Go Pro Camera set up???????

[Firefight911]

I have been eyeing on getting some on the fly footage from teh motorcycle and have been looking around a small bit and came across this camera set up -

 

LINKY

 

Anyone know anything about this?

 

I have no intention to get production crazy ever with video, etc. but it would be nice to have a camera suitable for filming some stuff here and there, doing some lead follow as I educate Jamie on more advanced riding, etc. What a great way to capture the film so it can be replayed to critique the good and teh needs improving areas, etc.

 

Thought it could be great to catch Sweeper Madness, hooning, etc.

 

I am looking at the motorsports Hero in particular.

 

Sensor - 3 megapixels (2048 x 1536)

Video - 513 x 384

 

Whatever all that means in detail.

 

So what ya think? What else can I look at.

 

Not really interested in getting a video camera, per se, and making it fit to the bike. We never video other stuff really so it would get limited use at best. Just thinking that it would be great to have some mounts on the bikes, helmets, etc. and be able to capture some stuff from time to time.

 

TIA for any info/insight/advice you may have for me on this topic.

[BULLman]

Subjet came up here from 8/07

[realshelby]

I bought one recently. Video quality is very good, especially for its size and price. Not good in in anything but good lighting. Has a tendency to wash out when facing the sun or bright lights. Sound when in the mount is very low. Outside of it pretty good. You can see the led blinking while it is recording so you know it is on. One touch to start/stop recording. Does take pics that are ok. I bought the good rechargeable batteries for it.

 

Problem is that it has been TOTALLY unreliable as far as continuing to record. I have tried to test it on rides to work, etc. Have the unit on, then push the button to start recording. Light blinks, everything good. Pull away. Check led at stop sign in mirror. Still recording. But, I have never gotten more than 5 minutes and most of the time less till it decides to stop recording. You have to cycle it off and on to restart. I may have to send it back. Would be a wonderful item to record rides with if it worked as advertised.

[Firefight911]

Subjet came up here from 8/07

 

Thanks!! Another wonderful success story with search engines for me. NOT!!!!!

[Todd_Z1]

Phil,

 

Megan from A&S and one of the track instructors tried this camera out at the RCBC track day at Thunderhill last month. Conclusion, don't bother, it is crap ware and they could not get it to work. If you are looking for a serious personal adventure video recorder look at the http://www.vio-pov.com/ POV1. I have done a considerable amount of research on this product and it looks rock solid. It is portable, battery operated, solid state, has a built in preview screen...and, well just check it out. There is a lot of video on the Internet created using this device. It has been mounted in race cars, mt. bikes, motorcycles, sky diving, ect. I'm not sure but I think Boney has one or something similar.

 

Cheers!

 

Todd

 

P.S. If you get one can I borrow it?

[bobbybob]

I'd be looking at these.

 

http://www2.oregonscientific.com/shop/browse.asp?cid=6&scid=14

[stubble!]

I'd be looking at these.

 

http://www2.oregonscientific.com/shop/browse.asp?cid=6&scid=14

 

I have an ATC2K, it's pretty much unusable. It works and all, and the water resistance is a nice bonus, but the file formats it produces have proven problematic, and the image quality is bargain basement. Particularly on a motorcycle, with bad horizontal ripples caused by movement.

 

It's a FUN toy, but just that.

 

[bobbybob]

I'd be looking at these.

 

http://www2.oregonscientific.com/shop/browse.asp?cid=6&scid=14

 

I have an ATC2K, it's pretty much unusable. It works and all, and the water resistance is a nice bonus, but the file formats it produces have proven problematic, and the image quality is bargain basement. Particularly on a motorcycle, with bad horizontal ripples caused by movement.

 

It's a FUN toy, but just that.

 

Doesn't surprise me really. You do get what you pay for..however if you mounted it TO your moto. vibraton will be an issue. The $400 helmet cam is probably the way to go for real quality finished product...just kinda pricey.

[Firefight911]

Alright Bob, here goes.

 

You seem to have been a very strong opponent to a variety of systems, set-ups, etc. yet have failed to state what it is you do/use/have. What is your experience with these and what do you use, etc?

[skinny_tom (aka boney)]

Phil, I have a complete Chase Cam set up. That's the camera, and the digital recorder. It runs on 12 volts and batteries, puts your images on a CF card and records some stunningly good footage for something that goes straight to MPEG2.

 

You are welcome to borrow it before you make any decisions.

[Firefight911]

Tom,

 

If you're coming to Richard's tech daze, I'd at least like to take a look at it and have you walk me around it so I can get an idea about it.

[bobbybob]

Alright Bob, here goes.

 

You seem to have been a very strong opponent to a variety of systems, set-ups, etc. yet have failed to state what it is you do/use/have. What is your experience with these and what do you use, etc?

 

Phil, I have a Canon SD1000 http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=145&modelid=14901 that I recently picked up at Radio Shack for $129 (close-out--check your local stores, they still have some left). It sold for around $250 when it was a new model. It takes excellent pics and vids of 640x480 @ 30 FPS. It is NOT a helmet-mount type cam, but a tiny 7 megapixel point-and-shoot that just works superbly. For bike vids, I mount it using a Ram camera mount (threads into the tripod hole on bottom of cam) and have some velcro intermingled in with the other ram components so vibration is dampened. No, it is not waterproof, but I am considering buying a Canon waterproof (underwater actually) housing http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/491671-REG/Canon_1970B001_WP_DC13_Case_for_SD1000.html so I can just throw it into the tank bag with no concerns ever. The housing costs more than than the camera did, but with it the cam would probably last forever. Or else I'll just put a silicone skin on it and do my best to keep it dry. Another option that I investigated was the Olympus 1030SW which is waterproof/shockproof/crushproof, 10 megapixels, which just looked great! Unfortunately the pics it took were horrible and it went right back to Wally World.

