Solutions to video camera shake

[morphix]

Mounted the CAR DVR for a rear view and my PSP USB cam on the front. Results are as I thought. The CAR DVR is excellent and the PSP is very good. I will upload the evidence this evening. These results show that having a light cam on the front is the way to go. I'll weigh the cams but I know that the PSP USB cam is much lighter than the CAR DVR.
Will ensure that Weight is part of the new sub forum template , along with Shake. (can you think of anything else? ) So for example we would in the case of the PSP CAM have the following:

Product: PSP CAM/CABLE
Price: £40.00
Mount Location: Tribar
Mount brakets: Velcro straps
Review:A very light weight device. Good quality images.
Utube Ref:
Photo:View attachment 1968
Weight: 1g
Shake: Very Good
HD: No
File Type: AVI
File Dimensions:480 * 272
File Bit rate: 352 kbps
Conversion needed before upload to UTUBE? Yes

Good work Alan, looks good to me..lots of info there.

If I could offer a suggestion, maybe we could have an agreed rating system for camera shake.. something like:

poor = very jerky video not watchable
acceptable = some shake, but still ok to watch
good = fairly stable image, some bumps and maybe some vibration
exellent = very stable and smooth

Or maybe a rating from 1 to 5 with 1 being extremely poor and 5 being excellent, displayed like this:

*** or 3/5

 

[morphix]

MD80 Mini-DVR cam here for review

Well the replacement MD80 arrived today from 7dayshop and this one actually works! I took it out earlier to shoot some test footage... Tried it in a variety of mounts, clipped to hi vis pocket, clipped to my fleece, clipped to brake cable, and finally sellotaped securely to front reflector.

I will save doing a full review until our new cam review sub-forum is up and running, but I will post the best test footage on YouTube this evening..

Like kitchenman I had a real problem setting the time and date which seems to use the same method as the Car DVR cam (I think the two cameras are made using the same technology and maybe by same factory even). I finally worked out how to set the date and time, it was just a question of putting the TAG.TXT file in the right directory.

 

[allen-uk]

I finally worked out how to set the date and time, it was just a question of putting the TAG.TXT file in the right directory.

If any fellow Mac users ever work out how to change date/time on OSX, I'd be ever so grateful, as we haven't got things like .txt .exe etc. files to put anywhere...


A

 

[morphix]

If any fellow Mac users ever work out how to change date/time on OSX, I'd be ever so grateful, as we haven't got things like .txt .exe etc. files to put anywhere...


A

Hi Allen, dunno if this might be helpful to you...

YouTube - Mini DV MD80 9/9 - Mac OSX - Charging, Setting Date Time, Downloading, Editing Tips

Regards,

Paul;

 

[steveindenmark]

I have looked into this for the bike and motorbike and the best solution I have found is the GoPro Hero HD.

YouTube - GoPro HD HERO camera: Mountain Bike Clip

Affordable if you are seious about it.

Steve

 

[morphix]

I have looked into this for the bike and motorbike and the best solution I have found is the GoPro Hero HD.

YouTube - GoPro HD HERO camera: Mountain Bike Clip

Affordable if you are seious about it.

Steve

Hi Steve, I have looked at that camera and the footage it produces and agree it's probably the best solution for super stable video but I think the price is prohibitive still for many people at £300. I could afford it, but I really can't justify spending that much on a bike camera. Are you going to get one yourself?

Paul

 

[allen-uk]

Hi Allen, dunno if this might be helpful to you...

YouTube - Mini DV MD80 9/9 - Mac OSX - Charging, Setting Date Time, Downloading, Editing Tips

Regards,

Paul;

Paul: it is PERFECT, thanks! Same camera, same operating system - soon as I get half an hour tomorrow, I'll do it and report.

A

 

[kitchenman]

Mounted the CAR DVR for a rear view and my PSP USB cam on the front

This is the PSP on the front
YouTube - PSP CAM FRONT MOUNT TEST-01

doing the CAR DVR rear next!

 

[kitchenman]

This is the PSP on the front
YouTube - PSP CAM FRONT MOUNT TEST-01

doing the CAR DVR rear next!

and the CAR DVR:

YouTube - CAR DVR REAR MOUNT TEST-01

Had some problems mounting it hence the sideways view. But good enough to check of camera shake. Will sort out the mount before the ride in the morning if I get up early enough!

