Solutions to video camera shake

[kitchenman]

STREET MACHINE/PSP TEST-01 camera in coca cola bottle mounted on tent poles - YouTube

and this test demonstrates how good the PSP is when the USB camera is connected directly to the PSP without an extension cable. Even though the combined weight is about 500g the camera shake is not at all bad .... In the next test I will be using the extension cable to demonstrate the difference.

 

[kitchenman]

During the ride I am calling out the RPM and MPH in a rappy kind of way - in order - RPM first and then MPH. Giving it some rhythm helped me to maintain it. Towards the end of the clip as I climb the last hill you can hear my chanting. My brain isn't working quite as it should be and the chant comes out all wrong. At the end of the ride there were two lads walking on the pavement where I pulled up looking a bit worried .. hence the "don't panic" ...

 

[morphix]

An update to my MD80 (the ickle spy camera which I tried on my bike and which provided horrendous camera shake)...

I saw someone on YouTube with same camera who claims my class 4 SD card wasn't fast enough to capture the frames for moving filming and I should get a class 10...

Well I did, I've just received a class 10 card this morning (Samsung branded) and it's NO BETTER! Well certainly not for walking around anyway..dropping frames and well shaky picture..looks no different to class 4. I haven't been able to try it out on a bike yet but will do shortly...doubt it will be any better than class 4 though.

It's odd because I've seen plenty of YouTubers using this camera on their bikes and getting reasonable steady video out of them..so maybe I just have a bad camera.. these Chinese cheapo cameras do tend to vary a lot in quality. I've just ordered a 909 "keyring" cam (upgraded 808 model) from China (£6) so I'm eager to give that a try and see if it's fairs any better.

 

[jazper53]

I enclose a link http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/12051-video-tips.html
I presently have the:
Kodak PlayFull ZE1 Full HD 1080P, Image Stabilisation: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo
and regard it as a great piece of kit, great quality with built in stabilisation, at a very resonable price, also I have a handlebar cam holder which acts as a good solid base for the camera.
I give it 9/10 for price, performance, and usability.

ps I recommend a class 10 sd card speed

 

[morphix]

Following on from my last post.. I managed to test the MD80 camera today with the new Samsung 16GB SDHC class 10 card I bought..it made a HUGE difference! The camera performed very well on my bike, no dropped frames hardly and very decent quality video. Unfortunately I had the camera angle too high so didn't get of anything interesting but trees and sky but it does show that higher class card makes all the difference.

Also I was surprised that just fixing the MD80 on to the handlebar of my new Mezzo 16" folding bike provided quite a stable platform with hardly much camera shake compared to my 26" folder..I don't know whether that was due to riding it unpowered, the higher class card, or just the bike being better quality than my 26" and less prone to vibrations...it did feel a smoother ride.. it maybe a combination of factors!

I'm certainly going to experiment more with the MD80 camera and will upload some video from it in due course. I'm planning to do a mod on the camera and replace the little 250mA battery inside. I want to add an external battery socket and make a little 1500-2500mA battery pack so the camera can run for longer than 50 minutes.

 

[morphix]

As promised, here is some video shot from the MD80 mounted on my Mezzo...the result is quite impressive, minimal camera shake:

 

[Jimod]

As promised, here is some video shot from the MD80 mounted on my Mezzo...the result is quite impressive, minimal camera shake:

Am I missing something?

 

[morphix]

Am I missing something?

It's coming, just waiting for upload to finish ;-)

 

[Jimod]

It's coming, just waiting for upload to finish ;-)

Good, I thought I was having a senior moment.

 

[jackhandy]

How big is this clip, morphix?..... It ain't arrived yet

 

[morphix]

How big is this clip, morphix?..... It ain't arrived yet

Heh only 180MB but as usual YouTube is sloooooow...it started off well but now its stuck at 35%! Maybe by tomorrow ;-)

75% @ 00:32!!

 

[morphix]

Anyho, while I'm waiting for this file to finish uploading.. I'll share my conclusion for the solution to camera shake (for poor people who can't afford those fancy sporty helmet cameras)..

Small camera (MD80 mini cam, 808, 909 keyring cams or such like) = inexpensive, low weight & easy to fix on bike handlebar = less likely to move around + HIGH SPEED SD memory card (Class 10 or higher) = smooooth video.

I have the MD80 camera (pictured above) which you can pick up on eBay for under a tenner... although it's not HD quality, it's pretty decent quality for filming bike rides. The mic is ok and picks up ambient noise but is not good for picking up your own voice unfortunately due to road noise. The camera has a lot of potential for mods though and there's several sites dedicating to doing just that. I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to put an external mic socket on it, if you wanted to use an external collar mic. Or alternatively a simpler solution could be to try clipping the camera on your clothing or bag strap perhaps. The battery lasts about 40-50 minutes (sometimes longer) but there's also a way to mod it with a bigger capacity battery for up to 5 hours recording time.

 

[morphix]

OK here's the video you've all been waiting for... da daaa

[video=youtube;4zSIDdvi4gg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zSIDdvi4gg[/video]

After all that, the quality doesn't look as good as the original after YouTube have done a number on it! I saved it using the standard definition YouTube resolution but think it may have needed HD mode, even though the camera isn't HD as the frame size is bigger than 640x480 and you can see it's squashed the frame size down a bit. Ah well. You get an idea anyway.

 

[jackhandy]

Just a thought - I notice a fair bit of sideways movement on the video, presumably the result of twitching the bars for balance at lowish speed?
I wonder if some kind of mount on the top tube might reduce that?

Mind you; what do I know - I recorded a circuit of the GossMoor Trail a few days ago & thought it'd be fun to speed it up, like the old "London to Brighton in 4 minutes" film: So I'm working on "the Goss Moor Trail - 7 miles in 7 minutes".

I got it down to 11minutes in 1 pass, then wondered where all the camera shake had come from....
Then realised, it's not shake - it's the natural balancing movement of bike & body as I pedal; just sped up

If I can get it up to speed with another pass through Vegas, I'll upload it to youtube & we can all barf together

 

[morphix]

Yeah I noticed the handlebar movement right away on this video which is the first one I've shot on a small wheel bike... oddly enough though, the video seemed much steadier in terms of vertical shake and vibration compared to my 26" folding MTB which was terrible! I would have expected the smaller wheels to be more prone with that problem, but not so!

I think your idea about mounting below the handlebar somewhere is possible, or perhaps just wearing the camera might work. It might pick up the audio better then too. Since the camera is so small it's probably possible to clip it onto a back bag strap or pocket maybe.