 

So thats where I currently am--I don't care about a helmet cam, but prefer a small point & shoot that doubles as a vid recorder. I have personally never evaluated any helmet cams but there are a few that have rave testimonials if you look around. I am also prejudiced for Canon (at least most models). They just don't seem to make a cam that takes bad pics, and after all thats what a cam is for. That Olympus I mentioned was such a disappointment--really wanted to like it--menu was intuitive--lots of bells and whistles--impervious to meteorites--etc. But the pics were gosh-awful. And it was a $400 cam. Let us know what direction you go.

 

 

Edit: and BTW, it looks like, from the other reviews, that I hit the "Hero" cam spot on in my original "guesstimation". I think it was because that Hero guy who posted to the thread kept using the word "stoked" every other line.....

[bobbybob]

Boney's set-up sounds professional grade--the way to go if you have mucho dinero. The LANC connector is first rate. Love to see a posting of a vid it made.

[Twisties]

Phil, we too are using a Canon point and shoot, the SD 870 IS. We bought it as a point and shoot still camera, and don't have much experience with it for video yet. It costs more than what bobbybob is recommending.

 

Sharon can mount it where her Zumo goes (she got something for it). It takes SDHC cards, so you are essentially unlimited on record time, though you may need to change cards every so often. IIRC an 8 gb card should get you about 50 minutes. It zooms, and records sound. I can't comment on quality yet. Only a few experiences and only viewed on computer, not tv. We will need to find a way to reduce vibration, possibly bobbybob's velcro trick will work.

 

When the windshield gets dirty it is focusing on that instead of down the road. We may try it a bit more this weekend and see if we can knock down the vibration and keep it focused where we want it. Only other thing is that I notice that sometimes she doesn't know whether it's on or off. Not sure what's up there, but no indicator light and I guess she can't see the lens extend.

 

Jan

[bobbybob]

Phil, we too are using a Canon point and shoot, the SD 870 IS. We bought it as a point and shoot still camera, and don't have much experience with it for video yet. It costs more than what bobbybob is recommending.

 

Sharon can mount it where her Zumo goes (she got something for it). It takes SDHC cards, so you are essentially unlimited on record time, though you may need to change cards every so often. IIRC an 8 gb card should get you about 50 minutes. It zooms, and records sound. I can't comment on quality yet. Only a few experiences and only viewed on computer, not tv. We will need to find a way to reduce vibration, possibly bobbybob's velcro trick will work.

 

When the windshield gets dirty it is focusing on that instead of down the road. We may try it a bit more this weekend and see if we can knock down the vibration and keep it focused where we want it. Only other thing is that I notice that sometimes she doesn't know whether it's on or off. Not sure what's up there, but no indicator light and I guess she can't see the lens extend.

 

Jan

 

 

Yep, 870 has a good review too.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canonsd870is/

Jan, on my SD1000, I lock the focus on infinity when using as bike-cam; solves the dirty windshield problem. To do that on mine, when in vid mode I press the left rocker switch where it shows the macro & "mountains" icons, and then set to "mountains" (infinity). Anything 8' or further away will be focused just fine (unless you're zooming). But remember--it resets to "autofocus" when you turn the cam off and back on again, so you'll need to re-set to infinity. Also, the image stab. is a nice feature on the 870 when zooming.

 

I actually attach my "bike-side" ram ball to the rubber carry-handle on the front of my Touratech "flat" tank bag. That pretty much stops all the "fine" vibes since its not hard-mounted to the hard parts. You still see the road jolts but you'd see that anyway with a helmet cam, except for the fact that a rider subconsciously "dampens" his own jolts by remaining loose on the grips.

[Twisties]

Thanks!

 

We'll let you all know how it goes as we try some of that.

 

Jan

[skinny_tom (aka boney)]

Boney's set-up sounds professional grade--the way to go if you have mucho dinero. The LANC connector is first rate. Love to see a posting of a vid it made.

 

This is the highest quality setting, shot from the helmet with the 120 degree field of view. 720x 480 (low-def TV specs)

 

31Mb, 31 seconds:

http://www.beachbus.net/storage/RawHQVideo.MPG

 

I built a remote to directly interface with the PDR unit. It works far better than the Lan-C did.

 

 

 

[skinny_tom (aka boney)]

Tom,

 

If you're coming to Richard's tech daze, I'd at least like to take a look at it and have you walk me around it so I can get an idea about it.

 

I'll bring it. We can have a video daze too.

[Boffin]

Underwater housings not only protect the camera from water, they have a correction lens built in to accomodate water's different diffraction ratio. I think this causes a 'fish-eye' effect out of water.

 

Andy

[bobbybob]

Underwater housings not only protect the camera from water, they have a correction lens built in to accomodate water's different diffraction ratio. I think this causes a 'fish-eye' effect out of water.

 

Andy

 

I would have never thought about that, but have never heard it either. I'll look into it. However, it is marketed as all-weather for any outdoor sporting events, like skiing, rafting, etc.

[bobbybob]

Boney's set-up sounds professional grade--the way to go if you have mucho dinero. The LANC connector is first rate. Love to see a posting of a vid it made.

 

This is the highest quality setting, shot from the helmet with the 120 degree field of view. 720x 480 (low-def TV specs)

 

31Mb, 31 seconds:

http://www.beachbus.net/storage/RawHQVideo.MPG

 

I built a remote to directly interface with the PDR unit. It works far better than the Lan-C did.

 

 

 

Wow! I thought I was THERE! Makes me wanna go run and buy a GS and hit the forest service roads!! I did notice a slight "fish-eye" effect from the wide angle lens. Can you swap lenses on it?