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Ski filming on video

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Any brillient suggestions on how I can video whilst on the move.Really want to do some video whilst going down piste etc,esp of No1 son whilst in front of me.Best idea so far is to attach palmcam to helmet somehow and mess around to get best angle etc.Obviously taking a risk of damaging cam if I take a fall but what else can I do.Proberbly not the best idea in the world but its worth a try??No way I would risk hand held so needs to be attached somewhere.Any ideas??
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I have a mate who has DV camera in a rucksack, and an attachment clipped to his helmet. I think he even has a battery pack linked in his jacket (to improve performance). It all works very, well and there's been some cracking footage. The ability to do this will depend on your camera, but if you remind me (when I'm sober - I'm commiserating a footy result) I'll try and dig out all the equipment details.

On a less good quality footage note, I've used a digital camera's video capabilities to film various people skiing whilst doing it myself, though it needs to be on reasonably empty slopes and can't be too fast.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Best/safest option is a "lipstick" camera so called because the lens and sensor is roughly the size of a lipstick, connected to a camcorder via a svhs connector, the camcorder goes in the backpack the camera can be mounted on a set of sunglasses or a helmet.

The quality of the lipstic cameras varies considerably however, try to get one with as big a sensor as possible as this will tend to give a higher quality image
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D G Orf, that's the sort of thing my mate uses.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Helmet cams. Some guy on www.goneboarding.co.uk or http://www.adrenalintrip.net/forums/viewforum.php?siteid=1&topicdays=45&forum=1&54050 was doing it last year, and posted how to go about doing it. Have a search on there for some info and i think even example videos. I think you can buy specific cameras now Puzzled
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Look at paying from £100 to £150 for the camera plus a bit extra for whatever adapters you may need to connect it to the camcorder
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I went the lipstick camera route this year, nailed it to the side of my head and with a little practice you can soon get a pretty good idea of where your head is pointing. The one mistake I did make is not taking enough battery power along, the camera ran happily all day long but the separate battery pack for the lipstick camera died after about 15mins due to the cold, end result was an hour's worth of audio with 15 mins video at the start. I didn't find out til later when I watched the whole thing.
Sad
http://www.rfconcepts.co.uk/helmet_cameras.htm was where I bought it from, along with the headband mount. I already had a remote control for the camera and wired that so it just poked out the end of my jacket sleeve, full control without having to get the camera out or take gloves off!!
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Here's a few links my mate sent me some while ago. They may be out of date, I haven't checked. He bought his extra stuff from the first one. His camera is a Sony PC120. I can find out more if you're interested.


http://www.rfconcepts.co.uk/index.htm

http://www.petefagerlin.com/video_how_to.htm

http://www.1888camcorder.com/helcammounbr.html

http://www.1888camcorder.com/camshoulmoun.html

http://www.sportzshot.com/

http://www.realandvirtual.com/videocamera/hunt/index.shtml
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
snowskisnow, there must be something in the air. Ifyouski just reported a company set up in les Arcs to film you and your loved ones on the slopes: http://www.weshootyou.co.uk/. Wasn't wildly impressed with their demos, and filming yourself sounds more fun.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
People,what can I say,I'm gobsmacked Shocked My wife thinks I'm sad,No1 son is convinced I've lost the plot-we shall see Laughing Never thought to do a web search,should have known better DOH!!The idea of a lipstick cam would seem to solve most problems.Camcorder wrapped and safe in backpack,mini cam on side of head/helmet.Would need remote as suggested.Going to cost a few bob but,what price art Wink If all goes well just think;as well as boring non skiing friends by talking endlessly about our wonderfull obsession,I will be able to show them the vid as well.Top result snowHead snowHead
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Disaster has struck!2 camcorders(1 Hi8 + 1DV)niether has an input Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad
2 options as I see it.Buy another cam;or gaffer tape one of them to my head Shocked Not keen on either option.

