Comprehensive Camera for Filming your Golf Swing Thread

[tristanhilton85]

Yes. It can be set manually. On a bright day you can set it at an exposure time of 2500 and it still looks great.

Alright, I may have to check that one out.... I remember you saying something earlier in the thread about a 6 second limit or something like that and not crazy about the aspect ratio, but we'll see. I may end up using the Best Buy cards towards something else and look for a Casio on ebay instead.

[mmoan2]

Been following the Apple iPhone 5S updates and just said that it can record slo-mo videos at 720p HD at 120fps.

I just read this, too, and I'm due for a contract renewal in September. iPhone 6 will probably be out then, but has anyone had experience filming the golf swing with iPhone 5S? It will likely drop to $99 when the 6 is released, and I may just do that. Having an adequate (probably not stellar) camera to film my swing would be a bonus, as I'd like to avoid spending $200+ on an Exilim.

[iacas]

I just read this, too, and I'm due for a contract renewal in September. iPhone 6 will probably be out then, but has anyone had experience filming the golf swing with iPhone 5S? It will likely drop to $99 when the 6 is released, and I may just do that. Having an adequate (probably not stellar) camera to film my swing would be a bonus, as I'd like to avoid spending $200+ on an Exilim.

I've recorded several 120 FPS golf swings with my 5S.

It works really well. You can't control the shutter speed and you need software to go frame by frame because the "stock file" plays back at 120 FPS… so "realtime" but it works fine.

I still prefer the Casio most of the time. HD kind of sucks even MORE for golf swings. So much wasted space on the sides.

[mmoan2]

I've recorded several 120 FPS golf swings with my 5S.

It works really well. You can't control the shutter speed and you need software to go frame by frame because the "stock file" plays back at 120 FPS… so "realtime" but it works fine.

I still prefer the Casio most of the time. HD kind of sucks even MORE for golf swings. So much wasted space on the sides.

For the level of skill I'm at, I'm sure the iPhone will be fine. Can't wait for it!

[golfingal]

Apologies for the double post - the system messed up my link in the first post, and when I tried to fix it - it posted again...  :-(

The iPhone 6 looks AWESOME for golf video!

It's an impressive option, albeit expensive of course unless one is in the market for a phone anyway (as I am - I'm finished with Samsung...)

More samples here -

http://nofilmschool.com/2014/09/240fps-slow-motion-footage-timelapses-from-iPhone-6

http://petapixel.com/2014/09/23/5-of-the-best-iphone-6-240fps-slow-motion-video-examples/

[dkolo]

Apologies for the double post - the system messed up my link in the first post, and when I tried to fix it - it posted again...  :-(

The iPhone 6 looks AWESOME for golf video!

It's an impressive option, albeit expensive of course unless one is in the market for a phone anyway (as I am - I'm finished with Samsung...)

More samples here -

http://nofilmschool.com/2014/09/240fps-slow-motion-footage-timelapses-from-iPhone-6

http://petapixel.com/2014/09/23/5-of-the-best-iphone-6-240fps-slow-motion-video-examples/

I have the 6 and it's great. I also had the 5S, and that was really good for seeing swing planes, lag, etc, but the 6 is slow enough that you can see strike more clearly than before. Not exactly -- the exact instance of impact is still probably between frames a lot of times, especially on higher speed swings like driver -- but it's great for figuring out a ballpark for whether you struck it relatively centered, toe, heel, shank, etc, with a decent idea of swing path. It won't replace a launch monitor, but it can give you a solid jumping off point for self-diagnosis or double-checking.

[billchao]

Is the GoPro a bad camera for swing analysis, or is it just not as good as other offerings?

I don't think I'll be getting an iPhone 6 anytime soon, but the wife and I are turning the wheels on possibly getting a GoPro of some kind. It's gotta be better than my DSLR, right? Or does the wide angle really distort things too much?

[tristanhilton85]

Is the GoPro a bad camera for swing analysis, or is it just not as good as other offerings?

I don't think I'll be getting an iPhone 6 anytime soon, but the wife and I are turning the wheels on possibly getting a GoPro of some kind. It's gotta be better than my DSLR, right? Or does the wide angle really distort things too much?

You should check out some of the swing videos that @Beachcomber did. He shot his with a GoPro IIRC.

[mchepp]

Is the GoPro a bad camera for swing analysis, or is it just not as good as other offerings? I don't think I'll be getting an iPhone 6 anytime soon, but the wife and I are turning the wheels on possibly getting a GoPro of some kind. It's gotta be better than my DSLR, right? Or does the wide angle really distort things too much?

Both @beachcomber and @iacas used the GoPro. The camera is pretty good, but the barrel distortion is too much in my opinion. The camera can be tough to aim unless you buy the LCD separately. Also hard to edit at the range also. I would not recommend spending the money for a golf swing only. If your kid wants to use it for extreme sports or whatever kids video now then it might do as a double agent. But I would recommend going a different direction for a golf swing camera.

[iacas]

Is the GoPro a bad camera for swing analysis, or is it just not as good as other offerings?

