Long Range Sasquatch Hunting (With A Camera)

[Guest]

i think its a cool idea and cool video but how much does a large zoom cam cost no one wants to break the bank on a camera that they dont know will actaully capture anything and if it does it will be for a short period that a bf will be in the picture

The video cameras I posted run anywhere from $200 on up depending on whether they are HD or not and how large the zoom is.

From what I've learned, when it comes to selecting a zoom, the best thing to do is to get as big of an optical zoom as possible and then go from there. A small optical zoom with a large digital zoom will not have as crisp of a picture of any said zoomed object. With a larger optical zoom, the lens will do a lot of the work getting you close up before the digital zoom takes over.

The JVC GZ-HM440 has a 40x optical and 200x digital for around $300.00

The Sony HDRCX150B has a 25x optical and a 300x digital for around $350.00

The Sony DCR-DVD92 has a 20x optical and a 800x digital for around $550.00

The Panasonic SDR-H100 seems to have the largest optical zoom on a camcorder at 78x, but they say it is enhanced, not sure what that means.

[Guest]

Here is a section from About.com on optical vs. digital zoom:

A lot of camcorders will make claims of 500x or even 800x or more zoom. Can you really zoom that far with these camcorders? The zoom number on the box is actually made up of a combination of two different types of zooms in your camcorder; the optical zoom and the digital zoom. So what’s the difference?

Optical Zoom

Optical zoom is the type of zoom you are accustomed to with your old 35mm camera. Optical zoom is when the lens actually moves in and out and gets you closer to the object. An optical zoom is a “real zoomâ€. When you are purchasing a camcorder you will want to look for a camcorder with a high optical zoom.

Digital Zoom

Digital pictures are made up of tons of tiny dots called pixels. A digital zoom just takes those small pixels and enlarges them. Although it may make your picture appear closer' date=' using a lot of digital zoom in your video can also make your picture look blurry or distorted. If you zoom in all the way using your digital zoom the individual pixels will sometimes be visible as small squares. In most cases you will not want to use a digital zoom over 200x or 300x.

Using a digital zoom can also make any movement the camcorder makes look exaggerated, so it is best to use a tripod when you know you will be using digital zoom. There is a function on your camcorder to turn the digital zoom off many professionals do this in order to preserve the quality of their video.

So how do they come up with that huge number?

Camcorder manufacturers will usually multiply the optical zoom by the digital zoom to get the huge zoom number they put on the box of your camcorder. The larger number is meant to sway you into purchasing their camcorder over a competitors simply because it has a higher zoom. When you're shopping for a camcorder purchase a camcorder with a high optical zoom over one with a large digital zoom. Your video will look much better, and you will overall be getting a much better deal. Read more about camcorders zoom, and find out how much zoom you'll need for different settings in this article: How Much Zoom Do I Need?[/quote']

And here is the How much zoom do I need article:

Zooms on digital camcorders are defined by how many times closer to an object your video will look as compared to using no zoom at all. For instance a 10x zoom will bring you 10 times closer to an object' date=' where as a 100x zoom will bring you 100 times closer.

Digital camcorders have both an optical and digital zoom. In digital video, your picture is made up of thousands of tiny squares called pixels. While the optical zoom on your camcorder will use your camcorders lens to get closer to the picture, the digital zoom on your camcorder just takes those individual pixels and makes them larger to give you the impression you're getting closer to an object. If you use a lot of digital zoom then your video will start to get pixelated, which means you can see the individual squares (or pixels) in your video. You'll especially start to notice individual pixels when you're trying to zoom in on something very detailed like a person, or words on a sign.

Read more about Optical and Digital zoom in: Optical vs. Digital Zoom.

In general, you want to try to find a camcorder with a high optical zoom, and use that whenever possible. There are some situations however, where the digital zoom may come in handy. Here are a few examples of situations where you might use your camcorders zoom, and what amount of zoom you'll need to get the job done.

Close-ups of a child's face at a birthday party

For close-ups of people you're in the same room with you shouldn't need to use more than a 5x or 10x zoom.

An individual soccer player during a game

For soccer games you are typically recording video from the stands. For your typical soccer field you will probably need at least a 25x zoom. Try to not use your digital zoom at all. Soccer games tend to move quickly, and players uniforms have a good amount of detail in them; digital zoom will make the players hard to recognize and even harder to watch.

