Really weird question!!! The right camera???

J

jerbuds

Active member
Hello everyone,

Sorry this is not a DVX question, but I couldn't find the right area to post it.

I,m looking for a camera for my shoot and I need your help :) Please any suggestions or help would be great!

I want to mount a small camera on the dash of a car looking through the windshield. Now, no one will be driving the car in the driver seat, but it will be remote controlled from inside the back of the car with an operator viewing through an LCD display connected to the camera. This is how he will operate the car. So I need a camera small enough to fit on the dash, and also I will need the camera to be fully auto so that while driving in the sun and shade it will be able to adjust and the operator can see the road easily without the camera going to blurry or auto iris getting to the point where it blows out. HE HAS TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHERE HE'S GOING AT ALL TIMES!!! lol :) Also I know that a lot of the smaller consumer brand cameras when your not recording will auto shut off when not in use. So I also need the camera to have a function button to shut this off so it stays on all the time. It will be connected to a power source so it won't need to be on battery as well.

Now for the question... do you guys know of a camera that would fit my needs, or any suggestions to help me to get this to work?

This is for a special effects shot and that is why he is operating it from the back.

Thanks guys, and gals :)

Jeremy
 
Unfortunately there is no better way to do this shot guys. At least as far as the crew is concerned. This is a professional movie set. I'll give you a hint who is directing it... (BATMAN BEGINS). I am one of the special effects assistants, and my job is to find the right camera that would work for what I stated. Any suggestions? I'm going down to Fry's Electronics tomorrow to see what they have. It doesn't have to be the best camera in the world, it just has to work.
 
Just to clarify, you're only looking for a camera that lets the remote driver see and not to do any end-product shooting?

shi*, if that's the case, get me on the crew and you can HAVE my sony handycam (it meets all the requirements)!
 
Ok then. Either a professional monitoring camera, like a security camera type thing, or a small cam like the canon HF-10. I think the new one is called the HFS10 or something and it is even smaller. Honestly the camera won't matter too much, what you need to make sure works well is the hookup to the monitor. Make sure you have the right chord and connectors.

If you use a seperate camera head type thing, it would be much smaller and have no recording mechanism, but you would be able to use it for monitoring/driving... it just wouldn't reccord. I think it would be easier to find a normal cam like the canon ones listed above though if you need high def/uncrappy resolution.

Don't go to radioshack. They won't have what you need. Costco is really the only place I would consider buying a camera from (if they have it) other than specialty camera stores. Online is the best option though. I can't imagine radioshack having any camera you would find useful and I bet you could find any cam they did sell for half as much $ online. If you absolutely need to buy in person, check a place like samy's.
 
Thanks Entity and the rest of you guys. I will look into the Canon HF-10. I was afraid of the security cameras because I wasn't sure about how good it would be with "blow outs" in the sunlight. Thanks for your suggestions guys.

And no it's not Batman directing... LOL! But that would be cool :)
 
I don't see how any single camera is going to give a hidden driver enough peripheral vision to actually navigate the car safely, no matter what James Bond has done in movies past.
 
Interesting. Your best bet is to actually control it from outside the car, possibly on a scissor lift, so the driver can see his proximity to crew, equipment, etc. More importantly, the driver's safety is not at risk, should the vehicle lose control and crash. Up on the scissor lift, the driver should also have a monitor with a dashboard view, so he can also view the things in front of the vehicle as if he were sitting in it.

Even with that option, you still need the camera. I looked this up on B&H:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/295143-REG/Elmo_97429_MN_43H_1_2_Inch_CCD_Color.html


I would suggest that: its small, yet should give you the quality you need.

Good luck.
 
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