Which video camera for dirtbiking?

[cave weta]

I will own something by the weekend- what will it be guys?

I want- HD
waterproof
shock proof
SD card
aa batteries
view screen
stills (photos)

[noobi]

I think only the GoPro HD does all those things. might use AAA batteries though. If you use the case, its water and shock proof. Takes photos, stores to SD. google it.

considering the criteria i think you already knew what camera you wanted....:P

[cave weta]

I think only the GoPro HD does all those things. might use AAA batteries though. If you use the case, its water and shock proof. Takes photos, stores to SD. google it.

considering the criteria i think you already knew what camera you wanted....:P

I only know of-KodakZX1
Samsung something or other
and the good old Oregon Scientific Bullet cam

Retro Asian is offering me a test drive with something new he has!?

very cheap?

[noobi]

http://helmetcameracentral.com/2009/07/22/gopro-hd-high-def-helmet-cam-announce/

http://pointofviewcameras.com/all-cameras/by-brand/gopro

not sure if their in NZ yet

[barty5]

I only know of-KodakZX1
Samsung something or other
and the good old Oregon Scientific Bullet cam

Retro Asian is offering me a test drive with something new he has!?

very cheap?

oregan is shit ive got one total crap dosnt mount well if fitted to bike it switches off due the vibrations
not sure bout moto com being water proof but mounts almost anywhere has separate screen and heaps of other bits

[cave weta]

oregan is shit ive got one total crap dosnt mount well if fitted to bike it switches off due the vibrations
not sure bout moto com being water proof but mounts almost anywhere has separate screen and heaps of other bits

how about This!? God I love KB! Retro asian in another thread
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?p=1129557023#post1129557023
is getting one sent to me for free! (possibly):beer:
I will do a test on it and a write up and post the weekends vid for all to see.
we may have a new favourite camera for dirty movies!

[flyingcr250]

does anyone use/rate one of these? http://pointofviewcameras.com/vio-pov-1-5-megapack.html. im quite keen on one.

[FlangMasterJ]

I think only the GoPro HD does all those things. might use AAA batteries though. If you use the case, its water and shock proof. Takes photos, stores to SD. google it.

considering the criteria i think you already knew what camera you wanted....:P

The GoPro HD doesn't have a viewing screen or use aa's it's got a lithium battery pack.

Hopefully be picking one up during the week.

[takitimu]

I will own something by the weekend- what will it be guys?

I want- HD
waterproof
shock proof
SD card
aa batteries
view screen
stills (photos)

Olympus SW series if you want a Point & Shoot, I got this for a casio I got ( I wanted slow motion video ).
http://www.amazon.com/Lewis-N-Clark-Waterproof-Purpose/dp/B0010Y0ZNW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=apparel&qid=1260199998&sr=8-2

Quite a few cameras have water proof housings, but they are not cheap ( www.bhphotovideo.com have everything you could want ).

[Keithf]

Vio POV. Not HD but ticks all the other boxes. This is a top of the line helmet camera....and the output is pretty good.

check my website for some footage



I will own something by the weekend- what will it be guys?

I want- HD
waterproof
shock proof
SD card
aa batteries
view screen
stills (photos)

[oldskool]

One thing you may wanna consider is what format the footage is captured to. This is an area which seems to be glossed over by the manufacturers.

Once you get all those hours of footage you might want to edit out the dull and leave the good bits. Some compression systems are easier to deal with than others.

Because I have a GoPro I did a bit of research with their system.
GoPro standard uses MJPEG compression.
GoPro HD uses MP4
MJPEG is easier to edit than MP4.

I use Premiere to edit the footage, but it's a bit of a workaround to get acceptable quality final cuts after all the friggin around with transcoding.

Not sure what format POV captures to, but I have a feeling it may be more of an acceptable industry standard than the other brands.

[Keithf]

The vio compresses to a MPG4 xvid format . I generally convert it to an MP2 or AVI to edit
I have just started to use Premiere and while i can edit the raw file in Premiere it is a bit of a mission....I need to fine tune my setup yet-there is some fancy stuff that I haven't got to grips with yet.

[oldskool]

The vio compresses to a MPG4 xvid format . I generally convert it to an MP2 or AVI to edit
I have just started to use Premiere and while i can edit the raw file in Premiere it is a bit of a mission....I need to fine tune my setup yet-there is some fancy stuff that I haven't got to grips with yet.

Yes whilst Premiere Pro CS4 imports these files and multiple frame sizes it's a bit of a pain, laggy and slow. Premiere Pro CS3 seems to edit them easier (faster).

I use RiverPast Video Cleaner Pro with all the booster codec filter packs installed to transcode from the proprietary GOPRO MJPEG codec to an industry recognised MJPEG codec then once the editing has been done to also convert to MP4 for Youtube or Facebook.

I have an old but trusty pinnacle DC30 video editing card I may reinstall to speed up the MJPEG editing so scrubbing can be more fluent and not so software intensive.

