I'm in the process of uploading some un-edited footage from my VHoldR to this site, but would like some help/suggestions for improving the quality of image capture.
I'm trying to document some of the training rides a bunch of us a re doing towards an ironman later this year. Around our area (surrey, england) there are some very quick, narrow counrty road downhills - which i 'thought' would make for good footage.
I have my VHoldR attached to my bike (bicycle) handlebars with the 'handlebar mount' and have tried both above and below orientations. I'm findingthat the footage very quickly becomes distorted (odd squash/stretch effects) and the chatter from the road makes the camera rattle like mad in it's mount.
I tried to 'damp' the rattle with a bit of neoprene, but (once the vid'sare uploaded) you'll see the footage quickly becomes very jittery.
Is there a better way to mount or position the cam on the bike to reduce this and improve the quality of the footage?
It's seems odd that much of the mx footage i've seen seems much 'cleaner' and free from this issue - even though the terrain is probably much rougher than the stuff i'm riding over.
cheers, ds
hi there, with the handlebar mount its best to use the smallest rubber bush at the top (ie directly under the camera) this gives it lesss chance of getting a wobble on, you will find the vibrations caused by a road bike a bit of a challenge though,as they are directly transmitted through the frame, but try and get some dense closed cell foam and put that between the frame and the camera and use an old toe strap or similar to hold it in place (not using any vholdr mount in between)and this should give some reasonable results. if youve got a carbon frame with flat areas you could use the flat helmet mount there.
all the mx footage and mtb footage is generaly cleaner coz the suspension helps, also the card is the main factor here as well, the current favorite is the sandisk premier card if your not using it at the moment.
hope this is of some use :)
In addition, if you want less vibration in your videos, mount it to your head as your neck is the best stabilizer you can get!
I'm playing with road cycling mounting positions as well. Handlebars and under the seat using a micro seat bag and high density foam seem to be the best solutions. Using the vented helmet mount gives an odd viewpoint while the handlebars and under-seat give a better point of view.
I do mountain biking. I agree that the helmet mount perspective is too high, and odd looking. But, I haven't had any luck with the handlebar mount either. First, I had vibration issues from the loose mount. Fixed that with electrical tape. Then, I have what the original poster complains of, which is like a mix of Blair Witch Project and the blurry effect they used in Batman Returns.
Sorry. I meant Batman Begins.
Here's my video showing the rattle:
http://vholdr.com/node/33097
Over the last few days, I've discovered that I have three issues with my camera with the handlebar mount:
-The camera's rail is out of spec, more on the left side, allowing for play between the camera and the mount.
-The circular removeable piece that is velcro-ed is not secure on the main part of the handlebar mount.
-The rubber pieces supplied with the handlebar mount allows for too much flexibility.
I'm going to tape the crap out of the camera tomorrow to see if that'd lessen the vibration.
Tape didn't work as it prevented the use of the recording switch.
Today, I wrapped a long piece of doublesided velcro onto the camera to apply downward pressure onto the handlebar. The vibration is gone, but because of the way the camera is mounted (not having anything underneath the head portion of the camera for support), it tilts the camera in the direction that cannot be compensated by rotating the lens. I'm going to look for something to wedge underneath the camera to prevent the tilt.
The audio got quite a bit quieter (no more wind noise!) because the velcro covered the microphone hole.
This is the velcro that I used:
http://www.acehardware.com/pro...
I've used a velcro ski strap to do something similar. I'm an advocate of an under-saddle mount for cycling--you can get facial expressions and a view of the action behind. Best option is to have 2 cameras going in the same event--one facing front and the other facing backwards.