Toying with the idea of getting a nonHD headcam more for a bit of fun than anything serious. As I've a habit of buying gadgets then not really using them don't want to break the bank. Any recommendations/experience?
I've seen generic headcams for around £50
Veho Muvi (really small - more likely to be used if can be popped in a pocket?)
Drift X170 £120 ish (Takes AA batteries which is a downer but doe shave a screen)
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I'd probably go for a gopro. Can be found for a similar price as the drift new or you might be able to find a good deal 2nd hand.
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?
At the very bottom of the scale is an item billed as 'the world's smallest video camera' and is being sold by 7DayShop for £20. I have one and it is miniscule, about 2" long but without a screen. It comes with a couple of clips so that it can be attached to clothing, helmets, etc. It's resolution is 720x480 at 30fps and is not bad for happy snap-type videoing. It's rechargeable and is said to last for 2 hours, and it uses a micro SD card of up to 16Gb. I'm looking forward to giving it a go on the slopes in January.
Snobat, I saw that last night on a trawl and looks basically like the knockoff version of the Muvi. At the price it's probably worth just giving a go to see if it works - how does yours perfrom just in testing?
Snobat, just bought one of those. Not used it yet but looking forward to giving it a run next week. Had it for under a tenner including delivery on eBay. There are plenty of video reviews on the internet which show it to be decent, yet not remarkable. I don't see much reason to spend £100+ on the GoPro unless you're certain you'll use it extensively. To figure out whether a helmet cam is for you, the MD80 Mini DV camera is probably just fine.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
fatbob, I've only tested it in my dimly-lit office so far so the results are rather grainy, and the image is slightly stretched laterally. I shall give it a go in daylight tomorrow and let you know how it shapes up. But if it is any near as clear as the test footage on the 7DayShop (camera attached to a model T-38 aeroplane!) website I will be well-chuffed.
Astraeus, £10? Bargain!
After all it is free
After all it is free
fatbob, i'm also looking into this and the Drift X170 has caught by eye. Looks like it could be what i'm after in terms of price and performance. I quite like the fact it's fairly discreet. I'm not all that bothered with the GoPro models which would make you look like someone from the BBC on the piste!
Anyone got one?
Kersh
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Kersh,
I had a thread on here a few weeks back as i thought it would be a laugh to see how bad i really am on the slopes! My brother lives in States and he got me the Drift HD , newer version of what you're looking at. Although havent had it on the slopes he did a few videos on a boat, his bike and around his new house. Quality superb and only fish eyes at less that 10 foot, at range looks straight as a die. Sound quality, as always is a tad hit and miss - around the house was fine but on his bike the exhaust just blew it away....as you would expect so guessing wind noise will be a problem.
Controls are fiddly until you suss it out and then gets simple. All in all very good but it is top end of budget. Looking forward to getting it on the lid!
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
flog873347, thanks. I can't really afford the HD version of either the Drift or GoPro (and to be honest, I don't need HD really .... please don't quote me that in 5 years when non HD lies dead with VCR!)
Anyone got the standard Drift?
Cheers
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Being in the CCTV industry, I thought I would rig up my own 'action cam' system for skiing. I used a good quality weatherproof bullet camera attached to my helmet with power and video cables down to a mini portable DVR with 4" screen in my jacket pocket. For long operation time I powered everything from a hefty re-chargeable ni-cad battery pack. The retail value of all the kit would have been almost £200.
Everything basically worked o.k. but on reviewing the footage I couldn't believe just how much I moved my head whilst skiing. Left and right to check for other people on the slope and up and down checking the snow in front and then my direction further ahead. There was so much movement it made me feel sea-sick when watching the recorded footage!
Because the set-up was so big and bulky, I bought one of those MUVI units for last season. This time I tried clipping the camera to my ski jacket. Without a screen to be able to check exactly where the camera was looking, it was pretty difficult to ascertain the best place to fix the camera. Reviewing the recordings when I got home showed that clipping the camera to my jacket rather than my helmet was somewhat better but the quality of the images from the MUVI were pretty poor. I also took some footage with the MUVI in an apres-ski bar and that proved to be useless. It just doesn't work well in poor light.
Also, both my different camera systems suffered with the problem that with most of any image being white (the snow) it is hard to see any dips, bumps and slopes in the footage. And skiers etc even just 30 metres away just look like black spots on a background The overall effect is of virtually a flat white canvas. This was especially the case on overcast days where even the sky looked white!
IMO opinion a HD camera is required for really worthwhile images and even then only when the sun is bright and the sky is blue and there are many darker objects close by i.e trees, buildings and other skiers.
