helmetcam

stringy · Since 23 Jun 2006 1738 Posts vancouver XTreme Poster

been trying new things with my point and shoot W60 mounted on my helmet.
here's a video of some footage I shot last week on lake washington, up here in seattle.
not the highest quality, but you can get the idea of how it's working. my first attempt at the helmet cam. I'm trying to work out the shakiness and panning issues. really difficult to pan on a subject while kiting.
Anyhow enjoy the vid!
stringy

Link

stringy · Since 23 Jun 2006 1738 Posts vancouver XTreme Poster

youtube sucks.
go straight to vimeo.

GO TO VIMEO

pdxmonkeyboy · Mon Jan 12, 09 1:20 am

Stringy, did you try any software to try to stabilize it? Looks pretty good though.

Joshiebaby · Since 14 Oct 2007 569 Posts Vancouver, WA Addicted

yeah bro looks cool

Gman · Since 11 Feb 2006 4911 Posts Portland Unstrapped

thats fun - gonna be great when you get it dialed

Kataku2k3 · Since 14 Aug 2005 3754 Posts PDX-LA Videographer

Nice, Jim! It's crazy how good the point-n-shoots are getting, video wise.

surfns · Since 29 Oct 2008 47 Posts Oahu Hawaii

Helmet cams are cool,

is it mounted on the side of the helmet like the snowboarder cam?

My friend tried his with the oregon sci cam but had a mount on top,

turned out pretty shakey video still cool though

Guess those chops in the bay here rock ya

good idea about using software to reduce the shake on the video.

What is the name of the software?

Also is it free ware or pay for it?

Thanks ahead J

Kataku2k3 · Since 14 Aug 2005 3754 Posts PDX-LA Videographer

Most little cams like these aren't going to have optical image stabilization (ie. Sony SteadyShot)... Haven't even seen it on the new DSLRs that'll do HD vid (5D MKII, D90, etc.). That's just what you get.

There are a few programs that can stabilize. The easiest being After Effects with a plug-in such as Magic Bullet Steady. SynthEyes is insane as well for this type of stuff, but costs some money. http://www.ssontech.com/

Obviously you can find some stuff as torrents, but you probably won't find the image stabilization stuff. Also, AE's integrated tracker won't work for here (without a fixed point of interest).

stringy · Since 23 Jun 2006 1738 Posts vancouver XTreme Poster

i made a crude prototype boom for the helmet. gonna give a gooseneck style mount a try. I have oregon scientific helmet cam, but they are difficult to use. when you use "lipstick" cam, you don't really know what you capture until you upload it onto a computer. I used my point and shoot and mounted it about 12 inches in front of my helmet. by viewing the lcd, this allows me to see exactly what the camera is capturing. not very good in the chop. ultimately, i'd like to mount the HD cam with a ultra lightweight water housing (gonna try to have it complete for baja) to my helmet, but not feeling like that will really work at all. I'm thinking a fisheye helps with giving the perception that it is steadier, due to the expanded field of view. I want to avoid a fisheye if possible for this perspective, more wanting to get that close intimate view between what a rider sees and what it actually looks like from the rider's eyes.

As for how it was edited, I basically threw it together in FC and did not use any stabilazation post processing. I just tried to use the best footage.
I'll keep working on it. we'll see what happens. like I said, first attempt.

cool to hear you guys feedback.

pkh · Since 27 Feb 2005 6549 Posts Couve / Hood Honored Founder

Cool vid stringy! Look forward to seeing your setup work its magic in the summer sun Very Happy