Good Camera for Sports Motion Analysis at DVinfo.net

Tim Allison · October 25th, 2007, 09:19 AM

The local high school baseball coach wants a camera for motion analysis for baseball batting swings and pitching wind-up and delivery. He wants one of the cameras that record on DVD since most DVD players will playback frame-by-frame. But I also thought it would be nice to get him a camera that has some over-cranking/slo-mo features.

I've found the Sony DCR-DVD 508 and DCR-DVD 408 that will both do 240 fields-per-second, but only for a three second burst. I've found prices for this camera in the $550 to $650 range.

Does anyone else know of any other cameras that will record in slo-mo that fit in this price range?

Johan Staeck · November 2nd, 2007, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Allison

The local high school baseball coach wants a camera for motion analysis for baseball batting swings and pitching wind-up and delivery. He wants one of the cameras that record on DVD since most DVD players will playback frame-by-frame. But I also thought it would be nice to get him a camera that has some over-cranking/slo-mo features.

I've found the Sony DCR-DVD 508 and DCR-DVD 408 that will both do 240 fields-per-second, but only for a three second burst. I've found prices for this camera in the $550 to $650 range.

Does anyone else know of any other cameras that will record in slo-mo that fit in this price range?

The number of frames/fields per second might not be the only factor to consider.
More important is often to have a short shutter time in order to "freeze" the movement.
Many DV cameras have 1/1000 or shorter, but some only offer a "sports mode"
Using de-interlace, dedicated software can extract 60 (or 50 in PAL-land) frames/second from a simple DV camcorder.
This is often enough for sports motion analysis.

/Johan

Ben Lynn · November 13th, 2007, 07:51 AM

I think that the Sony models would probably fit most of your needs. One thing to really watch however, is that regardless of what camera you get, you'll need a lot of light to make it look good. The faster the shutter goes, the less light it allows in. Don't expect good results with a high shutter speed/high framerate when you're shooting indoors. If you're outdoors with good sunlight then you'll get the results you want.

Ben

October 25th, 2007, 09:19 AM	#1
Tim Allison Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Starkville, MS Posts: 96	Good Camera for Sports Motion Analysis The local high school baseball coach wants a camera for motion analysis for baseball batting swings and pitching wind-up and delivery. He wants one of the cameras that record on DVD since most DVD players will playback frame-by-frame. But I also thought it would be nice to get him a camera that has some over-cranking/slo-mo features. I've found the Sony DCR-DVD 508 and DCR-DVD 408 that will both do 240 fields-per-second, but only for a three second burst. I've found prices for this camera in the $550 to $650 range. Does anyone else know of any other cameras that will record in slo-mo that fit in this price range?

November 13th, 2007, 07:51 AM	#3
Ben Lynn Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bloomington, IL Posts: 636	I think that the Sony models would probably fit most of your needs. One thing to really watch however, is that regardless of what camera you get, you'll need a lot of light to make it look good. The faster the shutter goes, the less light it allows in. Don't expect good results with a high shutter speed/high framerate when you're shooting indoors. If you're outdoors with good sunlight then you'll get the results you want. Ben