Vegas and Final Cut are the only 2 serious packages I know of that have decent fast realtime software rendering while editing.

[cave weta]

One thing you may wanna consider is what format the footage is captured to. This is an area which seems to be glossed over by the manufacturers.

Once you get all those hours of footage you might want to edit out the dull and leave the good bits. Some compression systems are easier to deal with than others.

Because I have a GoPro I did a bit of research with their system.
GoPro standard uses MJPEG compression.
GoPro HD uses MP4
MJPEG is easier to edit than MP4.

I use Premiere to edit the footage, but it's a bit of a workaround to get acceptable quality final cuts after all the friggin around with transcoding.

Not sure what format POV captures to, but I have a feeling it may be more of an acceptable industry standard than the other brands.


well unless Retro Asian comes up with the test camera for me - Im going to get the Go Pro http://www.goprocamera.com/index.php?area=2&productid=29
watch the demo video and you will
be sold!

[cave weta]

all the booster codec filter packs installed to transcode from the proprietary GOPRO MJPEG codec to an industry recognised MJPEG codec then once the editing has been done to also convert to MP4 for Youtube or Facebook.

I have an old but trusty pinnacle DC30 video editing card I may reinstall to speed up the MJPEG editing so scrubbing can be more fluent and not so software intensive.
.

yes yes ..yes, oh mmm, yes ahha, yes mmm yep.... Oh Face Book! yes, mmm ahha.....snore snore fart snore snuffle snore....:done:

[cheese]

the Oregon ones are not that great. the cheap go pro is better for general mucking about. If you are going to bother, get a good one like what Keith is selling. The advantage of the smaller one like Keith is doing is that the camera is small and mounts out of the way. My ATC5K was too bulky and would hit things.

[oldskool]

well unless Retro Asian comes up with the test camera for me - Im going to get the Go Pro http://www.goprocamera.com/index.php?area=2&productid=29
watch the demo video and you will
be sold!

I'd look at that footage with a bit of sceptism. They use high end video equipment and know their compression system inside out. Most average users won't get those results...if they are at all recorded with the same consumer product.

I posted a recent bit of footage captured using my gopro wide here
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=114126&page=3
it should give you an idea of the visual coverage and video quality (for web) of the average user.

[Keithf]

The video quality looks really good. I think I need to buy you a beer and get some editing tips.

The mounting point is a bit of an issue-it was like looking downhill...:-)





I'd look at that footage with a bit of sceptism. They use high end video equipment and know their compression system inside out. Most average users won't get those results...if they are at all recorded with the same consumer product.

I posted a recent bit of footage captured using my gopro wide here
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=114126&page=3
it should give you an idea of the visual coverage and video quality (for web) of the average user.

[gonzo_akl]

Has anyone had any experience with Flip Video camera.

http://www.theflip.com/en-au/Products/mino.aspx#/home

[oldskool]

The video quality looks really good. I think I need to buy you a beer and get some editing tips.

The mounting point is a bit of an issue-it was like looking downhill...:-)
If I had edited that at work with CS4 it would have come out at the full frame of the Gopro capture. As it was I edited it at home and CS3 defaulted the frame size to 720x540 so consequently I got a black frame around it. And CS4 does have a good media encoder with it too so you don't have to use a 3rd party like River Past to encode the result.

As for the downhill bit, can't win on that...I tried tummy cam and *someone* squawked that I should be standing and not sitting...american easy rider style...he actually thought the view was from my helmut!!!!! haha that was funny.
GoPro do have a chest mount strap. I'd like to try that as I reckon the video would be more immersive if you saw hands and bar action along with the go forward motion...you appreciate the difficult terrain more that way.

[cave weta]

I havent heard Tachyon mentioned yet..
Its bulky but clear vid and waterproof- $270 on trade me

your thoughts?

[cave weta]

Has anyone had any experience with Flip Video camera.

http://www.theflip.com/en-au/Products/mino.aspx#/home

Cant get the site to load- hope their device is better- it 'sounds' like the kind of thing that 14year old grls would take to a slumber party...
Is it any good in your opinion?

[Keithf]

I'm one of the people selling the Tachyon on trademe-if you bid buy one from me! It's an ok camera but you get what you pay for. This camera is ok if you want to simply watch video of your own riding. It is not the kind of camera that you would buy for instance to produce raw video of a days riding for your customers.



I havent heard Tachyon mentioned yet..
Its bulky but clear vid and waterproof- $270 on trade me

your thoughts?

[IIIRII]

We have a VholdR HD and tbh , If I had known about the new hd go pro I dont think I would have bought the holdr.
Its actual footage is outstanding ....very very clear , but shoots to .mov
Im still trying to work out a system that doesnt loose quality when editing them.
The mount system is dodgy to say the least and I ended up making my own mounts.
The holdr is also quite fragile for a bike cam , Ive had a few indescressions and needed to go to my spare parts camera to reinstate it.

