Pupil Video Recorder suggestions?

[Schappell]

A member of SLT has just been to see me, we would like around 8 camcorder's for pupils, we would like them to be simple to use, not too costly, plug and play, and the video's to be of good quality but not to be too high as this seems to hog on space on the network.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[James_C]

What about the GoPro range? They seem to be what every kid wants these days for their crazy adventures, they are reasonably cheap, and can stand up to some rough treatment.

[Schappell]

Too expensive mate but cheers.

[AJWhite1970]

Kodak PlaySport? We've got 6 here and they are both student AND staff proof....

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=kodak+playsport&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=6694749966&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9215909891884964619&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_8ulqnkte5t_b

[jmak]

Just in case they're on your list, I'd say not Flipcams. They work fine and the built in USB is a great idea, but they only record in mp4 format, which has been a pain here - everything needs to be converted before we can edit them. Not a show stopper, but there are better alternatives out there.

[mavhc]

What doesn't support mp4 these days?

 

There's a load of flipcam clones. Storage amounts are more to do with compression than video size, cameras only do a bit of compression, and only single pass, obviously.

 

Never liked the flipcam though, usb port was the wrong way around, charging was weird, software sucked, didn't do still photos, and everyone had a smartphone with a better cameras on anyway

[Schappell]

The Kodak Playsports look good, what is the internal memory capacity without a memory card AJ?

[Schappell]

Only thing thats putting me off is the MP4 format on the Kodak's they must be compatible with WMM for the kids to put straight into the software...

[AJWhite1970]

Internal memory is only about 8Mb tbh, all ours have 2Gb SD cards in them and we supply the cameras with card readers. We also have "any video converter" installed on every PC, so staff and students can change the format to whatever they need.

 

Download Any Video Converter 3.5.7 - FileHippo.com

 

They have been a great success here and have yet to have one broken in over a year including skiing trips, rugby tours, swimming events (tested the waterproof to it's limits) and a volcano walk...

 

Andrew

[Schappell]

Hmm having to get the kids to use the software themselves would be an absoloute nightmare, imo. Rather just have a device that records in AVI format or somthing. But thanks anyone mate I appreciate it.

[aleach2]

Kodak PlaySport? We've got 6 here and they are both student AND staff proof....

 

Amazon.co.uk: kodak playsport

 

These are great, we have around 30. The only snag is that Kodak no longer makes them so suppliers may say the sell them but they can't source them. If you find any, just buy them. Great value for money.

 

We have no problem with students using them here in mp4 format. They play in WMP & Movie Maker. We do load K-Lite Codec Pack onto ever machine though, to get past these issues.

Edited December 12, 2012 by aleach2

[AJWhite1970]

To clarify, although we have converters on every machine, most use the .mp4 format and we also have the K-Lite Codec Pack installed. Tempted to get a few more now they are end of line, just to keep in a draw for future use