New helmet cam ~VIDEO~

I got a helmet cam for my birthday (my wife is the coolest). I've used it twice now and it's obvious
by this video I still need to work out the kinks. There's two spots where my PC started swapping
during capture, so those are the two little pauses (time for an upgrade).

I also need to adjust the angle to look up more, but this view gives a good shot of the trail. I
have a wide angle lens on the way and plan to update my helmet mounting. The trail is some of the
closest singletrack to my house. Probably just a Mile or two as the crow flies. It's a fun little
stretch when I don't have a lot of time.

I was having trouble with my MPEG encoder last night so I used wmv (sorry Pete). A future MPEG may
be posted for those who hate wmv enough to not watch. For the rest of you, it's about 23.5 Mb and
4:47 long. Let me know what you think.

Please download (rt-click, save target as...) before you watch to conserve bandwidth.
http://tinyurl.com/ces9

--

Matt

"Gravity. It's not just a good idea, it's the law!"

 

On Thu, 22 May 2003 10:41:54 -0600, MattB wrote:

> The trail is some of the closest singletrack to my house. Probably just a Mile or two as the crow
> flies. It's a fun little stretch when I don't have a lot of time.

Great to have singletrack like that close to home. Looks like some some real scrubby bone-try
land, though!

> I was having trouble with my MPEG encoder last night so I used wmv (sorry Pete). A future MPEG may
> be posted for those who hate wmv enough to not watch. For the rest of you, it's about 23.5 Mb and
> 4:47 long. Let me know what you think.

I think its good to have WMVs for those who don't have the bandwidth to download those big-ass
MPEGs. But I'd recommend encoding in WMV8 rather than WMV9 - not too many people have v9, and the v9
codec doesn't seem to work with the v8 player.

> http://tinyurl.com/ces9

Thanks Matt!

--
-BB- To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

 

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> On Thu, 22 May 2003 10:41:54 -0600, MattB wrote:
>
> > The trail is some of the closest singletrack to my house. Probably just a Mile or two as the
> > crow flies. It's a fun little stretch when I don't have a lot of time.
>
> Great to have singletrack like that close to home. Looks like some some real scrubby bone-try
> land, though!
>
> > I was having trouble with my MPEG encoder last night so I used wmv (sorry Pete). A future MPEG
> > may be posted for those who hate wmv enough to not watch. For the rest of you, it's about 23.5
> > Mb and 4:47 long. Let me know what you think.
>
> I think its good to have WMVs for those who don't have the bandwidth to download those big-ass
> MPEGs. But I'd recommend encoding in WMV8 rather than WMV9 - not too many people have v9, and the
> v9 codec doesn't seem to work with the v8 player.
>

I personally would recommend RealVideo as an alternative to mpeg as it is cross-platform compatible.
i personally do not like it as it is rather blocky, but i seem to have an encoder that i "acquired"
several years back.
--
~Travis

travis57 at megalink dot net http://www.megalink.net/~farmers/

 

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> I got a helmet cam for my birthday (my wife is the coolest). I've used it twice now and it's
> obvious by this video I still need to work out the kinks. There's two spots where my PC started
> swapping during capture, so those are the two little pauses (time for an upgrade).
>
> I also need to adjust the angle to look up more, but this view gives a good shot of the trail. I
> have a wide angle lens on the way and plan to update my helmet mounting. The trail is some of the
> closest singletrack to my house. Probably just a Mile or two as the crow flies. It's a fun little
> stretch when I don't have a lot of time.
>
> I was having trouble with my MPEG encoder last night so I used wmv (sorry Pete). A future MPEG may
> be posted for those who hate wmv enough to not watch. For the rest of you, it's about 23.5 Mb and
> 4:47 long. Let me know what you think.
>
> Please download (rt-click, save target as...) before you watch to conserve bandwidth.
> http://tinyurl.com/ces9
>
>

Here are some of my suggestions, do with them as you please.

I agree on the angle, maybe up just a bit, but not much. look straight ahead while you ride, pick a
spot in the center of your vision and center the camera on it.

