Anybody video as they board?

I was wondering if anyone has ever used a helmet-cam or something? I know
it's silly but I just feel like trying it to film my friends as they go
ahead of me. Any advice other than 'Get a life?'

On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 23:38:53 GMT, "***DRAMA***"
allegedly wrote:

I was wondering if anyone has ever used a helmet-cam or something? I
know it's silly but I just feel like trying it to film my friends as
they go ahead of me. Any advice other than 'Get a life?'

It's not so easy to get nice smooth shots if you're hand-holding. You need
to turn on the onboard stabalisation, but some work better than others.
The Sony Steady-Cam is better than Panasonic's OIS (which is next to
useless in these situations). You need to pre-focus and keep the camera
out of the spray of the snow to stop droplets getting on the lens. You
also need to practice lots.

Helmets cams can work better as the head stabaliser, but you then need to
be looking at the action rather than where you are riding. Depending on
the terrain, this may be a problem. Also, helmet cams are all (so far)
standard definition and full screen. If you have a high-def and/or wide-
screen camcorder, then your helmet stuff isn't going to match your normal
stuff.

- Dave.

--
The only powder to get high on, falls from the sky.
http://www.vpas.org/ - Snowboarding the worlds pow pow.
Donek Sasquatch 162, Prior Pow 181, Burton Canyon 162

The Snowboard FAQ lives here - http://www.vpas.fsnet.co.uk/rssFAQ/

I have a helmet cam that I have used a couple of times on the slopes.
Originally purchased for use while riding enduros and hare scrambles on my
motorcycle, I took it to the mountain to see what the results would be. It
works well, but don't expect any depth of field or much peripheral view.
Dave is correct that it is standard def and full screen.

The camera itself is a bullet-style, no larger than a fat Sharpie and mounts
easily on the top of the helmet, connecting via a special a/v jack into a
handheld which I keep in a backpack (ziplock baggie wrapped in a old T). I
haven't taken a backside fall with the pack, but I would imagine that it
would be painful so I limit use to those days when I am following the
toddlers down and leisure boarding. The kids love to see themselves on
video...

I was a bit suprised with the quality, even at standard definition. It is
also very surpising just how still you keep your head, whether it be on a
bike or a board. I find the motorcycle footage in the woods to be much more
true to the experience, as you have the trees to give the perspective of how
much speed you are carrying. It is a little deceptive on snow; without any
other skiers/boarders in the frame it appears that you are going much slower
since the low def prevents you from seeing much of anything below your feet
other than white. Again, Dave is correct that it helps to focus on the
action rather than just looking down your lines the entire
time......otherwise, you will have an 8 mm full of monotonous footage to
pour over for only a few good clips. I will say that at times, I have left
it on for candid moments on the lift or at the top of the slope. The pickup
mike works well capturing audio, but one you head down it is full wind noise
unless you have the mic buried in your jacket.

Good luck, web address for the model I purchased two years ago is
helmetcamera.com.

Sean

PS - I am by no means an audio/videophile...so please excuse my lack of
vocabulary on this subject!



"Switters" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 23:38:53 GMT, "***DRAMA***"
allegedly wrote:

I was wondering if anyone has ever used a helmet-cam or something? I
know it's silly but I just feel like trying it to film my friends as
they go ahead of me. Any advice other than 'Get a life?'

It's not so easy to get nice smooth shots if you're hand-holding. You need
to turn on the onboard stabalisation, but some work better than others.
The Sony Steady-Cam is better than Panasonic's OIS (which is next to
useless in these situations). You need to pre-focus and keep the camera
out of the spray of the snow to stop droplets getting on the lens. You
also need to practice lots.

Helmets cams can work better as the head stabaliser, but you then need to
be looking at the action rather than where you are riding. Depending on
the terrain, this may be a problem. Also, helmet cams are all (so far)
standard definition and full screen. If you have a high-def and/or wide-
screen camcorder, then your helmet stuff isn't going to match your normal
stuff.

- Dave.

--
The only powder to get high on, falls from the sky.
http://www.vpas.org/ - Snowboarding the worlds pow pow.
Donek Sasquatch 162, Prior Pow 181, Burton Canyon 162

The Snowboard FAQ lives here - http://www.vpas.fsnet.co.uk/rssFAQ/

***DRAMA*** wrote:
I was wondering if anyone has ever used a helmet-cam or something? I know
it's silly but I just feel like trying it to film my friends as they go
ahead of me. Any advice other than 'Get a life?'



A friend has, but he was rubbish so he only ever got us disappearing
into the distance . It was a good idea though because he had enough
space and power to leave it on all day so if anything good happened, he
would get it on film. The down side is that you need to be very close
otherwise you can't really see what's going on.

Thanks for the feedback. I've been to a couple of sites showing the
helmet-cam and it looks pretty decent. I do a lot of production so I can
always add a 'film' or slight grain look to compensate for resizing it up. I
tried the handheld last season and it looked like I was in an earthquake -
completely unusable but did give the feeling of impending disaster, which
can always be kinda fun.

I guess I'll go helmet-cam and try that. Looks like it should work ok. My
only problem is that I'm tired of waiting for the snow already...this Texas
heat is enough already!


"Octessence" wrote in message
...
***DRAMA*** wrote:
I was wondering if anyone has ever used a helmet-cam or something? I know
it's silly but I just feel like trying it to film my friends as they go
ahead of me. Any advice other than 'Get a life?'



A friend has, but he was rubbish so he only ever got us disappearing into
the distance . It was a good idea though because he had enough space and
power to leave it on all day so if anything good happened, he would get it
on film. The down side is that you need to be very close otherwise you
can't really see what's going on.