Cameras for Mechanics analysis

Ted22 2014-03-18 22:18:31 UTC #1

Hey guys,

I am looking for suggestions for high speed video cameras to work on analysis of my son’s pitching motion. Any suggestions for cameras would really be appreciated. I need to stay under $1000 and much prefer under $500 or so. Thanks for any help

Ted

jdfromfla 2014-03-18 23:07:13 UTC #2

How old is he?
You don’t need a lot…shoot the iphone5 has a pretty decent camera that does slo-mo…unless he’s hi 80’s and trying to break into the 90’s you don’t need much more, just a stable base (Tri-pod).
Pawn shops are a treasure trove of good cameras gone inexpensive.

plaz 2014-03-19 05:01:08 UTC #3

Pitching doesn’t need super slow mo. Batting is more impotent to have super slow mo. In fact , I have a better evaluation of a fair vs good pitcher at full speed then slow mo. But I hear Casio made a camera with a lot of FPS video. iPad and ubersense app does fair for me.

Ted22 2014-03-19 06:30:14 UTC #4

Thanks for the inputs so far. He is almost 16. Not quite mid 80’s tops. I am looking for some subtle tweaks in body position and observation of arm action that I have not been able to see at 30 fps. He averages about a 5 mph gain each year so I expect him to get slightly above mid 80s by close of fall.

Thanks again,

Ted

Ted22 2014-03-19 14:13:53 UTC #5

Reading Kyle’s Driveline blog leads me to believe a number of the Exilim cameras could do what I want. Here is a link for anyone interested.

Thanks,

Ted

Slewbacca 2014-03-19 14:54:42 UTC #6

The Exlims work great. Use 240 FPS. The 480 and 1000 FPS are too grainy.

Here is a link from Amazon.

Ted22 2014-03-19 16:59:52 UTC #7

Slew,

Thanks for the link. That is a great price to be able to get that kind of info.

Best regards,

Ted

jdfromfla 2014-03-19 19:12:59 UTC #8

Can’t go wrong on Kyle’s experience…he’s done the research and walked that mile

Roger 2014-03-19 23:24:48 UTC #9

I have the Casio EX-F1 (which I understand is no longer made) and am very happy with it. It was a lot more expensive but it shoots 300, 600 and 1200 fps. I prefer 600fps (especially if looking at arm action) but I normally use 300 fps because I find it sufficient for most cases and it keeps the file sizes lower.

mrmallerd 2014-03-20 09:09:01 UTC #10

I have been using a gopro using the burst setting at thirty pics on a 2 second interval. I initially tried 30 pics in 1 second, however, it did not give me his full motion.

Ted22 2014-03-20 12:39:35 UTC #11

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the recommendations.

The FX-1 is clearly a more capable camera than most of what is currently offered. Better resolution at the high speeds. Maybe I can find a good deal somewhere. If not I think I can make do with one of the other Casio models or maybe the higher end GoPro. There are a lot of fun reasons to own a GoPro. Someday I gotta get one anyway.

Thanks again,

Ted

Termhn 2014-03-23 23:09:11 UTC #12

http://gopro.com/cameras/hd-hero3-black-edition#technical-specs

The Hero 3 Black edition allows 120fps video at 720p and 240 fps at 800x600 (WVGA)

kyleb 2014-03-31 01:24:29 UTC #13

I have a GoPro Black. I can’t stand it. Movie format is terrible and lack of navigation options on the camera don’t work for me.

Casio Exilim EX-series cameras are the best. EX-F1s are the cream of the crop, but good luck finding one for $1000 or less.

Ted22 2014-03-31 10:45:22 UTC #14

Kyle,

Thanks for the information. Too bad about the GoPro. I am going to see if I can get by with a less expensive Casio. If not I’ll sell it and pick up a used FX1

Thanks,

Ted

kyleb 2014-03-31 15:18:45 UTC #15

You can usually find a suitable Exilim on Amazon. I have EX-FH25s for my lab, but the EX-ZR400 is often $180 or less (like it is now) with free shipping from Amazon

and works great.

Ted22 2014-03-31 22:15:55 UTC #16

Kyle,

Thanks for the link. I am going to give that one a shot first. I’ll let you know haw it goes.

Thanks again,

Ted

kyleb 2014-04-01 05:01:07 UTC #17

No problem. Just be sure to get a fast enough SDXC memory card. Trevor Bauer was going nuts when he couldn’t figure out why his movies were dropping frames, and I solved it for him by getting him a faster speed card. It’s actually how we started working together!

I have these Sony 32 GB SDXC cards

. Inexpensive, great reviews, and as far as I can tell, work just fine.

Ted22 2014-04-01 09:28:01 UTC #18

Kyle,

Thanks for that tip also. I will order both in a couple of weeks. I’ll post here how it goes.

Best regards,

Ted