linearconcepts
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I leave next week for Africa and want to record video of the conferences we're teaching. Recording time will be ~5 hours per day for 5 days. The place where we're holding the conference has VERY unreliable electricity. The last time we were there, we had maybe 5 hours of electricity the entire week (I do not exaggerate). Electricity at the place we're sleeping at night *should* be better than the school where we're holding the conference.
After doing some preliminary testing, I'm finding out that the video solution I have on hand (Lumix FZ-28) can't compress videos in real time, and at HD, I only get ~8 minutes of video on a 32GB SDHC card. With 320x280 in low quality, I get 3 hours on 32GB card. But the video is horrible. Failing any other solution, that's what I'll be doing.)
However, I understand newer cameras/camcorders can take much better video and have longer battery life.
So... Any suggestions on what kind of camera I should purchase to get good video record time and long battery life?
Please also keep the following in mind:
1) The country where we will be is somewhat hostile to tourists. Anyone foreigner making videos runs the risk of police intervention and possible equipment confiscation. The camera must be cheap ($100-$400USD. Used is fine.) The country is also overrun with "law-enforcement" willing to pump me for a bribe. Expensive gear is a magnet for unwelcome scrutiny. Cheap is better.
2) If necessary, I'm not opposed to swapping SDHC cards every couple of hours and backing up to my laptop & external HD.
3) If I have to cobble together an external battery pack, that's do-able, provided I have pinouts & power requirements.
4) Audio will be a non-issue! The entire conference is for the deaf and will be done in sign-language.
5) Lighting may be an issue, but thankfully, the facility has large windows.
Thanks for the suggestions.
TIM
After doing some preliminary testing, I'm finding out that the video solution I have on hand (Lumix FZ-28) can't compress videos in real time, and at HD, I only get ~8 minutes of video on a 32GB SDHC card. With 320x280 in low quality, I get 3 hours on 32GB card. But the video is horrible. Failing any other solution, that's what I'll be doing.)
However, I understand newer cameras/camcorders can take much better video and have longer battery life.
So... Any suggestions on what kind of camera I should purchase to get good video record time and long battery life?
Please also keep the following in mind:
1) The country where we will be is somewhat hostile to tourists. Anyone foreigner making videos runs the risk of police intervention and possible equipment confiscation. The camera must be cheap ($100-$400USD. Used is fine.) The country is also overrun with "law-enforcement" willing to pump me for a bribe. Expensive gear is a magnet for unwelcome scrutiny. Cheap is better.
2) If necessary, I'm not opposed to swapping SDHC cards every couple of hours and backing up to my laptop & external HD.
3) If I have to cobble together an external battery pack, that's do-able, provided I have pinouts & power requirements.
4) Audio will be a non-issue! The entire conference is for the deaf and will be done in sign-language.
5) Lighting may be an issue, but thankfully, the facility has large windows.
Thanks for the suggestions.
TIM