Not sure whether this is right forum to post this. Just curious to know what cameras some of us a.netters use to take videos of outside scenery while inflight? Quite often I take a video of my takeoffs and landings. One thing frustrating is my camera Canon S120 does not do a good job with night videos.

The Canon S120 was a great camera when it came out, but it's built with older limitations in mind, based, as it is, on the G9/10/11 innards. The key thing is, the sensor is fairly small. Bigger than regular compacts, but smaller than the similarly priced compacts tody.

I was tempted to buy the S120 to get full HD video, since I had a G9 before and loved it. I don't remember now what prompted me to look at other options. I ended up getting a Sony RX100. The two main reasons were: the a large sensor (1" compared 1/1.7" on the S120) combined with a f/1.8 lens, and very good low-light performance. Having used if for two years, I am thoroughly impressed with its night performance.

Hope this helps!

I have since purchased the RX100 mk4, since it offers 4K vide. To give you an idea, here's a early morning approach I took a few months ago with the RX100 mk4. It's at 4K resolution. It's a bit shaky (combination of the aircraft shaking and my position holding the camera). I have not applied stabilisation in software, because it reduces the resolution:

https://youtu.be/922CSXUU5l0

I don't have any night-time take-offs or landings from the original RX100, but the night-time footage I have done with it is still very good.

A few things worth noting:
- the bigger the sensor, the better the quality (all other things being equal)
- the effectiveness of optical image stabilisation seems to decrease as the resolution increases. At 4K minute movements are picked up much more prominently

I use a Canon SX710HS, its doing a good job but there are probably better compact cameras around. Important to me is the audio quality to capture the engine acoustics properly, and the Canon is above average in this regard. Here are a few samples which I recorded with this camera:

https://www.youtube.com/user/Chefsalat76

Regards,
Loran

Until recently I mostly just used whichever mobile phone I had on me! Then I bought a cheap camcorder which is great for zooming but the audio capture isn't the greatest.

For me the best phones were/are the Nokia/Microsoft Lumia phones. Great video but just as important their audio capture is much better than most phones.

I'd love to upgrade to a proper camera that has good audio capture and good night recording, but not sure I want to spend the $$$

My channel is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaOp2k ... 0UatgCA8jg

I know this sounds kind of sacrilege, but my iPhone seems to do a decent job when I have it bumped up to 4K.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgMtXixPEE0

seat64k wrote:

The Canon S120 was a great camera when it came out, but it's built with older limitations in mind, based, as it is, on the G9/10/11 innards. The key thing is, the sensor is fairly small. Bigger than regular compacts, but smaller than the similarly priced compacts tody.

I was tempted to buy the S120 to get full HD video, since I had a G9 before and loved it. I don't remember now what prompted me to look at other options. I ended up getting a Sony RX100. The two main reasons were: the a large sensor (1" compared 1/1.7" on the S120) combined with a f/1.8 lens, and very good low-light performance. Having used if for two years, I am thoroughly impressed with its night performance.

Hope this helps!

I have since purchased the RX100 mk4, since it offers 4K vide. To give you an idea, here's a early morning approach I took a few months ago with the RX100 mk4. It's at 4K resolution. It's a bit shaky (combination of the aircraft shaking and my position holding the camera). I have not applied stabilisation in software, because it reduces the resolution:

https://youtu.be/922CSXUU5l0

I don't have any night-time take-offs or landings from the original RX100, but the night-time footage I have done with it is still very good.

A few things worth noting:
- the bigger the sensor, the better the quality (all other things being equal)
- the effectiveness of optical image stabilisation seems to decrease as the resolution increases. At 4K minute movements are picked up much more prominently

Thanks for the information! This is very helpful indeed! Your night shots turned out very well and what I'm looking for.

I think it's okay to do so when permitted. Many smartphones have an airplane mode to turn off harmful radio waves that can interfere with aircraft systems, and with the airplane mode, you can use them anytime you want regardless of the phase of the flight, as long as you use the airplane mode. I did videotape the takeoff and landing scenes of both ANA and Southwest Airlines flight, inside the cabin. Airlines have lightened the electronics devices policy stating that they can be used anytime on a plane regardless of the phase, while you use the airplane mode.

precure787 wrote:

I think it's okay to do so when permitted. Many smartphones have an airplane mode to turn off harmful radio waves that can interfere with aircraft systems, and with the airplane mode, you can use them anytime you want regardless of the phase of the flight, as long as you use the airplane mode. I did videotape the takeoff and landing scenes of both ANA and Southwest Airlines flight, inside the cabin. Airlines have lightened the electronics devices policy stating that they can be used anytime on a plane regardless of the phase, while you use the airplane mode.