Question for the technical genious?? Is there any way of providing an input to one of these cams.The preferred one is the digital;a Sony TRV14E simply because it is small.The answer is out there,somewhere Wink
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
snowskisnow, the TRV14E is a budget device with the inputs crippled, this is due to the EU putting a higher duty on cameras with an input and output than they do on those with output only, so the answer is I'm afraid no, sorry Sad
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
snowskisnow, pity about the lack of inputs but on the plus side how many minutes of No 1 son's derriere would you really have wanted and with you also on the move, the whole thing could have been a bit bumpy to say the least. Your sound track will also be cleaner if you are not swishing along at the same time. Beware of wind noise. I'm no DV expert but I've always been taught the trick is to keep the camera as still as possible and let the scenes do the moving.
However, to get a bit of movement into things, you could always hand hold on a drag or a chairlift and have him ski towards you. Or try lying in the snow and shoot upwards as he skis past. Very dramatic on blue sky days, especially if he can scrub up a bit of spume. Or find a spot where a long slow pan (and maybe some intelligent use of zoom) can keep him in view for a time. All is not lost for some good footage.
One last thought - a workaround. Rent some blades and try hand held on moderately gentle and smooth slopes.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
There may be a way to "enable" the inputs on the Sont. DG Of has the right reason for the disabling. I will check it out on Monday, I'm sure I previously found somewhere that could help, but I need to search again when I'm at work with broadband rather than at home on dial-up Smile
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
The Sony TRV19 at only £50 more apparently has input facilities. No use for snowskisnow but might help others considering a purchase. Tried googling for enabling inputs on TRV14e as suggested by nbt but got nothing in English and it's hard poking around in forums in German or Cloggy. But it might be possible.....
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
snowskisnow, sell/buy. You have easily enough time b4 the season to sell your DV cam through Loot or ebay, stick a few quid on top and buy a replacement with the right functions through the same medium. If u bargain well, it might not even cost any extra.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Second hand could be a bit risky - it's very easy to score the tiny drum on these tape machines and how would you know ??? Also the price difference I quoted and the fact that the TRV19 has an input were from one source only. I've since seen another saying it does NOT have an input. Take care.....
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Some of the early DV camcorders could have their inputs enabled retrospectively unfortunately the TRV14E is not one of them Sad Sorry
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Good example of filming on the move in the video clips in the photos section of the Alex Presland Birthday trip thread (warning it's 3MB - don't download on dial up.)
Even on what looks like a fairly flat MK slope, its a bit bumpy and the 'horizon' swings around as he leans into the turns.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
snowskisnow, I have a contact who empliys an ex Sony service engineer who can enable video input. If you are in London I could put you in touch maybe
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You'll need to Register first of course.
I am in same position. Was all set to get the lipstick set from rfconcepts, when noticed I had bought a Panasonic Mv400 not a 400i. So I have not AV-in. does anyone know if this can be adapted?

Am trying to talk a buddy round to part ownership of a new/second hand av-in model and lipstick cam. Thought could work out quite well sharing over the winter months.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Sadly the first generation of DV cameras simply had their inputs crippled by a software dodad, this ment that they could be re activated by a service engineer or anyone else with a PC a special cable and the right bit of software, the camera manufacturers were then informed that this situation could not carry on so later versions cannot be modified to take an input signal, I understand that certain components are not placed in the circuit board or some similar method
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I’ve successfully used a lipstick cam on a couple of trips. I bought the camera in a kit from rfconcepts (http://www.rfconcepts.co.uk/helmet_cameras.htm). It came with the fixed focal length camera, a head strap, all the leads, a mini microphone and a battery carrier. I paid an extra £20 for a keene electronics LANC controller, to enable me to remotely operate the cam-corder in my back-pac.

The system works well, after a bit of getting used to, the most difficult thing being to adjust the head-strap (actually a mag-light head strap) so that the camera points where you are looking. It’s easier to adjust this if someone else in the group adjusts the position while you compare the view on the cam-corder to you line of sight.

The supplied battery pac takes 8 AA size cells to supply the necessary 12v for the camera. Using Duracell batteries I got a good 2 to 3 hours life out of a set, spread over a few days. You do have to remember to disconnect the batteries when not filming as the lipstick-camera will continue to draw current while the cam-corder is switched off.

Low temperatures can affect battery life, so I try to keep the battery pack in an inside pocket to benefit from body heat, or well wrapped up in the back pack.

For protection I place the cam-corder in a padded Tupperware lunch box with a few holes for cables. I also added a foam hood to the supplied microphone to remove the wind noise.

I use a SONY DCR-TRV330E digital 8 cam corder, which came with “video in” pre-enabled. It’s a bit chunky by modern standards, but works well. The FM50 battery provided about an hour of cam-corder power.

The LANC controller enables you to pause recording between incidents/scenes, thus saving tape. Some of the latter SONY models have a slight problem with the remote LANC control. You can not remotely turn the power on (only off) on the cam-corder.

I definitely recommend testing your set-up on a dry slope, before going away. It’s a lot easier to buy extra wires, switches etc from the comfort of a UK base.[url][/url]
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