Second, the rotation was a bit off. made me feel like i was hanging off the side of your helmet
instead of riding with you. and on that note, it is MO that the helmet should not be a part of the
shot, thus enabling the imagination to go along for the ride as opposed to sitting on your helmet.
on Pete's site he shows it mounted on top of the helmet, could change the perspective a bit. may be
worth a tape to just try different camera mounting spots and see what you like best.

Other than that, looks good. i enjoyed the ride. Thanks for sharing.
--
~Travis

travis57 at megalink dot net http://www.megalink.net/~farmers/

 

"BB" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> On Thu, 22 May 2003 10:41:54 -0600, MattB wrote:
>
> > The trail is some of the closest singletrack to my house. Probably just
a
> > Mile or two as the crow flies. It's a fun little stretch when I don't
have a
> > lot of time.
>
> Great to have singletrack like that close to home. Looks like some some real scrubby bone-try
> land, though!
>

Yes on both points. It's great and it's dry. We've been in a drought cycle for several years now,
and this is usually pretty dry even when the weather is unusually wet. It's south facing and in some
wide open country (Gunnison is a big wide basin) so it gets lots of sun and wind. This general area
is Marlborough country. They filmed those old ads in Gunnison.

I love having it handy when I need a quick fix. I can do the round trip from my back door in
about 35-40 Min. if I hammer it. It's also a good access point to much bigger things when I have
more time.

> > I was having trouble with my MPEG encoder last night so I used wmv
(sorry
> > Pete). A future MPEG may be posted for those who hate wmv enough to not watch. For the rest of
> > you, it's about 23.5 Mb and 4:47 long. Let me
know
> > what you think.
>
> I think its good to have WMVs for those who don't have the bandwidth to download those big-ass
> MPEGs. But I'd recommend encoding in WMV8 rather than WMV9 - not too many people have v9, and the
> v9 codec doesn't seem to work with the v8 player.

Good point. I just went out and downloaded that one from M$. I'll have a look for the v8 next time I
think of it.

>
> > http://tinyurl.com/ces9
>
> Thanks Matt!
>

The pleasure was all mine!

Matt

 

"Technician" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> > On Thu, 22 May 2003 10:41:54 -0600, MattB wrote:
> >
> > > The trail is some of the closest singletrack to my house. Probably
just a
> > > Mile or two as the crow flies. It's a fun little stretch when I don't
have a
> > > lot of time.
> >
> > Great to have singletrack like that close to home. Looks like some some real scrubby bone-try
> > land, though!
> >
> > > I was having trouble with my MPEG encoder last night so I used wmv
(sorry
> > > Pete). A future MPEG may be posted for those who hate wmv enough to
not
> > > watch. For the rest of you, it's about 23.5 Mb and 4:47 long. Let me
know
> > > what you think.
> >
> > I think its good to have WMVs for those who don't have the bandwidth to download those big-ass
> > MPEGs. But I'd recommend encoding in WMV8 rather than WMV9 - not too many people have v9, and
> > the v9 codec doesn't seem
to
> > work with the v8 player.
> >
>
> I personally would recommend RealVideo as an alternative to mpeg as it is cross-platform
> compatible. i personally do not like it as it is rather blocky, but i seem to have an encoder that
> i "acquired" several years back.

I think there's a free encoder from Real Networks. I just don't like their software. I'll probably
stay with wmv for smaller files and mpeg for cross-platform compatibility (and better quality). If
you need both then you'll just be out of luck ;-).

Matt

 

On Thu, 22 May 2003 15:36:17 -0400, Technician wrote:

> Second, the rotation was a bit off. made me feel like i was hanging off the side of your helmet
> instead of riding with you. and on that note, it is MO that the helmet should not be a part of the
> shot, thus enabling the imagination to go along for the ride as opposed to sitting on your helmet.

Hmm, I thought it was kind of cool to see the visor at the edge (I'm assuming that's what it was).

> on Pete's site he shows it mounted on top of the helmet, could change the perspective a bit. may
> be worth a tape to just try different camera mounting spots and see what you like best.

Actually I think he primarily uses the videocam mounted on the side of his helmet
(http://www.petefagerlin.com/video/think_small.jpg). You'll see it in shadows from time to time.

