Kindly Recommend a Action Cam/Camera between $100 to $200 for Doing YouTube for My Dad's Insect Hobby

Aerith-Waifu on 24/10/2022 - 19:16

My dad likes insects, he has many samples of insects and some are from when I am young, he has been talking about start a YouTube channel dedicated to insects for ages but never had the equipment to do so. With his birthing coming up I thought I buy him one for shooting indoor/outdoor/stream/recording and then publish.

The sweet spot will be between $100 to $200 inclusive of shipping shipped within Aus.

My first thoughts was the gopro but they are just too expensive, as I want at least a screen on these and not just the ones without the screen.

Any good recommendations out there?

Thanks many

Electrical & Electronics Camera Video Camera

Comments

  • Muzeeb on 24/10/2022 - 19:18
    +1

    For best image quality buy a used gopro (hero 4 maybe) or similar device.

    Not sure how good these are for macro footage though.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 24/10/2022 - 21:32

      Ok I have a look the hero 4. I was looking at the other more recent ones which is around the $700+ mark……

  • ego22 on 24/10/2022 - 19:24
    +1

    Just your dads phone cam. Or get him a better phone.

  • harshbdmmaster718 on 24/10/2022 - 19:32

    This will be more expensive, but maybe consider a webcam with a gimbal like the Insta360 one?
    I just checked it's $500 so a cheaper alternative might be this OBSBOT Tiny PTZ 4K that's currently $399, maybe cheaper on sale. (FHD model is $299)
    https://www.amazon.com.au/OBSBOT-AI-Powered-Conference-Micro…

    The reason I suggest this is because you say "insects" which are small and might be moving all around the place, you might not be able to see them well with a normal camera. But I think these gimbal camera's have software to frame and pan around to better capture insects. Just a suggestion.

    Edit: realized you wrote camera not webcam. But yeah I dunno maybe a webcam is better because you can observe what is being shot? With a action cam etc it will be harder to frame things and you don't really know what you've got until you view the videos on the PC.

    • harshbdmmaster718 on 25/10/2022 - 16:29

      Ok OP I think I misread your post.

      "he has many samples of insects and some are from when I am young"

      Insects don't live that long right, so the insects are dead? Like those ones that are documented and pinned to a piece of foam or in a frame?
      In that case yes you don't need a gimbal camera lol. And the macro lens suggestion makes sense, because you can get close to the insects without scaring them away because they are dead.

  • iamherenow on 24/10/2022 - 19:33
    +3

    Aren't they wide angle? Which is not what you would want to view an insect.

    • harshbdmmaster718 on 24/10/2022 - 19:37
      +1

      Yeah I think most action cameras are wide angle. Some allow for zooming into the frame in settings though to give a more narrow shot.

  • CrispyChrispy on 24/10/2022 - 20:05

    Most action cameras are super wide angle which is not preferrable for doing insect videos on YouTube. What phone does your dad currently have? Good lighting, a decent phone camera and a cheap tripod with a phone mount goes a long way. Most mid-range to high-end phones of the last half-decade will shoot more than adequate video for YT videos under good lighting conditions.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 24/10/2022 - 21:31

      He has an old galaxy S10+ at the moment. Wont be doing super micro shots as they are all in glass or amber.

  • plmko on 24/10/2022 - 20:56

    1 Pay up for a used Sony a5100

    2 Connect to PC in web cam mode

    3 Download OBS and record web cam screen

    4 Winning

    • Aerith-Waifu on 24/10/2022 - 21:32

      $350 is the cheapest I can find for that one…………

  • brendanm on 24/10/2022 - 21:08

    I think what you want is a DSLR or mirrorless camera, a "normal" lens, and a macro lens for the insects. Unless I don't understand what's going on.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 24/10/2022 - 21:34

      Not sure dslr is something he knows how to use, I am more thinking of this as I just found it

      https://www.amazon.com.au/Royal-Blue-Waterproof-Camcorder-EK…

      • brendanm on 24/10/2022 - 21:51
        +2

        Plenty of older folk on YouTube using DSLR. I'm just not sure how an action cam type thing will work with insects, as the wide angle lens seems very at odds with what you are trying to do. Also, I'd personally choose a used quality item, rather than a new dodgy one.

        If he wants a new hobby to add, there are budget ways to get macro shots, which could possibly be interesting for him.

      • SnowDragon on 24/10/2022 - 22:15
        +2

        I've used action cams like that before and while it says 4k, 1080p etc it's terrible quality.
        It's not hard to record something at those resolutions, it's hard to make them look good.

        For example I cooked this $70~ action camera a few years ago and check out the quality of footage. I was likely recording at 1080@60fps

        I'd highly recommend a 2nd hand GoPro of sorts. Even something like a 4 would be better.

        • Aerith-Waifu on 25/10/2022 - 21:26

          wow that looks awful. thanks for the footage

      • harshbdmmaster718 on 25/10/2022 - 16:26

        Just a PSA. Most DSLR's have a video recording limit of around 15~20mins. So you end up having to remember this an plan every recording, and hit record in intervals if it's going to be any longer.
        Could end up being a headache for the user if they forget and record a 30 to 40 minute video and realise a big chunk of it is missing. Worst case scenario is they don't have a script and were talking about things organically, and all that just hasn't been recorded.

        Proper video camera's should not have this problem by the way. I think it's a technicality thing where DSLR's are in a different category to Video camera's, even though DSLR's can record video.

        • brendanm on 25/10/2022 - 19:54

          Magic lantern fixes this, if applicable to your camera 👍

          • harshbdmmaster718 on 25/10/2022 - 21:00

            @brendanm: Oh Magic Lantern is custom firmware, I have heard of it before somewhere but never really used it.

            A bit concerned with overheating issues though, such as with some Sony DSLR/Mirrorless models. The custom firmware might allow it to record infinitely, but could there be heat issues that will be a hard limit for those problem Sony cameras?
            I need to rewatch those video recording limit tests with the Sony cameras before the overheating warning starts showing then the camera turns off, can't remember how long they held out for. Might have been an hour.

            • brendanm on 25/10/2022 - 21:23

              @harshbdmmaster718: No idea, I don't use Sony. The time limit is just some weird law thing about what separates a still camera from a video camera.

        • Aerith-Waifu on 25/10/2022 - 21:30

          Oh good point, I think maybe 30mins is the longest he will do. Where does that leave me? Had a look at the GoPro and it appears not bad with the version 4 on gumtree, one guys is selling it for $150 posted from Sydney.

          • harshbdmmaster718 on 25/10/2022 - 21:34

            @Aerith-Waifu: I don't think GoPro with wide angle lens will be ideal, even when you put the lens very close to what you are filming it might still look too far away. Image quality is also not great, because it doesn't need to be in action filming there there is a lot of movement.
            For shooting mostly still stuff I would try something else. You don't have to get a camera with Macro capability either, that's only for super super close up shots like seeing hairs on a leaf etc.
            You will be able to achieve close enough shots and sharp focus with a zoom lens camera. I think something like a 2nd hand Sony RX100 will do the job. It will still suffer from video recording limits though.

            Not sure if RX100 is supported by Magic Lantern firmware. Also in some countries I think on the RX100 there is a setting to "remove recording limit", but it depends on region so you need to do some research on that if you want to record longer than 30 mins.

  • frondono on 25/10/2022 - 10:16

    You need to get something with a macro lens.

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