Riding and Video Taping

[zenwhipper]

Folks - check out my first video of my and the S.O. going for a ride today.



Its got a lot of vibration and shakiness. I used my digi cam on movie mode Canon Powershot SX200 IS. The camera is mounted off the mirror hole in the clutch slave on a 3" Ram Mount arm. The vibes seem to be just a result of the mechanics of the bike. Begs the question... how does one isolate the cam from a bikes vibrations? I think I was filming in high def setting on the camera - but I'm not sure if that would have anything to do with the vibrations being more prevalent in the video. Also noted a fair amount of wind noise in the video- would it make sense to place the cam behind the windshield to minimize this?

Thanks for the help! Also - any general tips for good videography on the bike?

Scott

 

[Slade]

I'm in the same boat. Got a Canon FS100 mounted behind the Rifle shield on a RAM mount. Behind the shield the wind noise is very tolerable and you can hear the motor sounds well. However, I've got some vibration as well. Going to switch down from a 5 inch to a 3 inch arm and place some rubber/wool/felt/something between the camera and the mount. Was using image stabilization settings and it's still annoying to watch.

Love some of the videos posted that are butter smooth. I'm afraid that a more expensive rig is the answer though.

Would love to hear other ideas on how to make the budget rigs work.

 

[Greb]

I bought a GoPro HD. Well worth the 269 bucks paid. Nothing like watching your rides in High Def and the kit comes with suction cup mount, helmet mount, and bike mount. The suction cup works anywhere it's flat and clean and holds very securely.

 

[mferriter]

I've used the GoPro camera as well, but mount it lower on the bike - preferably into a bolt hole that goes into the frame. I've also had good luck mounting it to one of the brake caliper bolts - not as easy to use the camera, but really cool perspective being that close to the ground.

All of the plastic on the fairing is going to be pretty buzzy. I would think that the mirror mounts would be pretty stable, although the rear view is a bit buzzy sometimes, too.

I wouldn't trust a suction cup mount with anything worth more than the suction cup. I've seen too many of them fail- especially when exposed to any kind of wind.

Don't worry about the sound - probably wouldn't be able to hear anything interesting anyway at highway speed. Just add some music later.

 

[FJRScrewball]

Could be that some of the vibrations were the camera being buffeted by the wind around the windshield.

 

[wfooshee]

I'm thinking a steering stem mount would do better. Don't know for sure, though. Or strap it to your arm with duct tape.

As for "technical criticism suggestions," that thing needs to be focused, too. It autofocused on the edge of the windshield. Turn off autofocus and set it to near infinity.

Don't zoom while it's running. Zooming a moving camera shakes up the viewer perspective, and emphasizes focus issues. If you want zoomed pictures during your video, edit out the zooming and transition into the other picture.

I've heard lots of folks say the handlebars are not where you want to mount a camera, and this is why.

 

[UselessPickles]

One of the reasons that videos from the GoPro look smooth is because of the very wide angle lens. Unfortunately, that also makes curves and hills look straighter and flatter.

 

[nik.hisham]

Zenwhipper,

I do some video on many of my rides. Here's a sample:

-



From a camera perspective, if you want to reduce vibration, you'll need a really wide lens. What I used was a 17mm focal length on my DSLR. This basically emphasizes what uselesspickles said about the gopro vids looking so good.

For what I use, I also found that mounting the camera to the tank has much less vibration than mounting to the handlebars. Here's my rig. It's a bit cumbersome and may be overkill, but just thought I'd share.

 

[TestPilot]

Here's what I did:

This one was done with a digicam on a mount on the passenger footpeg mounting point.

 

[Bungie]

I use a VIO-POV which is a bullet style camera. I've tried it on the bars, and various points on the frame before finally trying it mounted on the tray under the headlights on the fairing. zero vibration and a reasonably cool perspective. No bike bits in the pic eithier. Downside is it catches some bugs and water.

 

[FJRMaineiac]

I have had good luck with the basic digicam (Canon SD300) on a RAM mount attached to the clutch bracket. No vibrations and wind noise isn't too bad, but I typically edit most of it out anyway. Some videos from my tour of the St. Lawrence river and Gaspe peninsula here: https://www.robertmichaud.com/html/gaspe_-_2009.html

I am looking to go to something a bit more purpose-built like the GoPro HD, more for the water resistance than anything else. It is a pain in the arse to pull over just to stow the camera when it starts to rain.

 

[zenwhipper]

Good stuff mates. Thanks.

My Canon is a 28mm wide angle lens. I'll check to see that the auto focus is off. And I'll try mounting it to the triple tree (have the Heli bar unit w/ two 1" balls). I might hang it off the aux light brackets I have too.

I also have a Canon digi vid recorder ZR800 I may try. But would like to stay with the digi cam since its less stuff to carry on a ride.

Scott

 

[FJRBandit]

Good stuff mates. Thanks.
My Canon is a 28mm wide angle lens. I'll check to see that the auto focus is off. And I'll try mounting it to the triple tree (have the Heli bar unit w/ two 1" balls). I might hang it off the aux light brackets I have too.

I also have a Canon digi vid recorder ZR800 I may try. But would like to stay with the digi cam since its less stuff to carry on a ride.

Scott

Zen, as a cheapy mount you are right on track now going with the ram balls on the triple tree mount. I have the same set up. I found that I have better success if I stand the arm straight up. If you have any lean in the arm it exacerbates the shake. Another trick I use is to place a rubber o-ring/washer (like that found in a hose pipe) between the camera and the mounting bracket. I bought a pack of 10 at Home Depot the other night for $1.50 just to have extras on board in the tank bag. If I'm ever in Washington State I'll share a few with ya...

Nik, your vids are bad *** dude! Love the "bumpy sweepers" vid. The view from the tank is cool. With my mounting setup I get a portion of the "W" and the top of the speedo. But I really like the way you have the picture framed with the dash / instruments.

 

[motoquest]

There is a whole community of motorcycle video loggers (motovlog) on youtube who talk about different topics while riding. One guy who has been motovlogging for a long time recently did a three part series on different camera, helmet setups and bike mounts. Its worth the time to watch.