Any recommendations on a video camera for rocket launches?

[dhkaiser]

Would want something that would have nice zoom capabilities and resolution. Willing to spend up to $350.

 

[anbhtblr]

Would want something that would have nice zoom capabilities and resolution. Willing to spend up to $350.

I have the same question. Any knowledgeable and experienced video buffs out there?

 

[dhkaiser]

Bumping this - no one has a suggestion for a video camera?

 

[Bat-mite]

I don't own one thus can't recommend, but Bayou Rat has been selling rocketry cameras for a long time.
https://www.bayouratrocketry.com/MICRO_ROCKET_CAMERAS/cat810301_721089.aspx

 

[Flyfalcons]

I have a plain ol' Sony handheld video camera. Even being six years old, it has good zoom capability and image stabilization. That being said, the viewfinder is a flip-out LCD screen that can be tough to see on a bright rocket launch kinda day, and I find myself often just pointing the camera and hoping it's capturing the rocket, while checking the viewfinder to see if I can lock onto the rocket. Additionally, without a large steady cam device, large zoom ins are almost accompanied by some shaking. It's a balancing act between too little zoom (rocket is a dot on your screen) and too much zoom (shaky and potentially not even trained on the rocket).

 

[dhkaiser]

Thanks Flyfalcons, that is a good point. Perhaps a to the eye viewfinder would be best. I do wildlife photography and am pretty good at following a bird in flight. Perhaps I could use that talent videoing a rocket. The cameras I have do video, but only on the small screen on the back.

 

[Bat-mite]

Thanks Flyfalcons, that is a good point. Perhaps a to the eye viewfinder would be best. I do wildlife photography and am pretty good at following a bird in flight. Perhaps I could use that talent videoing a rocket. The cameras I have do video, but only on the small screen on the back.

Didn't realize you meant a handheld instead of onboard. Yeah, something with TTL viewing is a must when outdoors on a sunny day.

If you have a decent DSLR, you could try one of these... https://www.clearviewer.com/

 

[dhkaiser]

Thanks Bat-mite. After looking at your link I did some searching and came up with the item below. Maybe more suited for my DSLR.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M1N53I...olid=2G5X63X4VTJW6&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[woferry]

It's a bit out of your price range (~$400 now it seems) and an older model at this point, but I'm very happy with my Olympus SP-100EE, it's a superzoom bridge camera that does 1080p/60 video and the dot-sight feature is really handy for ensuring you're pointed in the right direction even when you can barely see the rocket, even if there's too much glare to see the LCD. It took me a little while to trust in the dot-sight, but the number of times I just kept the crosshair pointing at where I thought the rocket was, and it turned out I had it well in-frame all the way to apogee really surprised me. It does help to make some sort of stabilization rig for it, I'm still working on improving my DIY one made from PVC.

 

[ksaves2]

Get something with a viewfinder. LCD screens can't be seen in sunlight period. When I did static motor firings my cheap Chinese unit was OK but I had to throw a jacket over my head to line up the shot. Kurt