Looking for a Small Compact Video Camera

[Nizidramanii]

This summer I am going to start autocross (racing) with my '97 Miata. I want to take videos of my runs (to see where I can improve) using a video camera attached to my roll bar or some other place on the car (which I will decide at a later time).

I've been looking around at digital cameras for a long time, but I can't seem to find a website that focuses on video cameras (as opposed to still cameras). Here's what I'm looking for:

Priceunder $200 (cheaper the better so that I don't freak if it falls off the car)
Small and light so that it is easier to mount
Decent video quality (640x480 would be fine)
Common media format (SD or CF)

[vwmom]

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/



If you're looking at a hard drive.. or memory card only camera.. you'll be spending over that amount.. some take cards for still pic purposes.

If you're looking for a good cheap camera.. go for the entry level Panasonic.. can't remember the model off hand.. but it's blue in color.


I'm guessing minidv would be your best bet price and quality wise..

The Sony HC21 is tiny.. As long as you're not taking low light, you'd be ok.

[Nizidramanii]

Thanks for the info. It almost seems cheaper to go with a still picture cam that has video ability. My Canon A60 can take videos, but I think that it maxes out at 30 seconds per vid, and I may need to make videos that are a couple minutes or more.

[Nizidramanii]

I just realized that my Canon A60 can take up to 3 minutes of video, with sound, at 320x280 15fps! I guess I don't really need a video camera, just a bigger CF card.

Any idea on how to mount a camera to a car?

[vwmom]

I'd attach some kind of bar from the tripod mount.

[Nizidramanii]

I was thinking about strapping my mini-tripod to my roll-bar in the car in some way.