| Author |
Message |
    
Piotr12
| | Posted on Thursday, November 26, 2009 - 10:13 pm: | 
|
Just out of curiosity, what was the reason for covering up the speedo? |
Greg_e
| | Posted on Thursday, November 26, 2009 - 11:32 pm: |
|
Didn't want anyone giving me grief about breaking laws. I can so truthfully that I have no idea how fast I was going. Once in a while people do get into trouble for stuff like this. I need to find a place up closer to the screen so you see more of the road and it is more protected from the air.
Also Youtube is odd. You upload the video and it takes a while for the video to go live. As soon as it goes live the quality of the video and audio is junk. Once it has the HD symbol next to it the video and audio looks much better. It must be going through and running multiple passes on the encoding. I have one more to upload that shows the jello syndrome, I think this may be from the loose mounts and I'm going to have to give GoPro some grief over these mounts as I'm not at all pleased. You can hear some clicking when I first rev the motor and I think this is the camera rocking back and forth in the mount. Also the jello look happens the most at the same time. |
Greg_e
| | Posted on Friday, November 27, 2009 - 12:14 am: |
|
Two more. The jelly effect is most noticeable in the last few seconds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQzGNabejgE jelly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yelBfnRr0EY |
Spdrxb
| | Posted on Friday, November 27, 2009 - 12:20 am: |
|
Dude like I said in way earlier post, the only way to get quality sound and video is when only mounting camera to me not the bike. I know you have HD version and I hjust have wide angle second edition but try mounting to helmet or yourself somehow it will be a lot better. Even with waterproof gasket on housing. |
Greg_e
| | Posted on Friday, November 27, 2009 - 02:04 am: |
|
I'm not interested in having the camera attached to me. They claim much better audio and as yet I can not reproduce it. Now it may be that high frequency inaudible vibrations are messing with the auto gain, and if so it needs to be fixed. It could be that the low frequency vibrations from the mounts are killing the audio to. Or it could be that they are just plain full of garbage about the better audio. If the only way to get decent audio is to mount it to your body, then that will rule this camera out for more than 50% of the users.
And since you have the SD wide version, do you get the jelly effect when you attach it to a machine?
(Message edited by greg_e on November 27, 2009) |
Spdrxb
| | Posted on Friday, November 27, 2009 - 10:49 am: |
|
Yes i assume by jelly effect you mean wobble and blurry? However on the Buell only got it when stopped at a light or going slow, at speed no blurriness.
Just watched your vid. Actually I cant remember mine doing that. Only vibe from whole bike shaking at idle but what you got there is different from what mine did. Then again after much experimenting I just mounted it to helmet and never tried the bike again.
(Message edited by spdrxb on November 27, 2009) |
Greg_e
| | Posted on Friday, November 27, 2009 - 01:28 pm: |
|
It's bad enough that when a cop sees a camera they assume you are doing illegal things and try to find some reason to stop you, with the camera on your helmet they can see you from farther away and wait for you to make some kind of twitch to pull you over.
The suction cup mount didn't give me that same jelly motion in the fixed objects, so I'm pretty sure it is a mount issue. |
Greg_e
| | Posted on Sunday, November 29, 2009 - 08:02 pm: |
|
Getting closer to good audio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJVIaNdVbks
Mounted to the front of the frame around where the pucks normally go. The mounts are certainly the weakest link in this whole package.