Since the FAA relaxed the rule of using portable devices in the US, I haven't had any issues with using my camera. When I travel overseas, some airlines still requested that everything be stowed away.

atsiang wrote:

precure787 wrote:

I think it's okay to do so when permitted. Many smartphones have an airplane mode to turn off harmful radio waves that can interfere with aircraft systems, and with the airplane mode, you can use them anytime you want regardless of the phase of the flight, as long as you use the airplane mode. I did videotape the takeoff and landing scenes of both ANA and Southwest Airlines flight, inside the cabin. Airlines have lightened the electronics devices policy stating that they can be used anytime on a plane regardless of the phase, while you use the airplane mode.

Since the FAA relaxed the rule of using portable devices in the US, I haven't had any issues with using my camera. When I travel overseas, some airlines still requested that everything be stowed away.

Some airlines have different policies regarding the cameras and portable devices. My friend told me that while flying with airlines based in the People's Republic of China, all electronic devices must be kept off and stowed, per CAAC regulations (especially after he shared me a Hainan Airlines safety video featuring the Calabash Brothers on Facebook). I do like that video, but didn't like the electronic devices part, especially when I get in a habit of videotaping and taking pictures while traveling.

The Sony RX100 mk4, as mentioned by seat64K, is definitely the way to go if you want the best quality you can get in a small package. It is somewhat limited by its 24 - 70mm equivalent zoom lens--plenty wide, but you can't zoom in too much. This camera is light years ahead of anything a cell phone can produce. Of course if you want even better quality there are the full-frame cameras from Sony, Nikon and Canon and others, with a variety of lenses. But those are not always very practical to carry let alone use inconspicuously in an aircraft.

reality wrote:

The Sony RX100 mk4, as mentioned by seat64K, is definitely the way to go if you want the best quality you can get in a small package. It is somewhat limited by its 24 - 70mm equivalent zoom lens--plenty wide, but you can't zoom in too much. This camera is light years ahead of anything a cell phone can produce. Of course if you want even better quality there are the full-frame cameras from Sony, Nikon and Canon and others, with a variety of lenses. But those are not always very practical to carry let alone use inconspicuously in an aircraft.

That's the part I'm struggling with is finding a camera that's inconspicuous but also with the ability to take good shots. I think the RX100 is the right camera. Too big of a camera is bulky and cumbersome and people as well as crew might give me the stares.

atsiang wrote:

reality wrote:

That's the part I'm struggling with is finding a camera that's inconspicuous but also with the ability to take good shots. I think the RX100 is the right camera. Too big of a camera is bulky and cumbersome and people as well as crew might give me the stares.

The RX-100 looks like any other point & shoot. Maybe slightly thicker and heavier, but it fits comfortably in my trouser pockets. Nearly a year on and I'm exceptionally happy with it.

seat64k wrote:

atsiang wrote:

reality wrote:

That's the part I'm struggling with is finding a camera that's inconspicuous but also with the ability to take good shots. I think the RX100 is the right camera. Too big of a camera is bulky and cumbersome and people as well as crew might give me the stares.

The RX-100 looks like any other point & shoot. Maybe slightly thicker and heavier, but it fits comfortably in my trouser pockets. Nearly a year on and I'm exceptionally happy with it.

Thank you for your follow up feedback. I was hesitant to get the RX-100 due to the price point. But for it's size and features, I think this is a camera to get.

My Samsung Galaxy S6 seems to do a very good job recording FHD videos.

I see the RX-100 mk V has been announced. I addresses one shortcoming of the mkIV (and any other cam I've used). In night time circumstances, contrast detect AF on a fast lens (f/1.8 in the RX-100 case) often struggles to find focus when there are very few lights, like the sea-side view at HKG.

The mk V has phase detect AF built in, which should make it even better than it was before. I intend to get one once it's available at a reasonable price, and will post again once I've used it in similar circumstances.

seat64k wrote:

I see the RX-100 mk V has been announced. I addresses one shortcoming of the mkIV (and any other cam I've used). In night time circumstances, contrast detect AF on a fast lens (f/1.8 in the RX-100 case) often struggles to find focus when there are very few lights, like the sea-side view at HKG.

The mk V has phase detect AF built in, which should make it even better than it was before. I intend to get one once it's available at a reasonable price, and will post again once I've used it in similar circumstances.

Yeah, I saw that the RX-100 mk V came out but at $1000, ouch! I still haven't purchased a replacement to my S120 as I'm still perusing the reviews. It's narrowed down to the mk IV versus the Canon G7x mk 2 but shooting in 4K may very well cause me to just get the Sony.

I thought I'd update this quickly. Through some carelessness I managed to kill my RX-100 IV, so I picked up a RX-100 V before my last trip. I didn't expect it to be much better in terms of image quality - assumed it's the same sensor. The main reason I was interested is the addition of phase-detect AF, which should help for those take-off/landing videos at night.

I have to say I'm very impressed. Low light performance is simply outstanding - I managed to get video of the stars from my window seat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv0NuWBpjKA

You can mostly see the brightest ones, but damn, this is better than I could do with a DSLR only a few years ago!