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I'm going up to the mountains this winter and I want to shoot some home movies of myself and my friends snowmobiling. I hit upon the idea of getting some POV shots by duct-taping my old Kodak M2 S8 camera to my helmet (a real thrift shop bargain at $1). Anyway, I was thinking of picking up some other cheap chintzy cameras so a friend or two could join in on the POV-shooting fun.
Can anyone recommend a cheap (under $10 at a thrift shop) camera that would work well doing this? I'm not concerned about the camera being destroyed if it flies off and hits a tree or something; at such a low cost, it's expendable. 220-degree shutters, fast lenses, multi FPS settings are not a concern. I'm looking for one of those black plastic boxes that only shoot at 18 fps. This is a situation where less complicated is definitely better. Anyone have a particular brand in mind? I'm not particular, any cheap fixed focus plastic-lense fixed 18 fps camera will do.
Shooting will be done during daylight with K40 so lighting is not a problem.
BTW, has anybody ever done helmet-mounted POV shots before and how did it turn out?
Tom
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All russian Lomo Aurora-models, small, fixed focus, only 18 fps and cheap (1-5 Euro/USD) ones.
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I'd say instead of seeking a specific brand or model, just buy whatever you see that's cheap at the thrift shop. The models with fixed focus and a fairly wide angle lens (for great depth of field) would be ideal, especially any camera that can have the run button set in a "lock" mode.
The Kodak XL cameras from the late 1970s/early 80s would seem perfect -- except I've never actually seen one during the last few years that still works. My first movie camera was one of those.
Let the thrift store inventory guide you, as you probably don't want to pay too much for one of these cameras on eBay.
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Understood, Mike. I was just asking if anybody knew of a particular camera that would work well for my purposes and I'd keep an eye out for it.
As for Kodak XL cameras, apparently Kodak sold thousands of them in the Bucks/Montgomery County, Pennsylvania area. I've been going to thrift shops and flea markets, off and on, for months now, looking for S8 gear, and I've seen God knows how many Kodak XL S8 cameras. They're the ones that resemble a pair of futuristic binoculars. You're right, most of them--along with Kodak's other S8 gear--weren't manufactured to last for a long time.
Thanks for your help.
Tom
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I forgot to add in the last post--I'm trying to avoid the S8 cameras that were built with pistol grips. There's no way I can duct-tape them to a helmet without laying it sideways, which will result in a skewed image.
Tom
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For this application I would reccomend some of the old Bell and Howell Autoload models, I have used a Autoload 430 as a sort of crash camera for a while. Not the best lens in the world, but it is light and extremely rugged. It's full auto with a zoom, but it can be locked down with a rubber band. It has an easy to use run lock feature. It has a chrome T-handle on the underside, but it is removable. Without the handle it is prefectly rectangular. Roughly 6" long, 3" wide and 4" tall. Sounds like just what you need. I paid $8 for mine, with original case, manual, and movie light.