If you had a loud muffler, things would be totally different, I'm running the stock muffler. |
Greg_e
| | Posted on Sunday, November 29, 2009 - 09:14 pm: |
|
Not sure if anyone is still looking at this thread, but here is one more. Camera hng upside down so the video needed to be re-encoded when it was flipped, while doing that I decreased the size by 50% height and 50% width. The plastic mounts suck so I need to order something better. I'll probably make something to mount it lower and maybe infront of the oil cooler, still working on those thoughts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR4rTDDMNEw
Top speed only about 55mph which is part of why the audio sounds decent. Lots of clatter from the front of the motor, would sound better with a loud exhaust. |
Bromanowski
| | Posted on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 10:23 am: |
|
I'm still checking in. I've been looking for a cam for a while, just haven't pulled the trigger. I'm thinking I'll go for the contour just for the size and shape. Do they have any plans for the wireless mic? |
Hogs
| | Posted on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 12:04 pm: |
|
I`m still keeping an eye on the Thread as well, Still just checking stuff out, and Hoping to have the extra funds for it.... |
Greg_e
| | Posted on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 12:38 pm: |
|
For the GoPro, budget another $100 to $150 for decent mounts. I'll have more info when my stuff arrives.
I agree that the Contour is a more friendly shape. I think a lot of the wind noise on the GoPro is from the stupid latch on top of the camera that holds the back closed. I'd be happier with a rubber plug over the USB connector, and a screw on back and flush buttons to reduce the possible areas that could whistle. If they bother to respond to my emails I'll try and convince them that they need a real motorsports kit with real mounts and different housing (even if it is optional and a "Pro" mounting kit). With current features and pricing, I would suggest the GoPro HD naked version so you don't get any of those wonderfully flexible mounts that are causing me to write so many bad things about them. They seem to be decent for radio controlled models and probably bicycles. Seems to be decent for surfboards and kayaks, but anything faster (including snowboards and skis) and I think things need to be different.
Also early reviews of the prototype GoPro listed a bigger battery, wireless mic, wireless remote control, and some kind of LCD for aiming (some say wireless, others don't say). The wireless mic could solve all audio problems (when used with the larger battery since it will probably consume more power). There has been little in official word on accessories, and what little there has been is said to be sometime in 2010. I told them I'd be happy to help test and develop products and have no problem signing a nondisclosure/no compete form. It all depends on if they want to try and live up to the Pro in their name.
(Message edited by Greg_E on November 30, 2009) |
Piotr12
| | Posted on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 10:01 pm: |
|
I know the majority of the thread is about the GoPro but I found a post by someone who modded a ContourHD to eliminate a lot of the dreaded wind noise. Here is his write-up:
http://www.members.iinet.net.au/~crashman/ContourH D%20Microphone%20modification.htm
In addition to the earplug foam he used to aid with the wind I would also line the inner housing with a good quality microphone windscreen instead of the low density foam.
I wonder if you could do something like that with the GoPro? |
Greg_e
| | Posted on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 10:08 pm: |
|
Getting rid of the jelly effect may be impossible, I just found out something about these cameras that I did not know.... They are not a frame based image, they are a scanning based image and in this case top to bottom scanning. It's called a rolling shutter:
http://www.dvxuser.com/jason/CMOS-CCD/
However if the mounts are good the rest of the cycle in the frame should not move. But if the rest of the cycle does not move, then the rest of the image will move.
This means that shots with part of the paint shaker XB series bikes in the image may be impossible and a choice between road image stability vs. cycle image stability may need to be made. |
Greg_e
| | Posted on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 10:11 pm: |
|
Odd that you mention it, the slightly better sound I got with the GoPro was filling the nonwaterproof back with foam from a Shure SM58 windscreen. I also think a lot of the noise is generated from the buttons and the latch, so I'll work on that after I take care of the mounts. Problem is that it is snowing again, so riding time may be severely limited. |
Greg_e
| | Posted on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 10:16 pm: |
|
Also note that the Contour has 2 HD models, one that only does up to 720p and the other that does up to 1080p. Though I really like the rotating sensor so that you don't need to worry about hanging the camera upside down or sideways, very clever. |
Greg_e
| | Posted on Monday, December 07, 2009 - 11:29 am: |
|
Sorry, nothing new. Snowed all day Saturday and never got warm enough Sunday to get rid of the black ice so I didn't really feel like going out. Made a tripod adapter out of one of the mounts, a 1/4-20 T nut, and a scrap of 1/4 inch thick aluminum. The real GoPro 1/4-20 tripod mounts should be here today but I won't get to try them until the weekend (if the weather is decent). |
Hogs
| | Posted on Monday, December 07, 2009 - 01:30 pm: |
|
Right on Greg...
