Episode 2 of the Reflex video tips series is done!http://www.reflexfilmsaustralia.com.au/Reflex_Films_Australia/REFLEX_FILM_SCHOOL.html
The most common question i get asked about video production is - which bloody camera to get ? The choice is huge!
I compare the various types of cameras out there and talk about their strengths and weaknesses. I will also share a few of my favourite shots and techniques to get those shots on these various cameras.
The pros and cons of :
"professional" 3 chip cameras,
DSLRs ,
"Prosumer" HD cams
and Go Pros
All get a mention
Some great info in there mate, good stuff.
Are you going to do an episode on video editing? The reason I ask is, some of the video you see shot on a GoPro is often far better than have have been able to achieve. Obviously this comes down to a lot of factors like available light etc but I think a great deal of it is post processed, would be good to see some tips and tricks on that 
Editing will definitely be a topic i cover
Color correction is another one - you can easily tweak flat looking footage by bumping up saturation and playing with highlight , mid and shadow levels
From there you can get stuck into plug ins like colorista, magic bullet looks etc etc
But you can get 80% of the result usually with the free tools onboard
Many people also come unstuck in the process of getting footage into the edit - by converting (sometimes the software does this on its own due to a rogue checked box somewhere) to a format that is nowhere near as good as the original
i had heaps of issues with this when i started - so thats another source of problems.
Those helis are great but the vibrations introduce jellocam on the sensors of small cameras that will actually fit on those things
so the cheap microcopters are good for a bit of fun
- but you need to seriously spend up to get a vibration free flying set up that produces watchable footage.
The technology is awesome though.
Some great info there Matt. Was surprised to see you start with the same Sony products i have. One question for you; i have huge trouble with fogging using the Sony housing and I ended up wrapping al foil on the inside to try and reduce the internal temp when exposed to sunlight, do you have any tips on reducing fogging when using this gear?
Many people also come unstuck in the process of getting footage into the edit - by converting (sometimes the software does this on its own due to a rogue checked box somewhere) to a format that is nowhere near as good as the original
i had heaps of issues with this when i started - so thats another source of problems.
Thanks Mat
I have this exact issue, the footage I get on imovie is no where near as good as what my camcorder is producing. Got to the point where I may just go buy another camcorder better suited for a mac.
Its a 6yr old Cannon DC10 and I import via USB direct to imovie (I think it is a MPEG2 format?) The camcorder also records direct onto a miniDVD . Maybe I need to videoconvert it before I import to imovie?
thanks
Those mini DVDs camcorders were a crime against movie making - very few people that had them could successfully get the footage into an edit suite to be able to tell a story with the footage
which made them virtually pointless (no one wants to watch raw footage)
This didnt stop the sales people in the shops from selling truckloads of them though.. have had so many clients proudly showing me these cameras that they were told to buy by the shop staff - only to find out that we would never be able to edit the footage.
Alot of windsurf team riders had them in 2006 and would shoot themselves sailing - and then hand the cameras / discs to me - it was a nightmare getting the footage to a workable state.
You could try mpegsteamclip - a free download - which may do a better job of seeing the files - from there you convert to apple intermediate codec - and imovie SHOULD be able to work with those files
it definitely sounds like you have got a downconversion in bitrate / quality going on somewhere
you will have to experiment i am afraid..
or failing that - bin the camera and get a new one - All the avchd / Hard drive / Sd card cameras these days work pretty well with imovie
Stick with panasonic ,Canon, Sony and you should be ok.
Here's about the best remote control quadcopter/helicopter type unit designed for aerial photography/surveillance ... awesome if you've got a spare $20 000!
