Helmet Cam set ups

Doogie

Doogie

HX Bomb Technician
Location
Lake Alfred,FL
What kind of set ups do you guys use/recommend.
I have a Canon ZR 85 and have looked at a few deals, BulletCam mainly, just to make sure, the basics are you plug the waterproof helmet cam into your camera which is in a waterproof housing.What do you carry all that around in,a backpack or something??
I've seen footage, just never seen the setup. I do a lot of editing and filming of wakeboarding, but all we ever use is in boat, and chase boat. Parks used a helmet cam once, I think Ronn Seidenglanz of Sideways Films set it up, I never got to see it though, it was some crazy footage though.
Any help appreciated
-Doogie=
 
hangtime

hangtime

Speak up ,don't kiss azz
Location
WORCESTER,MASS- HAMPTON N.H.
I have a bulletcam setup and a helmetcamera.com setup and they both work fine .
A backpack works fine but you need some practice filming and settting up the right angle for the cam depending on what boat you are riding .

Riding a couch is the best for filming others as a standup is too shaky to get much footage of others but a Blaster will work too because obviously it has a seat still and you can keep still enough to film .

Based on my experiences you get about 5-10 minutes of usable footage per hour of filming .

It's a lot of work to set it up right but you do get some nice footage .

Remember to follow around other riders and think like you are the film crew because otherwise you'll come back with an hour of film with nothing on it except you jumping and such which gets boring quick
 
Fathom

Fathom

WaveJunkie PR
Location
Central Illinois
Although I have only used it once (yesterday) I got one from helmetcamera.com
Pretty decent setup but I think I need a better lens for close shots. Everything seems so far in the distance.
Definately get the backpack and preferably one with a center strap which holds the two shoulder straps together. A mic can be nice but for $60, not required if layering with music. All you hear is engine, wind and water noise.
 
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masterblaster

masterblaster

X-H2
closer lens not needed fathom just gota be right in the face of the action,closer lens will crop right in the face of the action footage,its all in placment and timing
 
Wolf Child

Wolf Child

Just Another Octard
Location
All over C. FL
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masterblaster

masterblaster

X-H2
wolf child,yea bud thats my problem also.most my vids are around 5 min long,Id like to upload in dvd formate at less than 100megs.I know its possible,its just a pain to find the right software to do it,studio 9 exports 5 min of dvd qual at 300 megs???? mpeg 2 is a little lower megs but way lower qual.superjett was saying some guy had a 10 min dvd export he had on his vid site and was compressed to 100 meg????
 
Nascency Chris

Nascency Chris

The Nascency Project
masterblaster said:
wolf child,yea bud thats my problem also.most my vids are around 5 min long,Id like to upload in dvd formate at less than 100megs.I know its possible,its just a pain to find the right software to do it,studio 9 exports 5 min of dvd qual at 300 megs???? mpeg 2 is a little lower megs but way lower qual.superjett was saying some guy had a 10 min dvd export he had on his vid site and was compressed to 100 meg????
Click to expand...


find a windows media or quicktime exporter...the mpeg exporters are not really geared for crunching down large files and retaining good image quality...not internet based...
 
T

TB

NOTHING IS EVER PROMISED
Location
Grand Rapids, MI
lemme check with my little brother later today and ill see what all he knows about...hes going to film school and either him or his teachers should know of a program..
 
Nascency Chris

Nascency Chris

The Nascency Project
masterblaster said:
southtown,what program does win med player for the best "crunching" lol. studio 9 exports to wmp and 5 min was a woping 300megs
Click to expand...

check out something like this...

http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=Windows_Media_Encoder

here is where im kinda fuzzy because i use premiere and it has the latest .wmv encoders built in...but i digress...


find a .wmv encoder and play with settings until you hit the image quality you want and try and keep your file size under 50meg...
 
Wolf Child

Wolf Child

Just Another Octard
Location
All over C. FL
masterblaster said:
wolf child,yea bud thats my problem also.most my vids are around 5 min long,Id like to upload in dvd formate at less than 100megs.I know its possible,its just a pain to find the right software to do it,studio 9 exports 5 min of dvd qual at 300 megs???? mpeg 2 is a little lower megs but way lower qual.superjett was saying some guy had a 10 min dvd export he had on his vid site and was compressed to 100 meg????
Click to expand...

try DivX. it works pretty well for what you are talking about. I never had any luck with studio 9 it kept crashing. pity, cuz I really like the program.
 
daylite67

daylite67

Paint Ride Shoot Edit
Location
Seattle Wa
Fathom said:
Pretty decent setup but I think I need a better lens for close shots. Everything seems so far in the distance.
Click to expand...

I found that you need to be right on top of guy you are shooting if you are going to get something that doesn't look like you are 100 yards away. That lense does help keep things smooth though.

We found that mounting the camera on the side of the helmet down by your cheek or jaw makes for a great first person view, and mounting it on top has a nice floating camera view with out much of the ski you are riding on showing up.

Another thing I learned was to keep the camera wet as much as possible. I was constantly splashing the camera (especialy in the salt water) to keep beads of water (or salt) from drying on the lense. It actually helps alot.

And like Hangtime said, you need to really go out of your way to "look" at and watch the riders you are trying to shoot. Don't look with your eyes, look with your head.

I've bought two from helmetcamera.com over the years and have had great success with them.

Daylite
 
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