Bike ride filming

morphix

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 24, 2010
2,163
119
Worcestershire
www.cyclecharge.org.uk
I have been shooting a lot of video recently with the hope of doing a video review of my self-build bike as I have been getting a bit of interest and requests for one via my YouTube channel.

I went on some great long rides into the countryside to do a review but had to shoot using my old Toshiba Camileo S10 camera and most of the footage has come out shaky and is useless :((

My Creative Vado HD camera which provides steady filming when worn, broke on me less than 6 months into ownership so I haven't been able to use it last month when the weather was nice. It has been away for repairs for weeks and weeks. They finally told me the camera is beyond repair and shipped me a new one from Germany which came today so I'm hoping to shoot a bit more film for my review if there's a dry sunny day and finish up the review which I will post up shortly.

Is anyone good with sewing machines?! I'm trying to find a way to make a case for Vado HD out of nylon so I can mount it onto my back bag strap!!
 

Scottyf

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 2, 2011
1,403
-1
I did the same with my iphone and wedged it into a backpack strap and using the leangth of strap to alighn the camera.
I still had a fair amount of sway from me riding. Although the quality on the iphone was good in the day, once uploaded it became a bit pants...
 

karl101

Pedelecer
Aug 2, 2011
87
7
I have a Contour GPS video camera Contour | Products | Contour GPS. Very small and compact with excellent image quality. I got the (badly designed) handlebar mounting for it, and the video was rather shaky. I suppose mounting it to the side of a cycle helmet would be better as it'd be using the heads steady-cam functions.

The camera also has a timelapse option, Here's my ride on the mean streets of Sheffield: Sheffield City Timelapse - YouTube

Karl.
 

kitchenman

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jul 9, 2010
1,309
7
Aberaeron, West Wales
Nice one Karl. Initially I was thinking "why did he speed it up?" ...generally I dont mind normal speed .. then I got transfixed. Really enjoyed it. Particular the bridge graffiti.
 

morphix

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 24, 2010
2,163
119
Worcestershire
www.cyclecharge.org.uk
Ah we have some sun today perfect day for filming! Only problem is I don't have a camera holder solution still. I'm currently trying to figure out how to use a sewing machine I bought!! The plan is to make a little camera holder from nylon and put a strap on the back so it slides over my back pack strap. Well that's the theory anyway! All credit to women for understanding these sewing machines, damn complicated machines to figure out..give me a computer I can program it no problem, give me a sewing machine and ask me to thread it, I have no clue! The manual is like double dutch to me.
 

morphix

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 24, 2010
2,163
119
Worcestershire
www.cyclecharge.org.uk
Done it!!!

Wooohoo I made the camera holder finally! Didn't take long either.

Here's how it looks like when worn:



It has a horizontal strap across the back so you can slide the shoulder strap
of a any backpack through it and wear your camera on the shoulder.

Here's a view from the back:



I haven't tested it yet, but it feels very firm and secure on the shoulder doesn't move around at all and the camera is very snug inside the case so shouldn't slip out.

The good thing about this type of mounting is, it gives the flexibility to alter the filming height. You can have it high up on the shoulder or further down for a chest height.

Just about to go for a quick ride and try filming with it. Will report back later.
 

Scottyf

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 2, 2011
1,403
-1
You will get a bit of sway as I did exactly the same with my backpack.
But your right it does give you different height angles to work with.

You will move about a bit on the bike. But its good fun!
 

morphix

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 24, 2010
2,163
119
Worcestershire
www.cyclecharge.org.uk
Just got back from the ride and reviewed footage.. not bad at all, only problem was, camera angle was too forward so only got mostly the road. Camera shake was not bad at all though, not sure it compares to when I used to velcro stick the cam to my shoulder before, will have to compare to some old footage. But it certainly looks reasonable. I'm just editing the footage and will upload and post url shortly.. sound was remarkably good too considering the wind. I took an external stereo mic to test which seemed to improve sound quite a bit.
 

steveindenmark

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 10, 2011
406
2
All credit to women for understanding these sewing machines, damn complicated machines to figure out..give me a computer I can program it no problem, give me a sewing machine and ask me to thread it, I have no clue! The manual is like double dutch to me.
Dear oh dear.

I could think of lots of things to say but I won`t. I am a sailmaker and am an ex army boxing champion. I work with some of the worlds largest sewing machines.



Steve
 
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Scottyf

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 2, 2011
1,403
-1
Those lucas links are awesome I'm loving that.
Must get some drop bars