Underground Camcorders ?

[Ian Adams]

I have been trying to find a way to create some "camcorder" style filming underground and wonder if anyone else has successfully managed it ?

I have read with great interest the thread on helmet cameras but all of this is beyond my very limited technical expertise (which stands at a fraction over nil  :doubt

I think (if I understand correctly) that filming underground requires a "special" kind of camera (to work in low-light?) and normal camcorders would be useless.

I was wondering if anyone had ever successfully found a small, lightweight, very easy to handle and carry (because it is small) camcorder that does work in an undeground environment (or at least partially works) ?

....... Or am I living in cloud cuckoo land ? 

Thanks in advance ....

Ian

 

[ttxela]

I've managed to get some reasonableish video using the video setting on my camera and one of those giant flashlights from DIY stores. Good enough to sort of see whats going on anyway.......

 

[ChrisJC]

I tried with a low light camcorder and a 400watt torch down a slate mine. Very limited results.
Caving should be easier though as limestone is lighter than slate and they are generally much smaller.

You need a camcorder with 'night vision' or similar, i.e. low light sensitivity.

Chris.

 

[darkplaces]

Normal camcorder and LOTS of diffuse light, else you end up with a little spot in the middle. I got some good results with a lead acid 12volt battery and a 50-100watt exterior light strapped to my chest. Slate mines just such in light, hence my need for a scurrian.

 

[pete h]

Nearly any camcorder will do its the lights that make the film.
Maurice Hewins in the Wessex has been filming on a low budget for years with no special cameras, just big lights.
Not up to Gavin Newmans standard but some good footage and pleasent to watch.

 

[footleg]

We had great success with 12V dichroic bulbs (like they sell for kitchen ceiling mounted lighting). 50W bulbs for big stuff and 20W for smaller passages. These were powered off lead-acid batteries (gel cells sold in Maplin) which were heavy but did the job. The camcorders were nothing special. In fact the 3CCD models which give better video quality above ground also require 3 times as much light, so I would suggest a more basic single CCD model.

 

[Ian Adams]

Great advice there, thanks very much 

I think I need to look a little more at lighting than I have been doing  :-\

Best regards,

Ian 

 

[Basher]

We had great success with 12V dichroic bulbs (like they sell for kitchen ceiling mounted lighting). 50W bulbs for big stuff and 20W for smaller passages. These were powered off lead-acid batteries (gel cells sold in Maplin) which were heavy but did the job. The camcorders were nothing special. In fact the 3CCD models which give better video quality above ground also require 3 times as much light, so I would suggest a more basic single CCD model.

So sorry for disagreeing Footleg,
I used to film with a single ccd camera, results were lacking quality like colour saturation etc.
I now am lucky enough to own  2 cameras that are both 3ccd models.
One will film down to 7 lux, the other down to 1 lux!
The concept of 3 ccd's means that there is a prism to split the light to the various ccd chips, one does red light the other blue... etc
All at differing levels by the way, i.e red 40%, blue 25%, green whatever.
The result is a better "coloured image", and does not mean any degradation in light used.
Lighting is the key to filming underground, dichroics are brill, but will only light up circa 50 foot in front of the camera.
Lots of lights and many placements with people to move them in a passage does end up with stunning shots.
At the end of the day, have a go, learn and adapt for next time.
I'm doing this every trip!
Lighting, lighting, manual focus & exposure!
Kind regards
Basher

 

[footleg]

My fault for generalising based on experiences with one camera    :doubt:

I should have said that the particular 3CCD camera we were using worked great in sunlight, but gave very high noise images underground compared to the cheaper single CCD camera we were also using.

From what Basher has said above, this is not a general rules for 3CCD versus 1CCD models. If may be just that our camera was particularly bad for noise in low light.

 

[Basher]

About 3ccd cameras, they tend to be more expensive, and have more features, like light amplifiers.
The same with digi still cameras, digital zoom anyone??  yes an option , but poor results.
Try and use the camera at maximum optical aperture, (not digitally enhanced), and use your lighting to do the biz at this setting.
You can film in darker places, or see further with your lighting, but at a cost of quality.
Top tips, if you should want to buy a camcorder, disregarding HD here, buy one that records on to miniDV tape,
DVD camcorders record at 3 times less quality than miniDVD tape!
You would get a good, tiny Sony miniDV camera for about ?230.
I'll be at Hidden Earth this weekend, please have a word if you wish, the BPC stand is where you'll find me.
regards
Basher

 

[Basher]

"DVD camcorders record at 3 times less quality than miniDVD tape"
Should have said DVD camcorders record at 3 times less quality than mini DV tape!!  Oops, sorry!javascript:void(0);
shrug

 

[Basher]

How do you get these smiley things to work in Firefox or on this site??
Tell me please, I know I'm thick and old!!
Basher