So ....Go Pro HD ...small bullet proof good format / and the wide angle makes it a lot less sensitive to where its pointing ...the first ones (we had one) were quite tricky to get pointin in the right direction as the fov was quite narrow.

[kezzafish]

another thing to keep in mind cave weta... sound... Generally the mic for the cam is in the cam which means that when your cam hits a bush it makes a god awful, loud noise and misses most of the bike noise. The better cams have the mic on a seperate wire so you can position it to miss the wind noise and the bush bashing noise and just collect that sweet bwaaaarrrp.

The POV has a seperate mic.... don't think the gopro does???

[FlangMasterJ]

The POV has a seperate mic.... don't think the gopro does???

From GoPro:

Audio Excellence

We’ve invested more in the HD HERO camera's sound system than most companies spend on their entire camera development. You’ll only be hearing the sounds of your sport, not the howl of the wind. How? Obsessive audio engineering and an understanding that good sound is as important as good video.

:headbang:

[steve_t]

Right, so who in NZ sells the GoPro HD the cheapest and can supply a chest strap mount? Probably look to get the "naked" cam and chest strap

[FlangMasterJ]

Right, so who in NZ sells the GoPro HD the cheapest and can supply a chest strap mount? Probably look to get the "naked" cam and chest strap

Racetech.co.nz and buygopro.co.nz both retail theirs for $550.

I may get mine off ebay. Will save me $70 odd buckaroos.

[IIIRII]

If you are not worries about the waterproof feature, run the camera in the lexan case but drill a few small holes in the back of it.
This was common to get around the lack of quality sound on the early ones.
Also, the early ones had 2 settings for audio, as we discovered after filming an entire day of one of the rally sprint rounds, the sound was complete crap.
Lots of info on their forums.

[kezzafish]

From GoPro:

Audio Excellence

We’ve invested more in the HD HERO camera's sound system than most companies spend on their entire camera development. You’ll only be hearing the sounds of your sport, not the howl of the wind. How? Obsessive audio engineering and an understanding that good sound is as important as good video.

:headbang:

Go pro are probably gonna say good things about their own product and there's no denying it's an awesome cam. I'd say it's the second best cam out there (that i know of) the sound IS really good.

but my point is illustrated at about 5mins20 on this video. So make sure you watch it from about 4mins50, turn it up nice and loud so you can hear the sweet Kato brmmmm and watch till about 5mins30. Cheers for the use of your vid Evan, it's a beauty

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1267896169790&ref=nf

if you can't be arsed waiting for it to buffer you can hear the noises bumping it will make in the first 25seconds of the vid

PS. Oldschool, could you possibly embed that video here for those that have drama with viewing it on facebook? (re: login and who is who's friend etc)

[cave weta]

f we are going to have a beautiful noise catagory... try this one



<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0jSFBGyq6sM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0jSFBGyq6sM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>

[steve_t]

Just ordered my GoPro HD "naked" with chest strap from goprocamera.com
Hopefully it gets here before Xmas!! :niceone:

[oldskool]

Just ordered my GoPro HD "naked" with chest strap from goprocamera.com
Hopefully it gets here before Xmas!! :niceone:

:niceone: Be sure to give us a full review!

[Keithf]

this is still processing so the quality should improve. This was also the ist bit of video I have tried editing with Premeire Elements....mostly filmed with a POV1.5 struggling to keep up with the fast guys on the return tracks at Woodhill


<object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_QTx9pUAn2s&hl=en_US&fs=1&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_QTx9pUAn2s&hl=en_US&fs=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>

[oldskool]

For those who are thinking about getting a GoPro here's what has broken on mine to date. What has broke is replaceable but a pain anyway.

2 x bayonet clip ons. One is also cracking where the nut and bolt attaching it squeezes. The first was replaced under warranty as it broke within 7 days of using it.

Waterproof housing compression lock. This has snapped across the polycarbonate hinge. The waterproof casing is a replaceable unit.
Also, the super hard scratch proof lens cover has 2 scratches in it from tree branches.

About 10 months useage and this unit has been on a stunt kite, through Dreamworld rides, and in the resort swimming pool, as well as on my helmut on almost every ride I've been on.

Me verdict, I think an over reliance on Plastics.

[NordieBoy]

Me verdict, I think an over reliance on Plastics.

Need more titanium and carbon fibre :D

[oldguy]

f we are going to have a beautiful noise catagory... try this one



<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0jSFBGyq6sM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0jSFBGyq6sM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>

3.03 sound like foot peg dragging on ground, good corner that, drag the toe slider and knee through there.

[FlangMasterJ]

Just ordered my GoPro HD "naked" with chest strap from goprocamera.com
Hopefully it gets here before Xmas!! :niceone:

Got it yet Steve?

What SD card did you opt for?

I'm considering an 8GB Kingston class 6 but don't know if it's large enough.