Looking for Help Choosing a Camera

[Chas Tennis]

Threads on camera safety

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=376421&highlight=camera+safety

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=456772&highlight=camera+mount

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=459498&highlight=camera+fence+mount

Cameras are routinely hung on fences with various commercial and homemade mounts. If not protected by the fence there is some probability per hour or match that the camera or mount could get hit by a ball. I would not put my expensive high speed video camera where it might get hit. Most people ignore the risk of a hit.

 

[RetroSpin]

Chas, Thanks a lot. That is really helpful. There is a lot of interest in the golf world on this subject as well, probably more to be honest. It's nice to know there are alternatives to shelling out for a legacy model Casio from japan, although I suppose that remains the gold standard.

 

[Chas Tennis]

That's it, exactly.

 

[tennisbike]

Look what I bought: Casio EX-F1 Ad
This beast is hefty and .. I am learning to use it. But $60, this is a very good puzzle/project to spend exercise this nut.

 

[Chas Tennis]

Look what I bought: Casio EX-F1 Ad
This beast is hefty and .. I am learning to use it. But $60, this is a very good puzzle/project to spend exercise this nut.

That was the best of Casio's outstanding cameras with full exposure control and a shutter speed of 25 microseconds. (1/40,000 sec)

You should go to Casio Support and download the user's manual. A good thing to save on your phone.

The camera should save certain settings so that the next time you turn on the camera they will be reset. Otherwise you have to reset them each time that you turn off the power. I described that for my Casio FH100 in a Kinovea forum.

Basic High Speed Video Camera Considerations & Cameras (Page 1) — Cameras and hardware — Kinovea - Forums

Basic High Speed Video Camera Considerations & Cameras (Page 1) — Cameras and hardware — Kinovea - Forums —

www.kinovea.org

See post #9 I assume that the FH100 & F1 both have this feature -
"FH100 Settings. The FH100 can be set to save many settings including ISO. MENU-REC-MEMORY (last) - ISO In MEMORY pick what you want to have set when you turn on the camera next time. Take care with this as, for example, you might not want the 10 sec trigger delay that you use for golf videos set the next time you grab the camera for stills. I’m still reading the 202 page user's manual and finding good stuff for high speed video settings. "

This can be nice for focus and zoom setting.

I have a F1 also. A case that fits is Lowepro Adventure TLZ30 ll.

 

[tennisbike]

Oh, great, you got an EX-F1, as well!

The price made the deal irresistible. It came with a nice bag with 2 lens, 2 batteries+charger, AC power, and AV cable. Missing USB and HDMI cables.. I am going through the menu on pdf. But like many reviews mentioned that the functions list is pretty deep on the EX-F1.
I am currently ordering the USB cable so that I can connect it to my computer. I might get an HDMI to view the video on the TV.

All this video taping is fun and game. I really just need to pay attention to my body. Like you I think my bicep tendon is troubling me, so I am limiting my range of motion to hit my serves pain free. I think I might have found the motion. Now I need to put it in practice, and hopefully my old muscle memory won't get in the way.

 

[Chas Tennis]

Oh, great, you got an EX-F1, as well!

The price made the deal irresistible. It came with a nice bag with 2 lens, 2 batteries+charger, AC power, and AV cable. Missing USB and HDMI cables.. I am going through the menu on pdf. But like many reviews mentioned that the functions list is pretty deep on the EX-F1.
I am currently ordering the USB cable so that I can connect it to my computer. I might get an HDMI to view the video on the TV.

All this video taping is fun and game. I really just need to pay attention to my body. Like you I think my bicep tendon is troubling me, so I am limiting my range of motion to hit my serves pain free. I think I might have found the motion. Now I need to put it in practice, and hopefully my old muscle memory won't get in the way.

I checked that my F1 camera recorded high speed video and put it away. I have not used it yet for strokes. From what I remember the menu was very similar to my FH100.

Youtube has a policy when uploading videos, it downsizes them according to a table of lines. Below the listed line counts it 'downsizes' the video to the next lowest line count.

