Suggestions on GoPro HD Hero2 or equivalent...

[Greg G]

Ah. Looks like the FH100 is still the one to get. Thanks

[Rare]

Jaykay, better late then never:

GoPro Hd2 720p 60 fps in slowmotion

[Chas Tennis]

Do you have any 120 fps in direct sunlight?

[Rare]

sadly not, and it will be 480p for the 120 fps one.
And i will freeze my balls off if i do it outside in the snow

[Greg G]

That's pretty good! My 1st gen GoPro hero hd doesn't work very well indoors. But the lighting in that court is pretty good too!

[beernutz]

I bought a Canon Powershot SX 260 earlier this year as a compact camera mainly because it sports a 20x optical zoom but it also shoots video at both 120 and 240 fps, which I have used to record myself practicing tennis. The price has actually dropped about $100 since I bought mine too.

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consum...Specifications

[psmo290]

Originally Posted by beernutz

I bought a Canon Powershot SX 260 earlier this year as a compact camera mainly because it sports a 20x optical zoom but it also shoots video at both 120 and 240 fps, which I have used to record myself practicing tennis. The price has actually dropped about $100 since I bought mine too.

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consum...Specifications

Do you have a sample video shot with that camera?

I bought a canon A1300 over black friday for $60 with the pure intention of filming tennis. The video quality isn't exactly what I thought it would be. My iphone 4s takes better videos than this camera. I guess you really do get what you pay for.

So I'm looking around for something of a higher quality. I'm looking for one that has full HD capability, but I will most likely record at 720p to conserve storage. From what I've seen, cameras that can go 1080p tend to record better videos at 720p than those cameras that max out at 720p

I'm open to any suggestions. Budget is under $200

[Chas Tennis]

Found this on Youtube -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMT50...endscreen&NR=1

The old, cheap Aiptek camera, discussed in replies #14 & 15 above, is 60 fps at 720 and does not have high speed video. But in bright sunlight the Auto exposure control selects a faster shutter speed and the motion blur allows considerable stroke analysis. Do you want to tape matches or tennis strokes, both?

Smartphone cameras have AUTO exposure control for video that selects fast shutter speeds in bright light = sharp images.

Have you tried your camera in direct sunlight to see if AUTO selects a fast shutter speed and reduces motion blur?

[Greg G]

Chas Tennis,

Any experience with the Casio Exilim FC100/FC150? Found a few available locally. FH100s are pretty hard to find!

Greg

[Chas Tennis]

Originally Posted by Greg G

Chas Tennis,

Any experience with the Casio Exilim FC100/FC150? Found a few available locally. FH100s are pretty hard to find!

Greg

I have only used the Casio FH100 and Aiptek ActionHD.

This forum has had many discussions of cameras. I searched FC100 and FC150 and found replies in 5 threads.

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/

I am very uncertain about camera specs from online sources unless I own the camera or see forum replies from reliable owners. You can download the full user's manuals from Casio and look for shutter speed in high speed video mode. Often this information is buried in the 'notes' as for the ZR cameras. You can also search youtube FC100 FC150 golf or tennis. For golf, find side views (not the behind view where the club head is going away) in bright sunlight only (with sharp shadows). If a camera's AUTO uses a faster shutter speed in bright sunlight it might do a nice job reducing motion blur. Look at the motion blur of the golf club head. Realize that the cameras in these videos are not often set to minimize motion blur.

I am uncertain whether some Casio FC cameras have an AUTO exposure control with shutter priority in high speed video mode. I don't trust some of the info on the golf site as people who don't use the cameras for HSV, myself included, sometimes see the still mode spec and assume it applies to the high speed video mode.

Any video camera and especially any high speed video camera will provide new information on your strokes that can't possibly be seen or felt. If the cost is reasonable give high speed video a try.

[Greg G]

I found this on YT. Looks pretty decent, considering it was shot at night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFwc_8rTcxA

[Chas Tennis]

Originally Posted by Greg G

I found this on YT. Looks pretty decent, considering it was shot at night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFwc_8rTcxA

That quality HS video would be very useful for tennis strokes. You can see the body parts well. You would not see the racket face or ball position well or the fastest body motions in the serve. In bright direct sunlight the FC150 would probably? choose a shutter speed that is faster. But exactly how AUTO exposure controls would work is never made clear.

To estimate the shutter speed in the video-

If you look at second 20 just after the ball has left the racket you can see the motion blur on the racket head and ball. (I can do stop action while viewing Youtube on my laptop by pressing the mouse pad key as fast as possible on the YT 'play-pause' button.) The motion blur on the ball seems to be roughly 12".

