Aiptek A-HD 720P video sample and ATC2K test

[cavescom]

HD Cave Video Samples

This past weekend we did a Camp III/Senate Hall trip in Zicafoose. Just before the trip we jumped down in the entrance passage and shot some video on an Aiptek A-HD and an Oregon Scientific ATC2K helmet mount.

Aiptek A-HD Details:

Camera -- Aiptek A-HD 720P see camcorders on http://www.aiptek.com

Video format -- h.264 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264

Lighting -- 4 LED's on a Princeton Tec Apex

Video Setting -- Mode set on "cloudy"

Editing Software: I use Nero 8 Suites "Vision 5" for editing h.264 format. The Nero 8 Suite also has a slick recoder program to swap video formats to easily edit the footage in another edit software.

NOTE: I just today got Total Media Extreme which ships now with all new Aipteks. Total Media will import and edit the h.264 file but will not export to the h.264 format.
Samples --- YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmVL826aFkg or if you want to see the full clip in HD and you have the latest Quicktime you can download it(be patient 70megs) at http://www.lansing--realestate.com/vide ... sample.MOV starts with Princeton Tec 3w lighting then moves to the 4 LED's

Other reviews of the A-HD: http://tinyurl.com/29enkq

**The Aiptek A-HD 720P camera performed great in lowlight and we will be using on all our trips from this point on!

Oregon Scientific ATC2K Helmet Mounted - http://www.atc2k.com/

Oregon Scientific sent me a demo to use for this trip and we filmed about 20 min. of video with the unit mounted to the helmet. Lighting used was a Princeton Tec 3w and Tec 4 Led's. This apparently was too little light for this unit to produce any usable footage.

Mark Passerby, Cavediggers.com

[David Grimes]

Thanks for the post on the aiptek. I have been considering buying the exact model you used and I was curious how it would do in a cave. I am looking to film more from a tripod do you know how it performs from a little further from the light? I will probably be filming most shots from a distance of no more than 20' from the subject. Also did you have any issues with moisture I don't know how the caves in your area are but in Indiana there tends to be allot of humidity.

[cavescom]

Thanks for the post on the aiptek. I have been considering buying the exact model you used and I was curious how it would do in a cave. I am looking to film more from a tripod do you know how it performs from a little further from the light? I will probably be filming most shots from a distance of no more than 20' from the subject. Also did you have any issues with moisture I don't know how the caves in your area are but in Indiana there tends to be allot of humidity.

At 20' you will need a little more light than 4 LED's on a Princeton Tec but it will do fantastic.

I also strongly recommend the Nero 8 Software Suite which you can get at Bestbuy or online....the more I use it the more I love it.

Humidity I doubt will be much of a problem. My concern is getting it wet...i.e. our next major trip with it will be at a dig 6 hours in with major water pouring out of a wall and another waterfall pouring out of the ceiling behind us which is misting everywhere. So for that I am buying a pelican/otter case(a bit oversized) with clear lid and will bore a hole in one edge that will fit the lense. I will put velcro inside to hold camera in place. I will put a rubber plug in the hole during travel and then position camera correctly in the case and flip the screen so I can view it through the lid and use that setup to capture most of the footage in these more rugged and wet areas. I will upload a pic to this discussion once I have the case done.

From what I have read on other groups this camera does far better in lowlight than others that cost far more.

Mark Passerby, Cavediggers.com