I need some recommendations for a camera. I'm trying to find the most reasonable hd camera that will last. My criteria would be waterproof, 720 hd, wide angle, and that the raw file could be imported to imovie. I like the contour but there is one by polaroid that is less expensive that might work. Gopro is obvious but I'm looking for less expensive and not as bulky.

If they don't do .mp4, I'd be surprised.

If you're not bothered by IQ or audio, almost anything will do - search "action cam" on Amazon and sort price lowest to highest :D seriously, you get what you pay for but if you're happy with the results, you won't complain.

I love my Contour ROAM2 and I scored it when the price was low for some odd reason - $120 or something mad, and now it's gone up by about $100.

I've been a Mc guy since before Windows 3.1.
There may be "better" cameras, but I'd be hard-pressed to find a complaint about my JVC "ADIXXION"… waterproof, sand proof, wifi, and direct import to iMovie and iPhoto.

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=28334

Thanks for the info. Ion air was listed 6th on the list and amazon has them for $74. Has anyone tried one of those?

I've got the Ion Air Pro 2. I really only want to do one thing with it - 60fps at 720. And it does that really well - nice sharp contrasty image. I think it's mic is much better than the gopro. It's much easier to turn on and off.

Now here's the bad news (which doesn't really concern me cos it fits my limited criteria excellently)

Close up focus is nowhere near as good as the gopro. No battery meter. Don't even think I can get to the battery so a spare would be useless. If I want to change it to 30fps or change the single pic to time lapse, I have to plug it in to my computer - there are very limited controls on the camera itself. Low light performance isn't terribly good.

If you can get one cheap, I think their really good value. But nowhere near as versatile as the gopro. I think I paid about half of what a gopro would have cost me and am quite happy with it.

PS: The Ion Air Pro 2 was the rear facing camera in this video. Also the bit of hand held footage of the BBQ - which highlights it's poor low light ability. Stick it on fullscreen and HD to get a good look at it.

Kingston 2014

Thanks John.

Adixxion might well be my next camera too... There are 2 gens though, the first being a bit cheaper.

I use use a MUVI hd for handheld, mono pole or mounted on my bike, surfboard etc. Its really versatile and has a built in LCD and a decent internal battery life. The downside is that it is quite bulky to wear on a helmet/headband. I use a Gopro 3+ if I want to wear the camera. The new models are not as bulky as the 1st and 2nd editions.

Have a look at the MUVI anyway.

http://www.actioncameras.co.uk/veho-muvi-1080p-hd-npng?gclid...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007N4EJK8/ref=oh_details_o...

I just ordered the ion pro air. It looks like it will do the job and it was only $74. Am I missing something? It seems to good to be true if it works.

Is that a v1 or v2? I think either are about the same "quality" as Gopro HD1 so that's a good score...

It's the first version. It doesn't have wifi which isn't too big of deal to me and it doesn't come with a helmet mount. I thought it did when I ordered it so I may have to get one of those.

I'm also considering upgrading my camera and have decided on the GoPro3 for a few reasons. My biggest reason to upgrade from GoPro Hero1 is the remote. Having to edit a 2 hr long video, or 5 of them to get 5 minutes worth of footage is VERY time consuming and sometimes you need a 64bit PC with 8GB+ of RAM to do it because there are so many snippings invloved. With a remote you can turn it on/off when you want making the editing so much easier and possible with a less powerful PC. If the camera is on the lines or the kite you have to leave it on all the time if you dont have a remote. turning it on/off on the board or helmet is doable without a remote but not nearly as convenient, you wont end up with clips 30sec to a few minutes long, more like 10-20 minute clips. With the remote you could even have 2 cameras and turn them on/off with 1 remote and then you have 2 videos the same length and can easily get those different angles into the video just by selecting whatever seconds from each video since they were taken at the same exact time and are the same exact length.

The gopro remote can be attached to your control bar with zipties.

Ease of editing video should be a big factor when choosing a camera IMHO.

Elnica, your right, a remote would be a nice feature I hadn't thought of. There are definitely better choices than the ion that I ordered, but I wanted to get something that would do the job as inexpensively as possible. I'll probably upgrade at some point but this has been an expensive activity to start. Now that I have most of the basics I'm hoping to spread out my purchases to a more tolerable level and buy better stuff when I can.

The GoPro HD hero 3 has wifi and an app to connect to a smart phone. I've used mine with my iPhone as a remote, but I find the wifi can drain the battery. At least my batteries SEEM to last longer with the wifi off.

I have the silver edition of the Hero 3 I got slightly used from a buddy on a trade for about 3-4 hours of welding equivalent to about $150. I use iMovie too and importing from the GoPro is super easy... I just need more memory on my OLD MacBook.

Thought about remotes, but couldn't suffer the idea of having to push buttons to record -- or miss -- the action.

I watch my footage on the tv in Media Center and just write down the time stamps of the good bits... You can watch at 3x FF and it's even easier :D