Looking for Cheap Chintzy S8 Camera

Post by **tfunch24** » Mon Oct 07, 2002 2:18 am

I'm going up to the mountains this winter and I want to shoot some home movies of myself and my friends snowmobiling. I hit upon the idea of getting some POV shots by duct-taping my old Kodak M2 S8 camera to my helmet (a real thrift shop bargain at $1). Anyway, I was thinking of picking up some other cheap chintzy cameras so a friend or two could join in on the POV-shooting fun.
Can anyone recommend a cheap (under $10 at a thrift shop) camera that would work well doing this? I'm not concerned about the camera being destroyed if it flies off and hits a tree or something; at such a low cost, it's expendable. 220-degree shutters, fast lenses, multi FPS settings are not a concern. I'm looking for one of those black plastic boxes that only shoot at 18 fps. This is a situation where less complicated is definitely better. Anyone have a particular brand in mind? I'm not particular, any cheap fixed focus plastic-lense fixed 18 fps camera will do.

Shooting will be done during daylight with K40 so lighting is not a problem.

BTW, has anybody ever done helmet-mounted POV shots before and how did it turn out?

Tom

rosstafarnotlogged · Post by **rosstafarnotlogged** » Mon Oct 07, 2002 4:48 pm

well tfunch, i'm on the same page. wanted to do some snowboard filming but didnt want to wreck my good camera, so i used my first super8- a bentley bx-720. its a great little camera and i think i paid less than $20 on ebay. lightweight and takes remarkably good shots considering its simplicity. only prob being that it does not have a continous filming switch (eg- you wouldnt be able to shoot w/out holding the trigger). perhaps there is a slightly improved bentley w/this feature you could find on ebay. good luck.

ps- where do you ride?

Post by **vidwerk** » Mon Oct 07, 2002 5:44 pm

I am constructing a special tripod mount that will screw into the from of one of my old snowboards. I'll let you know how it turns out. Keep in mind, the snow could get onto the lens and ruin your image. To avoid this while snowboarding, I am going to build the mount high enough to prevent snow getting caught on the surface of the lens aswell as snowboard very carefully in low powder environments. Also keep in mind the condesation factor when filming out in the cold. Always put your camera and film in an air-tight bag or case until the contents reach room temperature(ie: 2 hours).

Simon :idea:

tfunch24 being lazy · Post by **tfunch24 being lazy** » Mon Oct 07, 2002 9:42 pm

Thanks for your suggestions. BTW, I'm going snowMOBILING, not snowBOARDING. The camera will be duct-taped to the top of my helmet. I'm about six feet three inches tall (or 190.5 centimeters for the metric-system using majority) and I'll be sitting on a snowmobile--add another foot or so to that, so the camera will be about seven feet off the ground--well out of the away of any flying snow.

Friends of mine own a cabin up in the Appalachian Mountains, up near Bradford, Pennsylvania. That's where we ride.

I'm going to stick to thrift stores for this (going online will entail extra S&H costs.)

Tom

Post by **jessh** » Tue Oct 08, 2002 4:14 am

since you are looking at thrift stores your best bet will most likely be what ever you can find. I have a camera that would be perfect for something like this, its a little fixed focus 18fps XL camera, only problem is the battery compartment has been eaten by the batteries, the thing was not made to be repaired so it most likely wont look to nice after being taken apart and put back together, which is part of the reason I havent bothered doing it. Eumig has some nice very solidly designed all metal cameras such as the Viennette, its lens is fixed focus and recessed into the body which would give it a good amount of protection from being hit by anything, They also have 24fps which would help smooth things out a bit, and a meter adjustment of +1 or -1 (which could be good with snow), but I would hate to put one in to dangerous of an environment since they are nice cameras, also probably a bit bulky for mounting to a helmet (fixed handle), might work well for the above mentioned snowboard mount though.

~Jess

YouTube · Post by **Andreas Wideroe** » Thu Oct 10, 2002 5:40 pm

I've got a Eumig Mini which is really small, black and runs on 18fps. Also a Canon 310XL will work or the even smaller AGFA (microflex?) camera might work..

Andreas

Post by **fdfco** » Thu Oct 10, 2002 11:46 pm

Slightly different tack, but still a good use for a 'disposable' 8mm camera. Some time ago I saw a great shot in a pop video (can't remember who) where the shot started with the singer full frame, and then the camera climbed and climbed until the singer was a dot. It was achieved by tying a cine camera to several helium balloons. The camera was held by the singer for a few seconds, and then let go. The camera floats up, shooting all the way. (Gaffer tape on the trigger)
To get the camera back, you shoot the balloons until the camera (slowly) floats back to earth. (With an air rifle in the UK)
I have also seen this technique reversed in edit, so the shot starts as an aerial, and moves into a close on a subject you couldn't even see at the start of the shot.
I haven't tried this myself, but might be fun in the frozen Appalachians!
Have a great vacation.
Mike.
PS How come you're so tall? What do they feed you Northwest of Philadelphia?

Post by **tfunch24** » Sat Dec 07, 2002 9:22 pm

Well, we got about eight inches of snow last week and I was able to try this out at my house. The film's off to Dwayne's and I won't be able to view the results until next week. I'll post a clip if anyone's interested.

Tom

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Dec 10, 2002 5:50 am

I was reading the earlier posts to this message. Couldn't help but notice you described yourself as 7 feet tall when sitting on a snowmobile. Like to see a clip of that.... 8O

tfunch24 being lazy · Tue Dec 10, 2002 10:47 pm

No, what I said was that the CAMERA would be seven feet off the ground. Go back and read the earlier post:

...and I'll be sitting on a snowmobile--add another foot or so to that, so the camera will be about seven feet off the ground--well out of the away of any flying snow.

[italics added]

Tom