best position for a video camera

Anonymous

+1 to Nick. I also just can't bear to watch them "oh no, it's a handlebar cam. OFF"

Here's a top tip though. If you want your riding footage to look exciting, dynamic, and most of all, FAST, then you must do 3 things.
Find an interesting, dynamic trail.
Ride it FAST
go balls-out.

The sad truth is that for us mere mortals, we're never going to get helmet-cam footage that looks like the pros, and no amount of extra, unnecesary motion added by placing the camera somewhere stupid lke the handlebars is going to cure that.
It might feel like we're doing 35mph occasionally, but if you had a speedo, you'd realise this is rarely the case.

Northwind

willy b wrote:

One from today, or bars:
http://vimeo.com/7503872

I quite like that. I mean, it's horrible, all lurches and chaos but then that's what mountain biking is like sometimes.

Mancunianfightingcat

I mde my mount from a reflector bracket and a block of 2" x 1" wood. I don't really need the wood it just gives a more stable base.

Anonymous

Sweet. Be careful of doing x-ups though

willy b

I do kind of see what you mean guys.

However I think unless you are clever and invent some good mounts (obviously depending on camera) then bars is probably the best, certainly the most stable which gives you the best "life like" riding video.

For example today, if the camera was mounted on the headtube, then it would have got covered in mud etc... Also with bar mounts you can still see the tyre, thus making it again more life like.

Be interesting to see some mount pictures though, and what camera you are using.

BTW - The link to that video is broken, so will be fixed tomorrow when i re upload the vid.

bluechair84

Mancunianfightingcat wrote:

I mde my mount from a reflector bracket and a block of 2" x 1" wood. I don't really need the wood it just gives a more stable base.

Manc, what do you call your camera setup? I've been trying to find information about having an external lens attachment for a video camera but I don't know what you would call it - so I'm struggling to research it.

Mancunianfightingcat

bluechair84


It's one of these http://www.vio-pov.com/

The camera comes with the recording device, so wouldn't work with a normal video camera.

If you want, just the camera head, google for 'bullet camera' or 'camera head' and you should find something suitable.

Mancunianfightingcat

here you go

http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/dogcampro480.htm

Northwind

bluechair84 wrote:

Manc, what do you call your camera setup? I've been trying to find information about having an external lens attachment for a video camera but I don't know what you would call it - so I'm struggling to research it.

I'd really recommend against it... With the single unit ones getting so good there's not as much benefit as there used to be, and for cycling especially the extra wires etc are a hassle. The Vio is a brilliant bit of kit but if you're building your own with a video camera and a seperate bullet cam you'll also usually need a 12V supply for the camera, and you'll need to be constantly wired in- so, you need to have the camera in a rucksack or frame bag or similiar. All in all, it's a hassle, I got rid of my old kit (from motorbiking) after using it a couple of times for mountain biking.

Also, you need a video camera with an av-in, which is fairly uncommon these days. Though there are some really nice alternatives, the wee JXC media players mostly work with bullet cams, and they're solid state, compact and inexpensive.

ChrisMidsUK

I think this guy has got it right, on the side of his helmet, the view is nice and clear.

But it's full face, not sure if you can get it the same without.

http://vimeo.com/6808476

Northwind

You can, but the weight tends to make an open-face move around more. Thing is, usually helmet mount loses the impression of speed, which isn't a problem that guy has since he's a missile But it also loses the impression of roughness, which is a shame, it can give it that floaty disconnected feeling which that vid has in spades I think. Great riding though. Depends what you're after really. That one's brilliant to watch but I don't think it gives much of a feeling of riding, personally, it's like a cable shot.

Mancunianfightingcat

tried a few yesterday new angles up Lee Quarry yesterday.

I think these were the best positions, any thoughts?

black route

final descent

delcol

i recon those angles work really well some really good footage there,,,

the only problem the final decent one is spolied by the spray.. it still looks good though and shows the speed well,,, lol at the slide at the bottom of that blk run,, happened to me last week when i was there, that rocks leathal,, so was that woodwork that put me in the pond :oops:

i like the angles though manc cat.... maybe i will experiment with mine..

i tried handlebar mount,, most of mine are helmet..

http://vimeo.com/videos/search:delcol

Anonymous

Mancunianfightingcat wrote:

tried a few yesterday new angles up Lee Quarry yesterday.