As the camera frame rate of the video gets faster, as 240 fps, the resolution of the 30 fps video out of the camera goes down. 448 x 336 for 240 fps FH100. For my FH100 recorded at 240 fps, Youtube would downsize my low resolution video to Youtube's lowest saved video resolution of 240 lines. The result was pretty poor looking due to the degraded resolution. I had to spend a lot of time to learn that I could first take the camera video and its line count and save that video with more video lines ("upsize") and then upload that to Youtube instead of the original out-of-the-camera video. I used a Microsoft video application that comes in Windows 10. Your F1 camera may have no issues as I believe it has higher resolution than the FH100 for all frame rates. What you need is the Youtube table giving the number of horizontal lines that will not be downsized by Youtube. That table is below.

Video resolution & aspect ratios - Computer - YouTube Help

YouTube displays videos with different aspect ratios based on the platform and video format. The YouTube video player automatically adapts to the size of each individual video. How your video will di

support.google.com

I think that this table is it but don't know if aspect ratio matters.

My FH100 at 240 fps has 448 x 336 resolution. 336 is less than 360 so Youtube would downsize and save it at 240 lines instead of 336 lines, an ugly video. To work around this I 'upsized' my video to an option higher than 360 lines (in table below) and that fixed my problem, little loss of original resolution on Youtube.

Recommended resolution & aspect ratios
For the default 16:9 aspect ratio, encode at these resolutions:

• 2160p: 3840x2160
• 1440p: 2560x1440
• 1080p: 1920x1080
• 720p: 1280x720
• 480p: 854x480
• 360p: 640x360
• 240p: 426x240

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Have the wrist loop attached to the camera and use it whenever you remove the camera from the case.

There is a larger, low cost tripod by Polariod that I use. It has a geared elevator. It has more height than the small cheap ones and would be more stable for the larger F1 camera. You don't want the tripod to get hit and knocked over. There are plastic hinges for the legs and they can break.

You say two lenses? I don't think that the main zoom is interchangeable. ?

I carry a spare battery in the case and an empty formatted SD card.

I take the SD card out and slip it into my computer for viewing.

One negative issue, is that the editing on my FH100 camera is very slow. Especially for a longer video it takes a long time to rewrite to get rid of each clip of dead wood video.

When I change the battery of my FH100, it started losing the date. I have to type the date in each battery change. I read that can be a problem with the FH100. Maybe a capacitor goes bad and that would usually keep the clock running?

I would download the user's manual now.

Digital Cameras - Manual - CASIO Worldwide

Innovative products bring joy, create new lifestyle and pave the way for related economies - especially, if they have been developed by CASIO. Experience how creativity becomes contribution.

world.casio.com

Digital Cameras | Manuals | CASIO

Casio USA Support does not include cameras. I found the camera link above under "world Casio support".

 

[tennisbike]

My FH100 at 240 fps has 448 x 336 resolution.

EX-F1: (according to the manual)

• 300 fps: 512x384
• 600 fps: 432 x 192
• 1200 fps: 336 x 96
• 30~300 fps: 512 x 384

Have the wrist loop attached to the camera and use it whenever you remove the camera from the case.
There is a larger, low cost tripod..

Casio EX-F1 is a very solid piece of equipment. It is heavy. It does come with a neck strap. I already have a tripod. But had to buy the quick release plate because I broke one dropping another superzoom cam. Broke the bolt inside the camera body.. errggg.

It came with a polarized lens over the main lens. No idea about whether how those two lenses work. I assume it is a standard thing.

I put in a 64G microSD I bought for the sports cam and put that in with the adapter. I read somewhere with a firmware update you can stream it directly to HDMI. But knowing how old it is, I don't take any stock on that. I am trying to figure out where this EX-F1 is going to do in my world. I bought the sportscam which is actually fast but has no zoom. And I realize that I want to be able to frame the shot plus have the freedom of not placing the camera right at the object. This EX-F1 should be perfect for taking some high speed motion for my physics classroom.

Editing in the camera? I know that can be done but .. never try to do that. Always download the clip to computer first. However you do it, editing takes time, specially if your hardware is not up to the task.

I am really a beginner for high speed camera work. I will surely be asking a lot of silly questions as I proceed with my journey. Thanks for your input.