I’m looking for a good quality, waterproof, mac-compatible video camera. Right now I’m looking at the
Sanyo Dual Camera Xacti VPC-WH1. I have read mixed reviews and seen some good test footage on YouTube and other horrible test footage. Does anyone know if this camera is good or any other waterproof mac compatible video cameras?
I’m using a new macbook pro and am editing with final cut express 4.
Since you are looking at the Xacti VPC-WH1 and similar range, the dependency is more on the Mac. And since you did not tell us which Mac, it is difficult to make any recommendation.
In general, if the Mac was made in the last 2 years or so, then pretty much any flash memory camcorder (waterproof or not) should be fine. Other dependencies include the version of iMovie you are using and the video format the camcorder captures…
Otherwise, this is helpful:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3290
Keep in mind that the lenses and imaging chips of consumer camcorders are small and will not behave well in low light. If you are capturing video in a pool with light colored walls, during the day time, you should get fine video. Deviate from this – dark walled pool, low-light, lakes with not-so-clear water or salt water at 15 foot depth or more – expect poor video quality.
Here’s more “test video” from that camcorder:
http://vimeo.com/videos/search:VPC-WH1