Actual Crash Cam Use

[Remington Chase]

We have a high speed high energy gag coming up where the cameras have a high probability of being damaged and thinking about getting a few Komodo 1's but wondering what is the reality of using them for crash cams even though the've always been called crash cams. How does the recording to media actually work? If one were to be destroyed and the media is recovered what would the last frame be? Is there a buffer during write and does the file need to close out? We will still box them and protect them best we can but it's going to be a crazy collision.

 

[Phil Holland]

REDCODE RAW records "in chunks". Worse case scenario is if power is pulled or camera is destroyed and media is "fine-ish" you get either up until cut or the prior segment.

ProRes also records in chunks, but a good chance you'll lose more than REDCODE RAW.

If going for the gold for a shot like this, do what you can to protect the camera body and ensure the battery is "more than secure" to the body. I've been known to clamp things down to make them sane-o. I also use wire a fair when moving cameras around aggressively, which is standard fair for anybody doing high speed movement, especially near humans or expensive subject matter. If using wire on the body itself, grab some foam or a few layers of tape to keep the wire from scuffing up your camera.

Anything that can come of the camera, evaluate and secure if it's moving or getting a lot of vibration. That include filters, bolts, etc.