Performers on a stage from the back of an auditorium

This is another situation where you want to not use your digital zoom. A zoom of 25x or more should be all you need for your average high school auditorium. Try out your zoom before the show, and if you're far away ask someone if you can record from up from on either side of the stage (so you're not in anyone's way). You're video will look much better.

A rainbow off in the distance

Something like a rainbow is one of the few instances where your digital zoom will come in handy. Since rainbows are typically large, with not a lot of detail (except for colors) you can use your digital zoom (even up to 1000x) to shoot one far away. When you use a lot of digital zoom your hand motions will be magnified, possibly to a point you can't stay focused on the rainbow. If you run into this problem use a tripod, or any other stable surface you have available such as the top of your car to keep your camcorder stable.[/quote']

Unfortunately they don't have any recommendation for what zoom to use to search for a Sasquatch from a ridge top miles away, but I would guess you want as big as you can get!

Edited June 24, 2011 by Bogger

[Guest]

Interesting. I think the best possible magnification would not necessarily be with a camera per se, but rather an astronomical telescope (say a 10 to 14" newtonian reflector) hooked to a high def view screen, on a suitable tripod, from a prospect point where in clear weather, say during the kind of high pressure systems that dominate the western inter-mountain regions in summer (provided there isn't a forest fire going on...the inversion can cause a lot of haze to build up) a view of several miles of high aspect terrain would be clear and visible.

Astronomical telescopes arent typically used for terrestrial viewing since in most locations the ordinary atmospherics quickly get in the way over distance, but the conditions of the western mountain regions are exceptional.

You might want to check out the work of a photographer, Trevor Paglin, who's specialized in what is called 'extreme telephotography' and who's taken pictures of remote military locations in the west from great distance, as much as 14 miles if I recall correctly. Cheers.

[Guest wildwoman]

If you had read this thread, you would have realized that this thread is about discussing long range cameras, the video was only posted as an example of a long range video.

There is a different thread for discussing the video, it is found here: Mt. St. Helens has activity again?.

If you would like to discuss cameras and long range zooms, please do so, if you want to discuss the video, please go to the correct thread.

Thanks, I would have never thought of that...

[Incorrigible1]

Interesting. I think the best possible magnification would not necessarily be with a camera per se, but rather an astronomical telescope (say a 10 to 14" newtonian reflector) hooked to a high def view screen, on a suitable tripod, from a prospect point where in clear weather, say during the kind of high pressure systems that dominate the western inter-mountain regions in summer (provided there isn't a forest fire going on...the inversion can cause a lot of haze to build up) a view of several miles of high aspect terrain would be clear and visible.

Astronomical telescopes arent typically used for terrestrial viewing since in most locations the ordinary atmospherics quickly get in the way over distance, but the conditions of the western mountain regions are exceptional.

You might want to check out the work of a photographer, Trevor Paglin, who's specialized in what is called 'extreme telephotography' and who's taken pictures of remote military locations in the west from great distance, as much as 14 miles if I recall correctly. Cheers.

Don't forget reflector telescopes produce an inverted image, since they use a mirror as the aperture. Extremely confusing as one tries to manually track a subject and keep the angles correct in your head. Telescopes will work well for static photos, but not for zeroing on an active target. I still recommend my high quality spotting scope equipped with camera body for the most crisp long-distance photography. Edited June 25, 2011 by Incorrigible1

[Guest]

Don't forget reflector telescopes produce an inverted image, since they use a mirror as the aperture. Extremely confusing as one tries to manually track a subject and keep the angles correct in your head. Telescopes will work well for static photos, but not for zeroing on an active target. I still recommend my high quality spotting scope equipped with camera body for the most crisp long-distance photography.

Do you realy think it is a problem to mount a camera upside down? I done that. By the way, if you go as far as to get such expensive equipment you also have the money to hook it up to a Computer recording and Motion tracking/serching for you. That makes it much more effective. High precision gearing is also available for telescopes. Its a static setup though.

[Guest]

Good point Data. Even if one doesn't mount the telescope upside down, the electronic image seen and recorded can be easily inverted, or processed in any way one desires, including the ability to compare an image to a previous one and thereby make it easier to see if there's been a change, or a moving object within a frame. Motion control is an aspect that could be quite useful with an inventory of locations that one might wish to check frequently being automatically recorded even if the moving object itself is not intended to be tracked.