Hi all,
I'm a regular visitor to this forum (a mine of useful info!), but this is my first post on here. I'm the guy experimenting with the 70 degree lens and the external mic socket mods, and the results are looking very encouraging. Unfortunately, when I unscrewed the rear of the lens module the cable twisted with it and some of the connections to the internal sensor plug broke. I cut the cable back and resoldered all 14 connections, which was a pig of a job - especially the outer screen which is aluminum (aluminium to us Brits!) - and was then able to take some test videos. But then the cable packed up on me again, which brought my testing to an abrupt halt. So lesson #1 - when unscrewing the lens case ensure the cable itself doesn't twist with it!
My interest in the C3 is as an onboard camera for my AC Cobra replica to capture my annual trips from the UK to drive mountain passes throughout Europe. Having tried various camcorders and action cams over the years, I discovered the C3 via this forum and Mat's excellent Techmoan.com site. It's the closest match I've yet found to my requirements:
- a separate lens that can be easily installed and safely left on an open-topped car
- automatic continuous recording with ignition on
- support for an external microphone to capture the glorious sound of a 6.3 litre V8 through open sidepipes, but avoiding the annoying wind noise which blights so many Youtube videos.
However, I'm not a fan of the wide-angle lens fish eye effect, and I wanted to have a choice of external mics and also to automatically cut out the internal mic - hence these mods, which will make the C3 absolutely perfect for my planned usage.
The support I've had from Rock has been fantastic - thanks to him I now have everything I need to make some side-by-side lens and microphone comparison videos, and I'll be posting links to them on this forum when I have them. I need to complete some other work on my Cobra beforehand, but hopefully this won't take too much longer. The lens I'm using at present is the Sunex DSL355, but I'm also considering experimenting with another Sunex lens.
My thanks again to Rock - it's great to find a company that not only listens to its customers but actively invites and supports their input - a very refreshing change!