--
-BB- To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

 

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> On Thu, 22 May 2003 15:36:17 -0400, Technician wrote:
>
> > Second, the rotation was a bit off. made me feel like i was hanging off the side of your helmet
> > instead of riding with you. and on that note, it is MO that the helmet should not be a part of
> > the shot, thus enabling the imagination to go along for the ride as opposed to sitting on your
> > helmet.
>
> Hmm, I thought it was kind of cool to see the visor at the edge (I'm assuming that's what it was).

to each his own. maybe i'm just used to Pete's videos. My opinion is without the helmet showing,
there is no stationary object to give an idea to stability of the camera. but with it showing, it
seems like it amplifies the movements. may be just my opinion though.

>
> > on Pete's site he shows it mounted on top of the helmet, could change the perspective a bit. may
> > be worth a tape to just try different camera mounting spots and see what you like best.
>
> Actually I think he primarily uses the videocam mounted on the side of his helmet
> (http://www.petefagerlin.com/video/think_small.jpg). You'll see it in shadows from time to time.
>
>

is this a camera like Pete uses or a lipstick camera? i was referring to a lipstick camera, but
yes, a regular camera should be mounted on the side to prevent damage, and i think it would feel
top heavy.
--
~Travis

travis57 at megalink dot net http://www.megalink.net/~farmers/

 

On Thu, 22 May 2003 18:57:27 -0400, Technician wrote:

> is this a camera like Pete uses or a lipstick camera? i was referring to a lipstick camera, but
> yes, a regular camera should be mounted on the side to prevent damage, and i think it would feel
> top heavy.

No doubt! I mounted my little digital camera perched on top of my helmet the first time - it felt
like it weighed four times as much. I think having it right on top gave it some leverage when I
moved my head to the side that made it worse. The other thing I noticed was that I looked like a
complete dork with a camera perched on top of my helmet!

Now, I know that battery Pete uses must weigh a bit (probably more than my digicam), and it offsets
a camera on the other side. I've sometimes wondered what his neck must feel like after a long ride
with that.

--
-BB- To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

 

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> On Thu, 22 May 2003 18:57:27 -0400, Technician wrote:
>
> > is this a camera like Pete uses or a lipstick camera? i was referring to a lipstick camera, but
> > yes, a regular camera should be mounted on the side to prevent damage, and i think it would feel
> > top heavy.
>
> No doubt! I mounted my little digital camera perched on top of my helmet the first time - it felt
> like it weighed four times as much. I think having it right on top gave it some leverage when I
> moved my head to the side that made it worse. The other thing I noticed was that I looked like a
> complete dork with a camera perched on top of my helmet!
>
> Now, I know that battery Pete uses must weigh a bit (probably more than my digicam), and it
> offsets a camera on the other side. I've sometimes wondered what his neck must feel like after a
> long ride with that.
>
>

actually i think he says on his site those are exercise weights. is it a battery now?
--
~Travis

travis57 at megalink dot net http://www.megalink.net/~farmers/

 

"MattB" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I got a helmet cam for my birthday (my wife is the coolest). I've used it twice now and it's
> obvious by this video I still need to work out the
kinks.
> There's two spots where my PC started swapping during capture, so those
are
> the two little pauses (time for an upgrade).
>
> I also need to adjust the angle to look up more, but this view gives a
good
> shot of the trail. I have a wide angle lens on the way and plan to update
my
> helmet mounting. The trail is some of the closest singletrack to my house. Probably just a Mile or
> two as the crow flies. It's a fun little stretch when I don't have
a
> lot of time.
>
> I was having trouble with my MPEG encoder last night so I used wmv (sorry Pete). A future MPEG may
> be posted for those who hate wmv enough to not watch. For the rest of you, it's about 23.5 Mb and
> 4:47 long. Let me know what you think.
>
> Please download (rt-click, save target as...) before you watch to conserve bandwidth.
> http://tinyurl.com/ces9
>
> --
>
> Matt
>
> "Gravity. It's not just a good idea, it's the law!"

