip off. Get a camera first, then you will know the size of your platform that you need to make. Once you have it up you can bend that L bracket where it tapes your whole table.
 
You can certainly buy any number of cameras that will do the job, including those with hard drives. You can also go get a cheap video camera at the pawn shop, and get a dvd recorder for $100, that will give you good recording quality.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
Get any cheap $100 digital camera with a video feature. You can then upload it into youtube and get it critiqued by any one of us.

I have video taped myself many times. It is essential in the skill building process. Get someone who is better than you to look at it and give his honest opinion. Work on it, and tape yourself 30 days later. Keep doing that until you get where you want.
 
search in the 14-1 section. It has been discussed there and you will find ALL you ever wanted to know.


I use my digital camera samsung s800 (i think), shoots in 800x640 and does the job well. Good memory card and i have enough space for 2 hours taping. sometimes my bateries dont last as long as the memory card does :D
 
stevesdl said:
Does anyone have a recommendation for a fairly inexpensive video camera that would work "very well" in taping ones game.
Click to expand...
I have a few cameras that work great for video - the best one so far (in terms of ease of use, remote control, transfer of data, resolution, etc) is the HD camcorder that I also use on the track. It is great for normal light conditions and will record 720p @ 60 FPS, or 1080i @ 30FPS. It is solid state, so moving files from camera to computer is very easy. It is made by Aiptek (Action HD), and retails for under $200. With an 8GB SD card, it can record 3 hours of HiDef video, and a whole day of normal video.

I also have a mini-DV tape camera that works in all light conditions, and my still camera(s) have video capability, although small (640X480). However, using a tape camera is not the best solution because the transfer of data files takes a long time. Keep in mind, you will also need a decent computer to edit your video.

So, depending on your application, you can get normal speed cameras to evaluate your play for under a couple hundred bucks, or a high speed camera (~1000FPS) for analyzing more detailed parts of the game. The new Casio EX-FH20 is a good candidate here, and is only around $500. A tripod can be had for under 10 bucks.

Lastly, steer clear of tape based cameras unless you have a lot of free time.

-td
 
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A Flip Mino is cheap, compact enough to fit into your cue case, and downloads straight to computer. The picture and sound is fine for reviewing your game and coaching. Use it with something like a Joby Gorillapod. Works for me.
 
Big Sincere thanks to Everyone

I thought I had my account setup to send me an email if I got any replies but obviously I do not have that set correctly.

I am extremely happy that I got so many excellent responses. I am off to research all the answers and will let ya'll know when I have it setup.

I was also exceoted to know many people do this and state this is an excellent step in the right direction in improving one's game. I am a consistent 3-4 inning shooter in 8-ball with an occasional table run and many 2 inning games. I want to be consistent on 2 inning games or 3 inning at the maximum.

Tanks all
Steve
 
ghost121 said:
A Flip Mino is cheap, compact enough to fit into your cue case, and downloads straight to computer. The picture and sound is fine for reviewing your game and coaching. Use it with something like a Joby Gorillapod. Works for me.
Click to expand...

I just bought a Flip Ultra video camera. Is it good enough to upload to Ustream for e-mailing and such? I just want to be able to show a good run in 14.1 or 3 or 4 racks of 9-ball if I ever get over being camera shy. I think it has something to do with how I used to make a little extra money. I use to say, "take a picture of me and the camera is dead meat." Johnnyt
 
Johnnyt, the quality should be fine for what you want. Altho I think max record time is about 60 minutes. Good for 9ball but maybe not long enough if you get into your stroke at 14.1. If you have any tech problems send me a pm and I will try to help. My Flip Mino works great and is very easy to transfer to my Mac. PC should be just as straightforward.

Looking forward to seeing you post some good runs (or lighten the wallet of whoever is unlucky enough to knock at your door and say something like, 'hey, nice table...u want to play a few games?')
 
ghost121 said:
Johnnyt, the quality should be fine for what you want. Altho I think max record time is about 60 minutes. Good for 9ball but maybe not long enough if you get into your stroke at 14.1. If you have any tech problems send me a pm and I will try to help. My Flip Mino works great and is very easy to transfer to my Mac. PC should be just as straightforward.

Looking forward to seeing you post some good runs (or lighten the wallet of whoever is unlucky enough to knock at your door and say something like, 'hey, nice table...u want to play a few games?')
Click to expand...

Thank you very much. If I'm reading it right I believe I can buy more memory for it...and you are right, it came with 60 min. Johnnyt
 
Here is another budget priced digital camcorder for your consideration. I've been using this polaroid digital camcorder for the last 4 months. Uses SDHC memory cards, saves in AVI format, and spare batteries are dirt cheap. Recording time is limited by the size of the SD card. A 6 GB SD card, yields 2 1/2 hours in hi-def and just under 7 hours NTSC (regular tv format).

http://www.amazon.com/POLAROID-DVC-...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1243040855&sr=1-1
 
Hey ctyhntr...Let's plug your camera into my monitor tomorrow. I want to see the difference in video quality between Hi Def and what I've been using! I watched you recording yourself today. It makes a big difference when you know what angles to record, for self-evaluation. See you in the morning! :D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

ctyhntr said:
Here is another budget priced digital camcorder for your consideration. I've been using this polaroid digital camcorder for the last 4 months. Uses SDHC memory cards, saves in AVI format, and spare batteries are dirt cheap. Recording time is limited by the size of the SD card. A 6 GB SD card, yields 2 1/2 hours in hi-def and just under 7 hours NTSC (regular tv format).

http://www.amazon.com/POLAROID-DVC-...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1243040855&sr=1-1
Click to expand...
 
Have the video now working but

Well after trying out a low cost standard definition "SD" model, I decided to suck it up and go buy a High definition model "HD".. I bought the Sony HD Handycam. I love it but now looking to get a wide angle lense so that I can video the games from the side and not from the end of the table.

I have joined Youtube and placed a 2 game 8 ball video but I want to make it private. someohow I cannot discern how to send and\or add people to the private list "to save my life".

Anyopne been down that road and know how to do this. I really don't want to make the video public;.

Thanks
Stevesdl
 
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