Does one really need a 1080p over the 780p while using it just for motorcycle use??
Guess just thinking that 780p is all one needs to play back on the TV etc.. Where does the 1080 come into play then? |
Greg_e
| | Posted on Monday, December 07, 2009 - 03:43 pm: |
|
I was using 780p to get the widest angle (170 degrees) with the 1080p setting you only get 127 degrees. Also...
I am not having a good time with GoPro support right now. They suggested something stupid to fix my sloppy mounts instead of offering to replace them, they know that the plastic tolerances are poor and that people often end up with sloppy mounts. I have a bad feeling that support will continue to suck and I therefore no longer recommend this camera for any reason unless you absolutely need the water proof feature (since it is the only one that is waterproof). If I could edit my review at Revzilla it would now be rated a solid 2 because of the support issue. They completely ignored my request for a timetable on the new firmware which allows you to flip the video in the camera and preserve all the quality. Flipping in software requires you to re-encode the entire clip which leads to a loss of quality. They offered up all the prototype cameras with video that can be flipped, and printed it in the instructions, but for some reason removed it from the production cameras. I understand that this is a cheap $300 camera, but it would be nice if it actually worked as advertised. Save your money and wait to see what happens or buy the Contour 1080p version, people seem to like the 720p version so how much worse can the new one be? |
Greg_e
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 - 02:27 pm: |
|
Ok, here's an update... I've been fiddling with some of the cheaper editors. Vegas Movie Studio platinum works. Corel Video Studio Pro X2 works. The free Avidemux will let you do some really basic editing to chop out the good parts to save time in the other editors and works on things like my 800Mhz laptop where the other editors will not work. It also does it without re-encoding the file (very important for rough work). That said there is a catch. When you go to save the clip from Avidemux, you must choose the MP4(PSP) setting for it to work in Vegas |
Blackdog
| | Posted on Thursday, December 17, 2009 - 10:48 am: |
|
I was about to order the Hero HD. I'm thinking about the Contour now. I like this vendor (I just ordered the tire repair kit).
http://www.advdesigns.net/cowecabyvh.html
What version of the Contour should I get? |
Greg_e
| | Posted on Thursday, December 17, 2009 - 11:44 am: |
|
http://www.advdesigns.net/co10wabusaco.html
I would get the 1080 version and probably order the water proof enclosure to go with it.
Maybe this one and get the housing when it comes out
http://www.advdesigns.net/newcohd10meb.html
Get at least one universal 1/4-20 mount
http://www.advdesigns.net/counmoadbyvh.html
Then you can buy a cheap HAMA ball head for like another $20-$30 and bolt the ball head to your vehicle and use the universal mount to attach the camera.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/163354-REG/H ama_HA_5014_HA5014_Compact_Ball_Head_Medium.html
I don't think I would invest a lot of time in the sticky mounts, they look like they are about the same level of suck as the GoPro mounts. Maybe I'm wrong.
The suction cup mount is made be the same company, get the 1/4-20 version
http://www.advdesigns.net/ulmisumo.html
This mount is a little weak, I bought it from B&H Photo
http://www.advdesigns.net/ulclcamo.html pretty sure I paid less by a few dollars too.
For clamps these are better:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/546356-REG/M anfrotto_by_Bogen_Imaging_035RL_035RL_Super_Clamp_ with.html and get the short 1/4-20 stud too (you'll have to search for it).
and this http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/572347-REG/M anfrotto_by_Bogen_Imaging_386B_386B_Nano_Clamp_.ht ml
You'll also need some 1/4-20 threaded rod and some nuts and thick washers to get everything to work together. |
|