Looks like it's tilted slightly to the left, and its also nice to see the horizon, so tilt that
sucker up a bit too.

I'm not really a fan of the helmet visor sitting on the side there - you ignore it after a while,
but you end up ignoring the other activity on the right side of the frame too.

Also, not sure about the microphone placement - seems to be getting a lot of pack moving noises, but
not really what you'd hear biking - none of the little clangs and whatnot you'd normally hear.

I'd experiment with the camera mounted on the top center of the helmet, like pete did when he had a
lipstick camera. Seems like it'd also be less likely to be damaged in a simple crash, or scraping by
rocks. As long as you remember to duck a little lower!

Jon Bond

 

"Technician" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
<SNIP>

> Here are some of my suggestions, do with them as you please.
>
> I agree on the angle, maybe up just a bit, but not much. look straight ahead while you ride, pick
> a spot in the center of your vision and center the camera on it.
>
> Second, the rotation was a bit off. made me feel like i was hanging off the side of your helmet
> instead of riding with you. and on that note, it is MO that the helmet should not be a part of the
> shot, thus enabling the imagination to go along for the ride as opposed to sitting on your helmet.
> on Pete's site he shows it mounted on top of the helmet, could change the perspective a bit. may
> be worth a tape to just try different camera mounting spots and see what you like best.
>
> Other than that, looks good. i enjoyed the ride. Thanks for sharing.
> --
> ~Travis
>
> travis57 at megalink dot net http://www.megalink.net/~farmers/

I've actually been toying with the idea of taking mine off the top of my helmet and moving it to the
side to see if that gives a better perspective of the trail. The problem with all cameras is that
they flatten out the terrain so I was actually going to move mine to the side to see if it gave a
better angle of the trail rather than being a bit higher (yeah, not like it's that much of a
difference)

It does take several rides to learn the angle though. I've lugged my gear on several rides only to
find that A) the angle was off and I got a whole lot more of Miles' ass in the frame than we ever
need to see or B) the camera was perpetually canted to one side so everything we rode was very off
camber! Once it gets dialed in though, you set it and forget it.

Michael

 

"MattB" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I got a helmet cam for my birthday (my wife is the coolest). I've used it twice now and it's
> obvious by this video I still need to work out the
kinks.
> There's two spots where my PC started swapping during capture, so those
are
> the two little pauses (time for an upgrade).
>
> I also need to adjust the angle to look up more, but this view gives a
good
> shot of the trail. I have a wide angle lens on the way and plan to update
my
> helmet mounting. The trail is some of the closest singletrack to my house. Probably just a Mile or
> two as the crow flies. It's a fun little stretch when I don't have
a
> lot of time.
>
> I was having trouble with my MPEG encoder last night so I used wmv (sorry Pete). A future MPEG may
> be posted for those who hate wmv enough to not watch. For the rest of you, it's about 23.5 Mb and
> 4:47 long. Let me know what you think.
>
> Please download (rt-click, save target as...) before you watch to conserve bandwidth.
> http://tinyurl.com/ces9
>
> --
>
> Matt
>
> "Gravity. It's not just a good idea, it's the law!"
>
>
I think some Johny Cash would be more appropiate for that terain. Something like Ghost riders in the
sky. Hehehe.

TJ

 

"TJ" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
<snip>
> >
> I think some Johny Cash would be more appropiate for that terain.
Something
> like Ghost riders in the sky. Hehehe.
>
> TJ
>

Yeah, I see your point but what you don't know is the trail is called Rasta Gulch. I could have just
used some Tosh, Marley, Bunny, Steel Pulse, or any number of other typical "Rasta" bands, but I
decided to go for something different.

Anyone care to name the artist? Anyone? Beuller?

Matt

 

"BB" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> On Fri, 23 May 2003 09:47:12 -0600, MattB wrote:
>
> > Yeah, I see your point but what you don't know is the trail is called
Rasta
> > Gulch.
>
> Ah, now it makes sense. I thought it was just a personal music choice.
>
> --
> -BB- To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

Ahhhhhh! ( Lightbulb turning on and starting to flicker) I get it now. I can't name the artist. But
I do like the music.

TJ