Lets see some different camera mount setups, Helmet or hull.

[OCD Solutions]

I'm getting sick of shakey, unusable helmet cam footage and am looking to mount my Oregon Scientific somewhere on the ski itself. Between the Gopro and other cams on the market what have some of you guys come up with for different mounting systems and where are you putting them?

 

[afcblink]

I'm getting sick of shakey, unusable helmet cam footage and am looking to mount my Oregon Scientific somewhere on the ski itself. Between the Gopro and other cams on the market what have some of you guys come up with for different mounting systems and where are you putting them?

I tried mounting my ATC2K on the handlebars of my couch once, but the vibration made everything really jerky and shaky. I can post the resulting crappy vid if you'd like to see it, but trust me, it was a lot worse than the video quality when helmet mounted.

 

[afcblink]

Also, you instinctively tend to keep your head fairly level. Mounted to a hardpoint, your camera will tilt with every tip of the ski, which can be annoying.

The only time I've seen ski-mounted cameras work really well is when they are pointed back at the rider, so that there's something that stays somewhat statically framed and aligned in the shot.

 

[OCD Solutions]

The Helmet mount is okay for couches but in the surf your head moves too much to get any decent shots. It's not that it's not stable, it's that you are constantly looking around watching the other riders and the surf and it gets nausiating. The footage is basically useles so therefore so is the effort to keep doing it.

There was some awesome video posted with a wide perch mounted on the front of the ski looking back that i would like to duplicate. I'm not saying that I'm that skille dof a rider but at least what footage you got would be usable.

O-Side Going Pro with Mark Gomez and Chris Rosner on Vimeo

 

[afcblink]

The Helmet mount is okay for couches but in the surf your head moves too much to get any decent shots. It's not that it's not stable, it's that you are constantly looking around watching the other riders and the surf and it gets nausiating. The footage is basically useles so therefore so is the effort to keep doing it.

There was some awesome video posted with a wide perch mounted on the front of the ski looking back that i would like to duplicate. I'm not saying that I'm that skille dof a rider but at least what footage you got would be usable.

O-Side Going Pro with Mark Gomez and Chris Rosner on Vimeo

I checked Mark Gomez's blog. He used a Go Pro Wide. That setup seems to be the hot ticket currently. You'd never get that quality with an ATC2K. Well, not my ATC2K anyway. The newer 3K or 5K models may be able to deliver this quality; I have no experience with them.

You might find this website useful:
http://helmetcamreview.wordpress.com/

 

[Jetaddict]

I prefer the hull mount to the helmet mount. I am going out to the lake this week to point the camera the other way to see how it comes out.

 

[nokfir]

you gotta get a go pro wide.....when mounted on a helmet it really does shake at all. they have excellent quality also. heres a short vid of some differennt angles i used. for the hull mount i used the suction cup mount that came with the go pro.

[video=vimeo;4331804]http://vimeo.com/4331804[/video]

 

[Jetaddict]

You might find this website useful:
http://helmetcamreview.wordpress.com/

Good blog. I disagree with his ratings of the older OS ATK camera. There is NOW WAY the quality on the older OS is equal to or better than the GoPro's. No way. I own/have owned both, and the ATK's quality is awful. The images were very shaky and also too dark all the time. GoPro doesn't do well on overcast days, but in the sun it is perfect. Additionally, I have never had any issues with failure of my GoPro- the ATK would stop recording for no reason, would hesitate upon startup, etc. Just my 2 cents.

 

[rrlc]

I used the GoPro wide withe the curved helmet mount and the suction cup mount on this video.

[video=vimeo;5053443]http://www.vimeo.com/5053443[/video]

The suction cup mount is now broken due to a nose stab. I'm gonna have to come up with something else similar to Mark's setup too.