Motion blur for objects traveling across the frame-
Motion Blur = Velocity X Exposure Time (or "shutter speed")

Say the ball is going 60 MPH
12" = 60 MPH X T

T = 12" / 60 MPH

Convert 60 MPH to inches per second
http://www.kylesconverter.com/speed-...hes-per-second

= 1056"/second

T = 12"/1056"/second

T = 0.011 second

Probably 1/100 sec - a very slow shutter.

AUTO shutter speeds for direct sunlight should produce less motion blur. Can you find a golf or tennis video where the shadows are high contrast & sharp? There are many more golf videos.

If the camera has AUTO with shutter priority or a "sports mode" I believe, but am not sure, that it will select faster shutter speeds. ??

Another camera discussion
Looking for Help Choosing a Camera
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=405536

[Greg G]

Got a used FC-150 just now. $90 used

It has manual exposure for high speed videos! Auto exposure only for hd/regular video! Confirmed in manual and in camera.

Max shutter speed is 1/800 at f 3.6 and 1/1000 at f8.5.

[Chas Tennis]

Originally Posted by Greg G

Got a used FC-150 just now. $90 used

It has manual exposure for high speed videos! Auto exposure only for hd/regular video! Confirmed in manual and in camera.

Max shutter speed is 1/800 at f 3.6 and 1/1000 at f8.5.

Could you post a few high speed videos of serves from behind and from the side that are taken in direct sunlight (with sharp shadows)? Use the fastest shutter speed available.

[beernutz]

Originally Posted by psmo290

Do you have a sample video shot with that camera?

I bought a canon A1300 over black friday for $60 with the pure intention of filming tennis. The video quality isn't exactly what I thought it would be. My iphone 4s takes better videos than this camera. I guess you really do get what you pay for.

So I'm looking around for something of a higher quality. I'm looking for one that has full HD capability, but I will most likely record at 720p to conserve storage. From what I've seen, cameras that can go 1080p tend to record better videos at 720p than those cameras that max out at 720p

I'm open to any suggestions. Budget is under $200

www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7G3kekXg2Q
I did not take that but it looks the same as my camera. There is a 30 second time limit when shooting in either 120 or 240fps modes.

[Greg G]

Originally Posted by Chas Tennis

Could you post a few high speed videos of serves from behind and from the side that are taken in direct sunlight (with sharp shadows)? Use the fastest shutter speed available.

Will do once I get out on court!

In the meantime, I couldn't resist taking footage in the office!

120 fps
http://youtu.be/t024sHeh9DQ

240 fps
http://youtu.be/KrkA7dxj18Q

[db10s]

I like my Nikon AW100. Good slo mo.

[IdrinkYourMilkshake]

I bought an FH100 off fleabay last fall from Japan and the seller was highly regarded selling these cameras. I had no problems and it came new in the box. The seller even threw in a bag of cheeto chips from Japan. I love my FH100. Arrived in about 7 days because he sent it using a fast service.

[Greg G]

Sorry Chas Tennis, it was an overcast day today. But I was quite impressed! This was taken with the Casio FC-150: 240 fps, 1/1000 shutter, f8.5, ISO 800 (MANUAL exposure).

http://youtu.be/ZZoQ7O1f7jo

A shame it maxed out at 1/1000 shutter speed, but it seems plenty fast! If I use f3.6, the max shutter speed is only 1/800. Tested it indoors, I had to go down to f 3.6 with shutter speed of 1/400 to get a useable video even with ISO 3200. How good is the FH100 indoors?

[Chas Tennis]

The FC150 does a great job showing your serve. You can see the racket orientation very well throughout the serve.

For indoor tennis courts the typical lighting level are only roughly 1% of direct sunlight. The shutter has to be slow to collect enough light. The FH100 has a reputation for doing well in low light. As I recall my FH100 might need shutter speeds of about 1/400 to 1/1000 sec with ISO 3200 and f3.2. I usually will go for a faster shutter speed to get minimum motion blur as long as I can see the arms and racket, that is, I accept dark and less attractive videos.

At exposure times of 1/1,000 sec the motion blur should only be considerable on close-ups of very rapidly moving objects, for fast racket head speeds, etc.. Even then, you might still see what you are after, such as where on the racket face the ball was contacted.

If the FC150 can record at 60p fps and also set 1/1000 sec shutter speed in that mode you can record a match and still do pretty good stop action with 60p fps. Then at any time in your match you can evaluate your strokes, identify the causes of errors, lack of pace on some strokes, etc..

If you really want to get into it and compare your serves to pro serves side-by-side, look into free Kinovea.

So for $90 you got a high speed video camera that is capable of providing analysis of your serve!