helmet cam questions and video editing

optimisticbiker · April 2011

So i've had a go at some helmet cam videowith my cheapo £8 keyring camera, which is pretty impressive for the money. Just got it taped to the top of the helmet with a ball of bluetack to position it crudely. Its not waterproof though...

Getting the helmet position right is tricky... i didnt realise how much i move my head or how much i dip it when pushing hard. Not helped by wearing varifocals so tend to lower head and look up through top 1/3 of the lens, as a result the camera often sees too much road and not enough of whats ahead... more experimentation needed...

Anyway, some questions:

What cameras do you guys use and are they waterproof? How do you mount them? Is a helmet mount better than say a frame/fork/bar mount? What do you use for editing (I've tried Pinnacle VideoSpin and NCH VideoPad freebies so far)

gb155 · April 2011

For fancy editing I use Sony Vegas

For quick , Simple stuff I use Windows Movie Maker

I'd always mount on head, then you can video something that happens to the side of you, where as mounted on the bike you can only film infront.

I used a few, Best so far was Veho Muvi TBH

shouldbeinbed · April 2011

relatively cheapo MD80 clone. surprisingly good quality pic * sound for £13 although no good in pitch dark & not waterproof but I'm experimenting with cling film and snap bags.

helmet mounted as less vibration than on the bars and as Gaz says you've got a much better reaction/angle of vision to go at., but it is an eye opener to how much I wobble my head too.

I'm figureing out a heath robinson mount as the supplied one broke the first time it got a knock and haven't tried editing owt yet but will leave that to my Imaging Tech Mrs who has a full broadcast suite to play with if needs be.

Agent57 · April 2011

Veho Muvi, mounted on the stem:

Most stable image I managed to get - no wobble from head, and no wobble from steering. I don't find road vibration a problem either. It's not waterproof, but I've not had any problems with it yet in rain. I think the rubber cover keeps the worst of it off.

I just use Windows Live Movie Maker or Sony Vegas.

redvee · April 2011

OptimisticBiker wrote:

What cameras do you guys use and are they waterproof?

ContourHD, to a certain extent but if it rains we don't ride our bikes do we?

OptimisticBiker wrote:

How do you mount them?

ContourHDs come with flat surface mount and you can buy vented helmet mounts and mine is mounted on the top of my helmet led on its side.

OptimisticBiker wrote:

Is a helmet mount better than say a frame/fork/bar mount?

Yes, as GB155 says, you can turn your head to view action.

OptimisticBiker wrote:

What do you use for editing (I've tried Pinnacle VideoSpin and NCH VideoPad freebies so far)

VirtualDub, a freebie online and set up now to play with MOV files from the camera, a bit basic at times but it does the job for me.

jeremyrundle · April 2011

Have you looked at all the many past links about this subject

http://sirpatrickmooresales.co.uk/Ourpage.aspx

optimisticbiker · April 2011

jeremyrundle wrote:

Have you looked at all the many past links about this subject

http://sirpatrickmooresales.co.uk/Ourpage.aspx

Yes, already seen that page and some old threads that the search eventually managed to find, but none really answered the questions.

I'm running Windows 7 64bit Ultimate, which doesn't have Windows Movie Maker, and anyway that doesn't cope well with the 720x480 format of this cam. A lot of the other products I have looked at don't run well on Windows 7 64bit. Pinnacle works well but has limited rendering in HD and no slow mo capability, VideoPad is better and has slow-mo but all the transitions and overlays are mistimed in its internal playback and you can't tell exactly how it will be til you render it and play it back externally which is a pain.
I wasnt planning to buy any software as yet... I do have ULead Video editing suite on CD somewhere that came with a firewire card... if only i could find the CD!

optimisticbiker · April 2011

OK downloaded Windows Live Movie Maker... that works a treat and recreated all the videos I previously did... better quality, captions/fades that work as expected.

Of course youtube doesnt allow you to update a video once uploaded

, but the next lot will be much better

gaz545 · April 2011

OptimisticBiker wrote:

So i've had a go at some
Anyway, some questions:
What cameras do you guys use and are they waterproof? How do you mount them? Is a helmet mount better than say a frame/fork/bar mount? What do you use for editing (I've tried Pinnacle VideoSpin and NCH VideoPad freebies so far)

I use two ContourHD's, one 1080p and one 720p. I have two waterproof cases for them to use in the rain. They are water resistant and can hold them selves perfectly fine in the rain but in a heavy storm they will eventually let water in by the lens.

I mount the 1080p on my helmet with a vented helmet mount and the 720p is attached to my seatpost using a RAM mounting system facing rewards.

The best option is the best one you can provide, footage of the sky is useless but blurry footage from road vibration is also useless. Either way, both sets of positions provide pro's and con's.

I run a macintosh so my current editing software is iMovie but I will probably upgrade to final cut pro with the new version being released in the summer.

helmet cam questions and video editing

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