Thread: GoPro or ... ?
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      07-04-2012, 01:44 AM   #27
Drifty//
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Drives: A4 quattro 3.2 MT6; E92 6MT
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Boston

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Sony CyberShot DSC-HX20V

I have done some preliminary street testing with the Sony CyberShot DSC-HX20V point-and-shoot camera, and the results are extremely promising. I also tried it in my A4, which has a much stiffer suspension. I could easily believe it's got one of the best image stabilizers out there.

It's not magic. If you go over a large bump, the view will shift (usually downward) and take a second to return to neutral. But it is astounding how well it keeps the horizon locked during normal driving and over smaller bumps. It even works well at night!

Exposure seems good, but not perfect. On a sunny day, trying to maintain good exposure for both objects inside and outside the car is understandably challenging. The sky is often a bit washed out; sometimes the roadway, as well. Exposure adjustment between shade and sunlight is prompt but fluid. I haven't yet tried driving into the sunset/sunrise (i.e. sun visible in frame).

Focus is good. The speedometer is usually focused enough to be readable, when it's not underexposed. There's only a touch of blur on street signs as the letters begin to approach a readable size. I haven't yet seen it hunt for focus, even at night!

No problems with the rolling shutter. Not even at night. You wouldn't even know it had one!

The biggest issues are aliasing and wind noise. The aliasing is only visible on high-frequency details (again, somewhat distant road signs provide a good example) and not more than I expected for such a device. The wind noise is not surprising, for an internal mic, on just about any camera. Although it has an electronic wind noise filter, the wind is far too heavy for it to handle. A mechanical solution will be necessary. As the camera does not have an external mic input, I'll probably end up taping a bit of foam or thin plastic over the mic holes.

Final thought: the video does look a bit floaty, sort of like you're gliding over the pavement, with the car bobbing around in the foreground. A bit like a video game, in fact. Although you can use a more conservative image stabilization setting, I'm pretty sure I'd prefer this look to the alternative.

I only tried the 1080p/60 video mode and max stabilization settings, since I'm not interested in using any camera that doesn't give me smooth video at that framerate & resolution. I'm just basing this on a street test, but if Sony uses all of this technology in their upcoming GoPro killer, it might be just that.

The mount used was a CruiseCam, at max extension, attached to the driver's seat.

I will post vids, but I might not get to it until next week. The good news is that I should have some track footage, by then.


The two mods I'm currently planning are for the microphone and to somehow attach a polarizing filter.
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Last edited by Drifty//; 07-04-2012 at 12:05 PM.. Reason: Updated exposure comments, after watching more footage.
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