 

[morphix]

Car Dvr

This is the PSP on the front
YouTube - PSP CAM FRONT MOUNT TEST-01

doing the CAR DVR rear next!

Not bad at all for a little camera is it! I actually quite enjoyed watching that, moving along at a nice speed.

 

[morphix]

MD80 Mini-DVR cam

Not sure about this one.. I've just looked at the footage again shot yesterday and it's somewhat disappointing. It doesn't look to be as good Kitchenman's CAR DVR cam for moving video.. there's something weird going on with the picture which is more than just camera shake..like a distortion or something.

In a static position the camera works great and video quality is very good for such a tiny inexpensive cam. But once you start moving, the sensor doesn't seem to like it or cope too well. I did a little experiment yesterday and wore it on my belt to the shops..the camera was dropping frames and didn't seem to be able to film fast enough to keep up with my brisk walking. It may be that it just needs a better microSD card with a higher class for faster data writing.. (the one supplied is 8GB class 4).....

I have uploaded a snippet of the video shot yesterday anyway, so you can see what I mean... this was taken from the cam sellotaped to the front reflector. Obviously not the most ideal place, but it was the only place I could see to fix it at short notice (out on the road) I did try handlebars and brake cable, but both produced terrible camera shake.

Even if the camera turns out to be no use for bike filming I will probably keep it as it's got the useful date and timestamp and it's useful thing to have around and only cost £20.

Anyway, enough of my wittering on, here is the link ;-)


YouTube - md80

 

[kitchenman]

Car Dvr Front Mount - Falling Of Bike Test!

Thought I would try to improve the CAR DVR results and added some padding. Unfortunately this only caused a mounting issue such that the device worked loose half hour into this mornings ride and the fell off! ... It survived the experience bar a couple of scratches. I'll update the footage later as it provides evidence of the devices durability! ... (also its quite amusing! ) ...

 

[morphix]

First Video test available for MD80

Ok it's up. finally, after 90 minutes for 280mb / 3.2 minutes.. like watching paint dry watching that progress indicator.

YouTube - md80

 

[kitchenman]

Looks like that device has some potential .. Like the CAR DVR its a matter of finding out the best way to mount it ... Have you tried dropping it on the road yet? ...

 

[morphix]

Looks like that device has some potential .. Like the CAR DVR its a matter of finding out the best way to mount it ... Have you tried dropping it on the road yet? ...

Haha no not dropped it outside yet, but its so damn small, it got away from me and did drop on the floor indoors..it bounced! I fear this camera wouldn't take much to break it it's so plasticky and tiny, the lens or sensor on my last one got loose inside somehow..

I think you may be right with this camera, it could have potential if could find out the best way to mount it.. I did try filming on my chest pocket but it was too low, only got the road. I've heard that using a higher class micro SD card can greatly improve the smoothness of the video when filming in motion.

 

[kitchenman]

have you weigh it? Or does it say on the spec sheet?

 

[morphix]

have you weigh it? Or does it say on the spec sheet?

I just popped it on the electric scales and it weighs a mere 16g, and 19g with it's clip holder. There is also a silicon skin which came with it, which might help weather-proof it a bit...also various other bits of mounting stuff which might make bike mounting or car mounting easier..

 

[kitchenman]

This is the vid:
YouTube - CAR DVR TEST-02 FRONT MOUNT

I recommend turning the volume up on his one especially for the eerie silence when the camera comes to rest and the ever increase sound of my SPD foot steps.. lol

 

[morphix]

This is the vid:
YouTube - CAR DVR TEST-02 FRONT MOUNT

I recommend turning the volume up on his one especially for the eerie silence when the camera comes to rest and the ever increase sound of my SPD foot steps.. lol

Eeeeerie video indeed. I watched it the first time with no sound as my system was playing up then rebooted and watched again with sound.. the way the camera went round and round before it landed was a cool effect, like it, or you and it, and had been sucked into some time vortex ;-). The camera survived to film another day, so all's well that ends well

 

[kitchenman]

This is the video footage of the incident from the PSP rear cam ...
YouTube - PSP CAM REAR VIEW capturing the CAR DVR incident