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.
The answer to your problem. http://www.goprocamera.com/products/chest-mount-harness-chesty.php Another reason why I like the GoPro, although quite expensive for what it is. admittedly I haven't used one so i don't know how easy it is to get it pointing in the right direction but it certainly gives the best view on the POV videos of mountain biking that I've seen.
http://vimeo.com/8046956 as an example (not me by the way). Not sure whether it would make much difference with skiing though.
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
Used a friends helmet cam setup last season. Was good and got some decent footage but agree on the goggle/helmet mount and how shaky it can be. A lot of our footage had a good chunk of goggle in the corner. One of my favourite views is a helmet mount looking back at the rider, the head stays central and stationary and the body and landscape moves around it.
He built up the package with www.dogcamsport.co.uk which lets you choose each component to suit your budget and what your after.
Or...just buy a GoPro HD. It has so many mounts and is great for MBking and Ski and Kayaking and .....most everything.
I bought some sunglasses off ebay with an inbuilt pin hole camera that seems to record at the same rate as most of the other mini DV cams for sale. Advantages were my head wasnt lobsided with camera weight and battery pack, they were quite comfortable to wear, inconspicious compared to a mounted helmet cam. Disadvantages, well I couldn't wear my goggles at the same time, they look cheap compared to other sunglasses and they also seem to suffer from me moving my head about too much.
Best results I have had was from a small handheld with screen creative labs vado. Nice bit of kit for £50! Rechargable li-ion battery a bonus, and on board storage with options for extra capacity and easy transfer/charging make it worth a look.
I bought a second where I was going to try and remount the camera/lens in the goggles and run extended cables to the rest in my pocket, so I still had a playback option. Great plan upon opening it up the wiring looked a bit too complex for me so I put it back together and now have a spare
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Veho Muvi Atom Micro Camera
has anyone used this camera on the slopes ?
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I've got a gopro hd, found that sticking it on a pole gets some interesting results and avoids the whole head wobble thing. Unfotunately I bailed at TC a couple of months ago, and snapped the pole in half, but the camera was fine.
The quality is fantastic when it's played back on a HD television. Needs a grunty computer for editing though.
Here's a bit of footage of Mrs Hang11 up at Oahu last winter
I've flipped the video so it doesn't look upside down for all the people in the Northern Hemisphere
These kits are excellent. Got one myself a few months back and it's so easy to use! Just returned from an early ski trip and the footage I captured was awesome! They're also about 80quid cheaper now than when I got one, and they're giving a free SD card with it!
I used the Contour last season, and found it to be a fairly good camera. But having seen many videos taken from it compared to some of the competition, I am now looking o purchase a Drift Innovation HD170. The quality of the image, from clarity to colour balancing seems to simply be better.
and you can get brilliant deals on Evilbay from the states.
While the do not capture full 1080p, they do 720P. and the ease of use and the sureness of where you are shooting (your actual line of sight) are making it very tempting.
The problem comes in comparing the versatility of something like the ContourHD/Drift HD170/GoProHD to a fairly fixed use cam like the Liquid Image goggles. and also in comparing images, as there are only a few examples of video form these new gogglecams and whiles it loks fairly crisp, the audio is a bit digitised and the auto-ISO seems to not be doinging its full job (the snow is Wayyyy to bright)
These are all in the higher £££ of the market.
For the 100quid (or so) mark
the Drift x170 or the Dog Cam HD are a good starting point.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Following up on last year's discussion, the mini-cam I bought last year was useless, partly because of image distortion and partly because no screen meant that there was no way to review footage. On the Italian slopes last spring I resorted to my old Canon MV650i handheld job, which takes decent video (not HD) but is rather cumbersome and not safe at speed. I've just been given a 2nd Gen Flip Mino HD, which are going cheap right now. It takes decent video (720p/50fps) but has no means of tethering, and mine doesn't have image stabilisation, which the 3rd Gen model has and really is a must-have as the camera is so light.
Anyone got any good DIY solutions to the pole mount for the go pro?
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
yep. lots of options, if you want to use a pole while skiing i have some custom mounts that go above the pole basket, alternatively we have cut the bottom of the bottom of some poles and epoxy resined some mounts to the bottom of a pole but this does make the pole unusable sa a ski pole. we have also played with some custom mounting options
Bit of tape around the bottom of your pole to make a grippy surface, then just fold the mini tripod flat and strap it on with the velcro strap that comes with it. I use mine with a Drift HD170 and it holds it tight.
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Poster: A snowHead
