What are you using for a safety camera?

[Roger Gunkel]

Hi Chris,

I use the hdmi out at the moment, but does the lead you show allow you to record while viewing?

Roger

[Chris Harding]

Hi Roger

Absolutely yes! In record mode the rear tiny LCD blanks out and it feeds to the new connected monitor...it also shows the full data that the LCD screen shows. However it does has a strange "quirk" ...If you set TV Out on it feeds everything to the output cable (even setup) but when you turn the camera off it defaults back to TV Out as "off" Recording therefore to an external monitor means going to setup first...via the little LCD on the camera and changing TV Out from off to on. The screen then blanks and it transferred to the new output. If you turn the camera off you have to re-initiate the TV Out!!

However yes, I can absolutely confirm that you can record and view your recording via an external monitor and also play it back on the external monitor!!

Chris

[Roger Gunkel]

Excellent Chris and thanks, I'll order one :-)

Roger

[Chris Harding]

Hi Roger

If it assists at all the packet the cable came in has a cable number sticker on it and it reads "DCST2385" ..I guess that's a Part Number???

Your cable should have a right angle Micro USB plug at one end and then a split in the other end, one cable going to a stand USB and the other going to a male RCA plug (that's obviously the video output)

They also sent me a standard USB to computer USB cable ..for what I have no idea!! The split cable with the USB offshoot bit is supposedly for access 5 volt power from..for what device, I again don't know but I doubt if it would power up a monitor?

Chris

[Matt Thomas]

Originally Posted by Chris Geiger

I use a Sony RX100 on alight stand in the back as my safety camera. It's very small and discreet and matches the look of my 70D.

Doesn't the Sony RX100 have a time limit for recording?

[Dave Blackhurst]

RX100 has a 29 minute limit, good enough for most ceremonies... and you can of course stop/start again until the card is full.

[Noa Put]

a safetycamera is often not monitored so you have to track time to know when to restart, if I use a dslr with such a timelimit it requires me to re-start 2 times to have the entire ceremony which is a big pain, that's why I don't consider camera's with a recording timelimit suitable as safety.

[D.R. Gates]

I use a Lumix FZ200 as a back/safety cam. It will record over 2 hours of continuous video. But that's here in the states. I know the EU has weird limits on such things.

[Andrew Maclaurin]

I'm interested in a safety cam that can be left alone and can get on with the job unlike my Canon 700D DSLR which looks great when everything is ok but can't handle changes in auto very well. I have a Canon C100 as a main cam, a Go pro hero4 as a super wide and trick cam but I'm looking at all the small cams that Noa and others keep going on about.
Has anyone had experience of a Sony HDR PJ780 or a Sony HDR PJ810? Would that do a job as a safety cam? I have seen 2nd hand ones for 500€. Are they wide enough to get a general shot? I used to have a Canon G25 but I wasn't that fond of it.

[Michael Silverman]

Originally Posted by Andrew Maclaurin

I'm interested in a safety cam that can be left alone and can get on with the job unlike my Canon 700D DSLR which looks great when everything is ok but can't handle changes in auto very well. I have a Canon C100 as a main cam, a Go pro hero4 as a super wide and trick cam but I'm looking at all the small cams that Noa and others keep going on about.
Has anyone had experience of a Sony HDR PJ780 or a Sony HDR PJ810? Would that do a job as a safety cam? I have seen 2nd hand ones for 500€. Are they wide enough to get a general shot? I used to have a Canon G25 but I wasn't that fond of it.

Andrew, if you don't need to buy one immediately, I would look at the new Canon XC-10 which is slated to be announced in a couple months: XC10 « Canon Rumors The specs that have been released list internal 4K and a 1" sensor. This camera will likely match the sharpness of your C100 and be better in low light than most prosumer/consumer cameras due to the 1" sensor. Also, by sticking with Canon you will have a much easier time matching it with your other Canon cameras as I've found that Sony and Canon cameras tend to interpret colors differently making it difficult to match them in some situations.

The cost of the XC-10 hasn't been announced but I think it will likely cost a bit more than the Sony cameras you listed. However, it sounds like it will be a camera you can use for more than just a safety cam since it is going to compete with the Sony PXW‑X70. If you do any event work where you need a camera with power zoom and lots of detail then this could be your A Camera for those jobs as well as a great safety cam to complement what you already have.

[Matt Brady]

On a typical wedding I use 5 Panny GH3's

One of which is a import model so has no record limit. I put the dedicated battery grip on this one and mount it at the back on a robust light stand or I clamp it to something using a manfrotto easy clamp with a ball head attached.

Using 5 matching cameras makes colour matching in the edit a lot easier then when you have different models or makes.

[Andrew Maclaurin]

Michael Silverman,
it certainly looks very interesting but probably too expensive for me for next season (unless I get a lot of new bookings before May)

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Michael Silverman

This camera will likely match the sharpness of your C100 and be better in low light than most prosumer/consumer cameras due to the 1" sensor.

Don't underestimate those little sony handycams, my cx730 is equally lightsensitive as my ax100 and less noisy at it's highest iso setting, the only obvious difference is in detail.
If you say that rumored canon camera is going to compete with the x70 you can expect a price which is 3 times of those sony little handicams, I don't doubt it will be a better camera but for a safetycamera those sony cxxxx versions are hard to beat, especially because you can find them cheap second hand, they will require some sharpening in post to match up with c100 alike camera's but like you said color difference might be an issue.

Are they wide enough to get a general shot?

My cx730 goes very wide, it think it starts from 26.5mm, it's one of the widest you can find on handicam type camera's. The only disadvantage is has that despite being very lightsensitive that it ramps quickly from f1,8 to f3,4 once you start zooming in. If you plan to only use it on a tripod however I"d get a high end canon handicam, they will be very good as well, though I"m not sure how wide their lens starts, one thing however the Sony has over all other handicams is it's magic eyeball OIS, it's the best stabilisation I have ever used on any camera if you plan to shoot handheld, only don't forget to disable it on a tripod :)

[Andrew Maclaurin]

Hi Noa,
the plan is to use it as a locked off camera getting a general wide shot that stays in focus and changes iris etc according to the light. I am currently using a Canon DSLR as a safety cam and it isn't reliable as a safety cam. Really the camera would only be used in a ceremony, first dance or any other obvious set up situation, speeches etc. The magic eyeball could be handy if I wanted to hand the camera to the photographer to get an extra shot. I think the key is usability, reliability, size and overall price. I see it as a stop gap until I can afford a better B-cam.

[Noa Put]

You might consider the "CANON LEGRIA HF G30", I just see it also starts as wide as my sony and you could have better luck colormatching it with other canon camera's.