I think these were the best positions, any thoughts?

black route

final descent

Too much bike/rider in shot, can't see enough of the trail.

paully617

so then, whats the best place to mount my new muvi??

Northwind

Mancunianfightingcat wrote:

I think these were the best positions, any thoughts?

I like the overall position but not with the legs in shot, as yeehaa says it leaves you with fairly limited viewing. And obviously a bit exposed to spray But I like the feeling of speed and connectedness, it's a wee bit floaty but not too bad. Pretty cool.

I've more or less said it already but as far as I'm concerned there's no one perfect mounting, it depends what you want to shoot. If you're just doing one video you probably want the best view but if you're collecting stuff from several runs then variety really helps.

DR1V3R

Personally I think it depends on the speed and the type of trail you are using the camera on. I have seen good videos with cameras mounted in lots of places and also bad videos with the same mounts.

Have a look at these videos which I have done with handlebar mounts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKmR01-sF9Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcKOiNBH3N4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGR3jhL6V1g

Some of the faster parts look really good but the twistier parts are a bit iffy, I keep meaning to make a helmet mount and do the same routes just to see the difference but I bet the helmet cam wont give as good an impression of speed.

Chest cams look good but the mount will be a bit hard to diy.


DR1V3R

Black

Mancunian Strange a friend of mine has the cam package has you but quality
is pretty grainnee
What do you use to make your video so clear?

Black

Thinking of getting the new GoPro HD any thoughts on this
Whats the best place to put this ?

delcol

my brother had the originalgo pro, to be honest we were never impressed with it, i know quite a few of the original ones had numerous problems power faults and sound faults,, our developed the power fault were even new batteries would not power the thing...
i hope the new hd one is improved and got rid of these gremilns,, quality wise from what i seen they do look good very good...
and you get the chest strap with them...

we have been more than impressed with the countour hd and just got last week the contour hd 1080p.
to see the two compaired side by side...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szCqqvX5Xl0

i have the vio pov1.5 and have been more than impressed with it just need to experiment with different positions..
http://www.vimeo.com/7416945 http://www.vimeo.com/7428966
http://www.vimeo.com/7428966

just a few vids all from goggle strap mount..

Mancunianfightingcat

Black wrote:

Mancunian Strange a friend of mine has the cam package has you but quality
is pretty grainnee
What do you use to make your video so clear?

They've all been loaded straight from the memory card to Youtube.
I'm not sure if you can change the resolution and fps settings somehow?

Anonymous

What the hell is the point in sticking 1080 footage onto youtube? You may as well go for the SD one, since it's still pretty good.
Youtube SUCKS ASS, and is NOT in any way a sensible way to compare the quality of video cameras.

Mancunianfightingcat

Maybe, I have the videos in 1080 for other purposes and just uploaded them to Youtube for ease.

delcol

you tube is going 1080p thats why, :shock:

http://www.hometheatermag.com/news/111609youtube1080p/

Anonymous

I'll believe it when I see it. 1080p requies an awesome amount of data to be represented properly. They'd be much better off offering PROPER quality 720p - without the massive compression losses that they currently have to offer.

Black

Thanks for info
Regarding HD 1080 is it not better to get a higher quality vidoe
Helps when whatching full screen.

Northwind

It is, but Youtube takes your high quality image and mashes it. It doesn't quite level the playing field- the worse the initial quality, the worse the output is. But still, it's annoying.

benneally

mount it on the fork

Ska!

I know I've posted my video before on this board but figured I'd chime in and offer some advice. Personally, I feel videos with just one camera angle are boring as hell so looking for just one angle is kind of tough; especially since sometimes a typically boring angle may work beautifully for a certain shot. That's just my two cents (I'm canuck - we work in dollars and cents - sorry )

Anyway, I've done the one-angle-video thing before and pulled it from my vimeo account 'cause, to me, it sucked. I'm not saying that the one I've linked is great or anything but it is, without a doubt, more entertaining than simply rolling along with the same view. That's just MHO.

http://www.vimeo.com/7190914

I have a whole whack of new ideas to try as well as different angles that didn't make it into this video but I'll get to them eventually. My suggestion is that, when you get your camera, experiment with it, find what you like, work with it and edit it to make it better.

Sorry if I repeated a bunch of stuff.....didn't read any of your responses.

fishcake

Done a couple more videos with camera on head tube (between bars & top of forks)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbunf4AdEtw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMyryt0r1yw

Hope you enjoy these, I did