I don't think I'll be getting an iPhone 6 anytime soon, but the wife and I are turning the wheels on possibly getting a GoPro of some kind. It's gotta be better than my DSLR, right? Or does the wide angle really distort things too much?

You have to get pretty close or you're very small in it, and then the wide angle lens distorts things a bit.

It's better than nothing (plus you can put it in your stall and get all of you, which could be a plus), but… yeah. GoPros are fun, but a Casio FH-100 or something could be found for about the same cost. It's not a GoPro though so if you're using it for OTHER stuff, well, it may be a bonus to use it for golf.

[Beachcomber]

Hey guys, I saw I was tagged here in this thread. Just wanted to confirm that I indeed do have the GoPro Black from a few Christmas' ago. It films 240fps at WVGA resolution which is great for the golf swing. There is a 'fish eye' effect which distorts the image a little, but you can post edit that out using the proper Adobe programs. Which some of my early vids did that, but it wasn't really worth the time/effort to post edit as the net results in my opinion is that you can see what you need to see in the swing even if the video has the fish eye effect that the GoPro lens creates. God Bless!

[billchao]

Thanks for the responses, guys. The idea is we wanted to get something to make really cool home videos, but I was hoping it would also be good for golf (which saves me from having to get another camera), which it sounds like it is. Now I just have to convince her that we need the Hero 4 Black :-D

[The Recreational Golfer]

Does the file these cameras create lend itself to being broken down into a series of swing sequence stills? Or is that a function of the software used to create movies?

[rkim291968]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beachcomber

The ZR300 looks nice.... But @ 45,000 yen is ~ $565 US.  Anyone using the GoPro HD Hero2?  I was looking at it as it was a little more economical.

848 x 480 at 120 FPS isn't bad. We sometimes do 120 FPS video (it's 640 x 480 on the Casios I believe).

I'm going to try out the Nikon J1 later today. 640 x 240 @ 400 FPS. $499. I'll probably like it if the camera will auto-rotate MOVIES (it does it for still images, if it's only going to give me 240 in one direction that direction needs to be laterally, not vertically).

The GoPro is an enticing choice though. If only they could get to 240 FPS...

Edit: I spared myself the $500. I didn't test it. I think perhaps 120 is good in a pinch, and I'll fart around with the GoPro and/or the Nikon sometime down the road. Whatever. I have four cameras that do 120/240 so I'm fine. Sorry! :-)

Gopro released a new FW for Gopro Black.   It supports 720p/240 FPS.    I tried it to capture my golf swing at impact, to see if my hand is ahead of the clubhead.   But the swing is still too fast for the camera.  At impact, shaft of the club is not visible (blurry mess).   I can deduce my swing result by comparing two frames, before and after the impact.  That's the best I could do with the camera.

[iacas]

Gopro released a new FW for Gopro Black.   It supports 720p/240 FPS.    I tried it to capture my golf swing at impact, to see if my hand is ahead of the clubhead.   But the swing is still too fast for the camera.  At impact, shaft of the club is not visible (blurry mess).   I can deduce my swing result by comparing two frames, before and after the impact.  That's the best I could do with the camera.

You quoted me from June 2012.

I have a GoPro Black (3, I think?). It's a very fisheye look that isn't terribly appealing for use with the golf swing. Never mind that alone it doesn't have a screen, etc. It's not really an ideal camera for filming your golf swing.

[rkim291968]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkim291968

Gopro released a new FW for Gopro Black.   It supports 720p/240 FPS.    I tried it to capture my golf swing at impact, to see if my hand is ahead of the clubhead.   But the swing is still too fast for the camera.  At impact, shaft of the club is not visible (blurry mess).   I can deduce my swing result by comparing two frames, before and after the impact.  That's the best I could do with the camera.

You quoted me from June 2012.

I have a GoPro Black (3, I think?). It's a very fisheye look that isn't terribly appealing for use with the golf swing. Never mind that alone it doesn't have a screen, etc. It's not really an ideal camera for filming your golf swing.

I have Gopro Black Hero 4 (their latest).   I was searching for how to use this camera to film my swing and this thread & your post came up.

BTW, I take back what I wrote about Gopro Black Hero4s' 720p/240 FPS.   After fiddling around with it, I filmed my swing again at 720p/240 FPS and I can see my swing in slow mo very clearly.   Unfortunately, I am still flipping although it has gotten better.

[DrvFrShow]

I shot a video of a pro at the range with my S5. I shot it at 1/8th speed for him. This opened it for 120 fps. Now when we got inside, I used Movie Maker on his laptop and made it 8x to view at normal speed, and normal to view in slow motion. It shot it very smooth. I am amazed at the quality of the camera on the Galaxy S5. It does use up battery so if you're going to shoot a lot of "footage" make sure you're fully charged beforehand.

[hbyrd]

I have a sony action cam which I use to video my golf swing. It works pretty well but I want something that I can use on the range and see it immediately. My action cam does have wifi but it takes way to long to upload to my cell. Is there anything that records video at 240 fps with a relatively large screen, at least 3" and a tablet would be even better, that would work for me?