 

[OCD Solutions]

We can argue cameras all day, I'm more interested in the mounting setups,
I'd like to design something that bolts into the front bow eye and is secure enough to not bust up in surf or rotate out of range. I think a forward view may be good too.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[stanton]

I'm getting sick of shakey, unusable helmet cam footage and am looking to mount my Oregon Scientific somewhere on the ski itself. Between the Gopro and other cams on the market what have some of you guys come up with for different mounting systems and where are you putting them?

it will always be shaky with the oregon sci. especially in any rough conditions.
the wide angle has an advantage here, because the more zoomed out you are the less shaky the footage. only downside is you need to be really close to shoot anyone else, even then they look too far away.
i want a medium between the oregsci and goprowide.

 

[nokfir]

Wide angle is good for filmimg yourself (helmet or hull mount)...normal lens is better for shooting other people. Normal lens is much more shakey

 

[rollin5150]

Here are the three mounts that I currently use with my GoPro Wide. The camera can mount in forward or backwards in the quick release mounts so you actually have 6 angles to choose from. You can see all angles in these two videos. I also have a few others going on this weekend.

[video=vimeo;4656433]http://www.vimeo.com/4656433[/video]

[video=vimeo;4947761]http://www.vimeo.com/4947761[/video]

 

[rollin5150]

I checked Mark Gomez's blog. He used a Go Pro Wide. That setup seems to be the hot ticket currently. You'd never get that quality with an ATC2K. Well, not my ATC2K anyway. The newer 3K or 5K models may be able to deliver this quality; I have no experience with them.

You might find this website useful:
http://helmetcamreview.wordpress.com/

The gopro helps a ton with the clarity but it really comes down to the software that you use to edit the footage. I just use windows movie maker and I used two different safe settings. You can tell the difference between the two. When you save your movie, save it in the best setting you can.

 

[afcblink]

I went ahead and uploaded my worthless ATC2K video to YouTube, just for comparison. My ATC2K was velcro-mounted to the rubbery handlebar cover of my WaveBlaster2, which I thought would provide some isolation from the ski's vibration. It didn't. As soon as the engine starts, the vibration ruins the video quality (which isn't so whippy even while sitting still). Also, I discovered that turning the handlebars causes the camera to point downward, towards the water's surface in turns. And this is just cruising around on a couch on a flat lake. I think it would be worthless on standup in the surf.

Frankly, I was really disappointed in the ATC2K and haven't used it much, helmet OR ski mounted...

 

[Frosty]

We can argue cameras all day, I'm more interested in the mounting setups,
I'd like to design something that bolts into the front bow eye and is secure enough to not bust up in surf or rotate out of range. I think a forward view may be good too.
Posted via Mobile Device

Like this? Yamaslut made this for me.

 

[OCD Solutions]

Like this? Yamaslut made this for me.

Exactly Frosty, that is pretty beefy and pretty simple. any pics of how it attaches underneath? Is it threaded with a big nut or bolted on with a plate?

Also, you all seem to like risking loosing the cameras, I have been looking for safety straps on the cameras in case they break free of the mounts.

 

[Frosty]

it attaches through the bow eye using a threaded allen (or hex head, can't remember) bolt with a thick washer backer plate. It's pretty damn secure.

I am going to rig up a laynard for it in case the camera breaks free.

 

[Jetaddict]

I don't have a pic of my security setup for my cam, but let me describe it best I can: I took a lanyard from an old handheld video camera I have (the ones with a small loop on one end and a leash on the other). I looped the small end through the latch part of the housing on the Go Pro, and I have the other end looped through my handlepole limiting rope. It works perfect. This way, if the mouting on the base of the GoPro breaks, the camera will just dangle from the limiting rope. There's no stress on the top latch, so the chances of that part failing and letting my camera go is virtually nil.

 

[cookerq62]

I have one of these. It's right between the go pro and the Oregon Scientific.
http://www.epicstealthcam.com/
They sell for $100 at Costco. I strapped it to my handpole just to try it out and the footage was too tight and a little shacked because of just being strapped down. I need to pick up their suction mount to stick it on the nose. No worries about loosing it because it floats and I am going to make a tether setup. It also has two modes wide & tight. I really haven't been playing with it much.