mounting videocamera on bike

On 7 Apr 2004 07:18:54 -0700, [email hidden] (sean) may have

Quoted message said:

I intend to use a small dv video camera. Has anyone here
ever done it?

It's been tried. My advice: Don't do it with equipment that
you intend to keep using.

Quoted message said:

Is it possible to buy a specific bracket to attach to bike?

Not off-the-shelf for that purpose AFAIK.

Quoted message said:

If not what would be the best method besides gaffa taping
the thing between tri bars?

In my opinion, the best method would be to use the rider as
the damping system; either employ a shoulder mount, or a
helmet mount if it's *really* light.

Quoted message said:

Will the vibration be too much for a steady shot or do I
need to 'dampen' the connection?

Even on what appears to be smooth, level pavement, you will
probably need heavy damping with considerable motion
absorption range. This isn't just due to image blurring,
it's also in recognition of the fact that mechanically,
these units are designed around a typical operating
condition parameter set which your proposed usage isn't
within. To safely use a camera that was designed for the
relatively low accelerations of hand-held use, you have to
stay within those limits. On a full-suspension bike with
little or no shock absorption, you might get away with a
mount on the bars as long as the ride was over fairly smooth
terrain, but I personally would still not try it. The tripod
mounting shoe of the typical videocam simply is not intended
to be subjected to much force; I've seen them torn out of
the housing in situations with less motion than a bike would
produce in a reasonably normal real-world ride. If you're
talking about using one of the low-mass pure-digitals with
no tape drive, you might get away with more vibration and
shock forces without destroying the unit, but your images
will still be pretty much of a continuous series of jitters
unless you can provide good motion damping.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Quoted message said:

I intend to use a small dv video camera. Has anyone here
ever done it?

See the following:

petefagerlin.comvideo how to.htmOpen ↗

--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA bike.terrymorse.combike.terrymorse.comOpen ↗

Werehatrack <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

On 7 Apr 2004 07:18:54 -0700, [email hidden] (sean)

may have said:

I intend to use a small dv video camera. Has anyone here
ever done it?

It's been tried. My advice: Don't do it with equipment
that you intend to keep using.

Indeed. There was one rider on Chilly Hilly this year who
started with a video camera on a tripod secured to his rear
rack, pointed rearwards (lousy view to the front). When I
saw him at the finish, the tripos was still there, but the
camera wasn't.

Another friend secured the camera to his handlebars and got
some fantastic footage on a fast descent. The camera never
worked after that- so many internal connections had broken
that the camera was junk.

Jeff

Terry Morse <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I intend to use a small dv video camera. Has anyone here
ever done it?

See the following:

petefagerlin.comvideo how to.htmOpen ↗

Thanks guys. Very helpfull.

I actually made an device (out of 6061 Aluminum) for this
very purpose for an engineering class. With panning/azimuth
adjustment, elastomer damping, and tripod-style quick
release. Admittedly it was 70 hours' worth of machining work
so that could be a barrier, but it works pretty darn well. I
can even reposition the camera to point at my face on-the-
fly to give mobile commentaries.

For the interim, you could possibly emulate my "MkI"
model, which was simply a piece of plywood to which I
screwed a 1/4 - 20 bolt for the camera mount. I also
screwed an old cateye headlamp clip [taken off one of
their older lights] to the piece of plywood, and used the
corresponding cateye handlebar bracket [so that it could
be taken off the camera].

Link to the MkI image below:

stanford.educmtmki.jpgOpen ↗

Bike tour films made using the MkI (scroll down):

stanford.eduvidpg1.htmlOpen ↗

The biggest problems with this early version were vibration
and lack of adjustability, which were fixed in the Al
version. Smooth roads definitely required for useable
footage. I didn't have access to power tools when I made
this, so you can easily make some improvements.

Next project: to integrate shutter buttons into the brake
hoods so I don't have to take my hands off at 35mph to film.

song