is it just me or are thos clips pretty choppy?
In clips 2,4 and 8 choppy isn't the problem. The guy who was wearing the helmet cam has a twitchy head.
The video from our January freeride shot by other people is much less twitchy. I haven't edited it but have the raw video is available in a smaller size (320X240). Links to it are below. Doesn't show the full quality but it shows that December was twitchy not choppy.
The links below are big files so best to right click to download and save as. This one was on the included strap so it does slap around a bit. Mike was riding a blaster:
http://www.barry-blanchard.com/movies/jetski/freeride/2007_01/freeride/Mikecam.wmv
This one was riveted to the helmet. Jeff was riding and SXR and SJ:
http://www.barry-blanchard.com/movies/jetski/freeride/2007_01/freeride/Jeffcam3.wmv
In regards to the 10X thing:
Our crew bought the SD cards recently when they bought the cams. When I copied the videos off the cards onto a PC it went very fast so I assume they are decent speed card. If someone was using an old SD card they had for years it could be a problem.
These cams aren't meant to be kick butt and Hi-Def. They are cheap enough to be just short of disposible. They DO put you where the action is!
The first link above is the only video that Mike shot before his cam went for a swim. He used the strap and it didn't stay on. He was a bit pissed about losing $200 of cam and card. He would have been a lot more pissed losing $600+ of higher quality equipment.
These cams are a tool. They have a learning curve. It's going to take some practice for people get used to the fact they are now a cameraman and not just screwing around in the surf. You need to get a feel for what it sees, etc. We bring a laptop to review the vids on the beach and make corrections.
Maybe couches would make better camera platforms (you knew they had to have some purpose). Start with rule #1 - Keep the sun at your back. The Daytona clip I posted had some great action but was looking towards the sun and getting a lot of glare.