Real cheap model. GZ-HM300BU

It's about half what i paid for my SD DV camcorder, about 1/3 the size, and about 4x the quality.

Curiously, my SD DV camcorder was about half what i paid for my old VHS camcorder, about 1/3 the size and about 4x the quality as well.

I love bugs, not on me so much. There is an amazing world of tiny things to point a camera at if you've got the right optics. One problem is getting enough DOF which needs a LOT of light and then you can roast your talent.

Whatever happened to the guy here who was making flea circus videos, they were great.

Bob.

Good heavens!

http://www.kellychien.com/venus_setting.avi

I recorded tonight's sunset. At the end of it i noticed Venus in the sky. The camcorder actually picked it up! Dang, i'm liking this HD stuff.

Kelly,
Unsettling you should post your "mosquitoes" video on the date of our first confirmed West Nile case of the season here in Colorado.

But I appreciate your shots and enthusiasm.
;?)

I seem to remember one of your responses to a post about a year ago where you said:

"HD, what's HD?"

Congratulations.

Is that a time-lapse?
Venus, (or something) appears to be moving gently across the sky...

It's sped up about 30x.

And, my HD fling may be over nearly as soon as it started. The Everio got kicked off the dock into the lake this afternoon! UGH!.

It's wrapped up in a bag of rice now, waiting to see how badly it's suffering after it dries out.

Hey Kelly,
two words... neck strap ... (grin)

You're in for it now - you'll get inundated with dozens of techniques and procedures to keep that from happening again ... just trying to warn you, my friend. . .

You'll have lots of new friends with fresh ideas for protecting your cameras near water... heck this thread may end up valuable enough to become a sticky... (lol)
* * *
All seriousness aside, as Steve Allen used to say, it's really a bummer ... did it come with a warranty? You didn't get it from a guy on the corner of 33rd and 3rd who set up a storefront in his trunk, did you? I've been scammed by that guy myself ... although, it is a big trunk... (lol)

Until that time... Earl J.

I have insects as well, but this is what I find in my backyard. Sorry it isn't HD.

http://amediaprof.com/vids/home.mp4

Keith,
my uncle down in Florida used to have a five acre farm near Lake Okeechobee ... he had a four foot gator that used to sneak into the garage before my aunt left for work... and it would scare the dickens out of her when she walked out to get into her car... funny now, but not so much when it happened to me once...

Until that time... Earl J.

Actually I have gotten pretty used to them. We have a deal. You don't eat me and I won't make sweet and sour with you. I haven't been keeping my end up, but so far they have been keeping up theirs.

A Friend of mine dropped his (wifes) DSLR into the Atlantic some time ago, his kayak got bumped by a whale of all things, outside Cape Town. He didn't have a neck strap either.

His solution was to buy a new one, before his wife discovered that he lost her latest birthday present. I guess he didn't have a choice.

But on the serious side, can you even insure cameras for water damage?
And who replaces a camera if it is ruined during a shoot? I'm thinking about the clips of cameramen falling into water and mud that were posted a short while ago.

For the smaller camcorders, you can get a "sports pack" for some of them (that is what Sony call theirs) which basically is a plastic casing that waterproofs the camera, not for deep water diving, but certainly enough to survive a wet area.

As for drying out the camera, drop in whatever silica-gel packages you can find in various boxes to supplement the rice. I can't remember ever buying some electronic device that didn't have these in the box.

OK,

I won't resist it any longer. If you put the camera in a vacuum tank and create a negative pressure, the water will boil off at room temperature. That's not the case for mud. I suspect a "Space Bag" that's sold at Target, Wal Mart, etc. would be the low-tech equivalent with your home vacuum cleaner. I believe the best thing would be to dry the circuits fast before corrosion set in. The vacuum will speed things along. Refrigeration techs use this method to get moisture out of refrigeration systems this way. It's the basis of freeze drying, without the freeze.

I like the vacuum idea!

However, i'll have to say that JVC is now my favorite electronics company. I just pulled the camera out of the bag of rice, popped the battery in, inserted the SD card, and *bang* i was watching the movies i recorded yesterday at the lake. WOW!

The display still seems a little blue, and the lens is completely clouded over. I can deal with the blue display since i'll mainly only be using it for framing, not watching. And i can clean the lens.

Dang. I'm impressed!

You know, the Go Pro Hero comes with a waterproof enclosure that would be perfect for your fumble fingers. I could save a lot of good rice :)

HEY!!!! Did i ever say *i* was the one who kicked it in the drink? :p

you can get insurance for almost any thing, in any circumstance - as long as you're willing to pay for it.

my old sp rig was covered for 'all risks' $50k, the premium (back in the 90's was around $375aud a year (i think). it had the usual exclusions - plagues, famine, nuclear war, civil commotion, and though it was covered for 'accidental' damage, flooding was excluded. thankfully, living on the driest continent, i never found out if i was covered for falling off a river bank. mind you, i would never have done that shot without first checking the bank!

my z5 is now under my household policy for all risks, at about $75au.

> "my z5 is now under my household policy for all risks, at about $75au. "

Leslie, this may not apply to you, but if damage to your camera happens while you are using it to earn money, it could well be excluded by your household policy - worth checking.

hi peter,

i checked out whether i was covered for 'commercial' work - having explained to a supervisor at the company (apia) that i am semi-retired, though do occasional freelance, and my own production projects on an ah hoc basis. they said that as long as i wasn't using it in a 'full-time business scenario' i was covered.

since i mainly edit for clients, i certainly don't have a problem. but it is a good point you raise, though i think a $5k camera isn't worth the hassle of a fully comprehensive business cover anyway....

btw. you warm over there? cold enough this side to freeze the balls off a brass monkey....

Here in Penna, we had 99 yesterday, and they are looking for 100 today and tomorrow. Not a good time to mow the grass. That should be warm enough.

Lynn

Gator Attack: http://www.jazzythedog.com/testing/gator-attack.html Caught on Callawassee Island, SC on an itty-bitty Canon SD 960 IS.

...Jerry

And i can clean the lens.

Carefully! Those things are coated.
Sorry to hear of your camcorder accident.