Help with which camera

[Rugbydman]

Hi
new here. I need a action camera for filming Wheelchair rugby games. We play indoors Bon ab basketball court. So lighting can be a little yellow. I don’t need 4K just good quality and smooth. Sound just need to here refs whistles. I need it to fit ab whole Courtney in on the viewing angle. Would like it to film in 1 chunk of a file not small clips. Needs to last 1hr 20 mins and recharge fast. Would like iPhone/iPad control.
is it possible to record straight to iPad?
any help thanks

[petesimon]

First off, don't get a camera based on an Allwinner chipset. For your requirements, the camera you're looking should have ample options for adjusting white balance, color temperature and/or color profile, as well as decent stabilization (EIS) in 1080p mode. So I would recommend a Firefly 8SE, an Akaso V50 Pro (or Pro SE), a SJ8 Pro. Maybe a Thieye T5 series camera would suffice too. Recording in clips of 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes is standard for most action cameras. Twenty minutes might be the common maximum time for each one clip. Most batteries don't last more than 45 or 50 minutes, so maybe you would need an external power bank connected to the usb port of the camera. Recording straight to a phone or tablet is a rare feature. The common alternative is to download the video files from the camera to a phone or tablet either by wifi, or by cable (or by SD card reader adapter) physically connected to the Lightning USB port. 🤓

[nutsey]

You're at the right place. I've been shooting basketball games for last 6 years with dozens of different action cams. Do you need an FPV or a grandstand cam?

[Rugbydman]

Hi thanks for the replies
what is FPV ?
do you record side on (from the halfway line) or from one end?

[nutsey]

FPV=first-person view. But I already understood which one is needed.

I shoot from the halfway line. One stationary cam can't resolve all the details (players numbers, fouls, referee signs etc) so I use a narrow field of view lens (40-70 degrees according to distance) and a tripod to track the ball.

[Rugbydman]

I’m looking for it to be stationary for this team not much staff. I suppose what i need really is just to observe patterns on offence and defence

[nutsey]

Does this team play only at one sports facility? I mean does the shooting distance vary from game to game?

[Rugbydman]

No we have 3 different locations this season. Distance will vary. Some venues i will have to compromise I think and shoot from 1 end. Was thinking of a bendy tripod or sucker attachment

[nutsey]

Get a cheap 1080p digital camcorder and put it as high as possiible on a tripod.

[Rugbydman]

Ok. So the GoPro is not a good option then

[nutsey]

Exactly. GoPro (as well as many other action) cams are not for shooting anything distant.

[Rugbydman]

Ok thanks for your help