Along the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

[jberryhill]

Part of today's ride...

&feature=youtu.be

[happyslug]

1. Nice Video but put the Camera on the BIKE not the Helmet...

If the Camera was on the handlebars it would provide a more steady video. On the downside you will miss what you see as you turn your head. I do NOT view that as much of a problem for most of the time your head will being pointed forward in the first place. On the other hand, if you see something to the side you will get a video of whatever you see if the Camera is on your helmet, but in most cases you can STOP the bike and point the bike and the camera to what you see, if whatever you want a video of remains where it is within sight.

Now, I am ASSUMING this camera was on your helmet, but you do have a video of your arm and thigh in the video. Either you looked down and to the rear with your head, helmet and camera, or the camera became loose and fell down (I suspect the later, but I can not rule out the former). I hope you were NOT hand holding the camera (And if you were B&H has some means o attachment to the handlebars or your helmet).

I go with B&H for they have been in the Camera business for decades (prior to the net, they were Catalog based Camera and Camera accessories provider): Other places on the net provide as good (and at times better) then B&H. Even with B&H you get what you pay for, the more expensive mounts tend to be Aluminum and thus can take some abuse, the cheaper mounts tend to be plastic and thus you need to be careful with them.



http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/924980-REG/fastcap_tech_ibike_mount_bike_mount_for_handlebars.html



http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/848986-REG/FEISOL_bicycle_mount_31_8_BM_318_Bicycle_Mount_31_8mm.html



http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1061178-REG/shill_slbm_4_aluminum_bike_mount.html

Adapter for the above for a GoPro Mount:



http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1061165-REG/shill_slba_1_aluminum_bike_mount_adapter.html

If you are using a SMART phone:



http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/917814-REG/iottie_hlbkio101_one_touch_bike_mount.html



http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1037707-REG/ram_mounts_rap_274_1_un7u_ram_ez_on_off_bicycle_mount.html

B&H also has GOpro Camera mounts:



http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1061179-REG/shill_slbm_5_bike_mount_with_gopro.html



http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1118903-REG/bower_xas_abm_xtreme_action_series_aluminum.html


Just a comment that you need to have your camera on a more solid base, the handlebars are the most solid on a bicycle. This is even true if you have a camera with Stabilization, the more stable the base is the better such stabilization works.

The Helmet will provide some stability more then when you hold such a camera in your hands but the handlebars are the best.

[jberryhill]

2. I'm on an accessories moratorium

I just hold the phone in one of my hands and hope I don't need the smaller chainring.

[happyslug]

3. I suspect as such, it explains the view of your arms, thigh and handlebars in the video

The problem is you need a base for that camera. Think about what you need, review what is sold and then made a decision. Handheld simply does NOT provide the stability needed to have a decent photo or video but I have done it when nothing else was available. I like the Shill, it provides a nice base that can fit on anything. It can be used on your helmet or your handlebars (or any other surface that you can wrap the velcro around). On the other hand the Shill is NOT as stable as the other bases. I have used it on my camera, but it is a true camera with a decent lens (it is NOT a high end camera, the lens is FIXED to the body, but it provides decent photos and videos). I do like it for it has a GoPRO adapter available, if I want to use my sister's GoPro (Which she puts on her Poodle, who being a Standard Poodle, of 45 pounds believe anything within 2-3 miles is a nice run away from her owner if and when the Poodle is off lead). We know how far the poodle has gone by tracing the route we see in the video. The Poodle disappears for 10-15 minutes on a walk when she is off lead, but always comes back, thus the video shows us how far she went.

Here is the Shill:



I do regret NOT getting a base that does a metal connection with the Bike. Such Connections tend to be stronger and thus take more abuse without becoming loose. I am looking at the second Go PRo mount.

As to a SMART phone, I used both the cheap B&H mount, which is OK but you have to be careful with it, and a much better THULE mount that can take some abuse:



http://www.thule.com/en-us/us/products/luggage-and-bags/bike-bags-and-racks/handlebar-products/thule-pack-n-pedal-smartphone-attachment-_-pp_100082

I have NOT use either one to hold my Smart phone when I use the Phone as a Camera, but it should do it quite well except for the Bag I have in front of it that would block its view (The bag is easy to remove, I just have NOT done so). The Thule is listed at $19.95 but that does NOT include the base you must buy that the case attaches to. You need both so the $19.95 price is NOT accurate but the base permits you to put the Thule case right above neck of front handlebars, an area where most other accessories do not fit.

The Thule Pack and Play base cost $50 by itself:

http://www.thule.com/en-us/us/products/luggage-and-bags/bike-bags-and-racks/handlebar-products/thule-pack-n-pedal-handlebar-mount-_-pp_100037

Yes, accessories can add up and sooner or later you have to just say no to more accessories, but at times you also have to say, yes I need that new gadget. Just a comment, and keep riding.

[jberryhill]

4. My question about bike mounts...

...is what about vibration.

I've seen discussions among mountain bikers of using chest mounts.

Mainly, I like to get off of the bike and take shots like these.

Hills near Landenberg, PA, a few miles from home:



Sunset at Heritage Beach, Grand Cayman:



I'll take short clips of particularly scenic spots, but generally want to concentrate on riding when I'm riding. Although most of the time when I roll through a scenic spot I think "I'll get a video next time."

Rolling in to Bodden Town, Grand Cayman:

Descent near Spioenkop Nature Reserve, South Africa:

[happyslug]

5. The more stable the mount the more stable the video

Last edited Tue Apr 7, 2015, 11:37 PM - Edit history (1)

Thus a stationary tripod based camera always give the best videos. The problem is you want to RIDE and RECORD the ride, thus the choice of a Stationary Tripod Camera is not an option for you.

The most stable mobile system is system based on wheels that goes over a fixed route. Hollywood did this for decades using rails (yes a camera on a rail car going along the action shot being made). In the days of Black and White Westerns it was common to have actors riding horses, ride along a rail line built for the scene, with the camera look sideways from the Rail car (thus the rail car is NEVER in the video). From what I have read this was done as late as the 1980s, but then enhanced video stabilization permitted the abandonment of such rail systems in favor of a camera on wheels (a much CHEAPER system). A camera on wheels will provide enough stability to provide a good video provided the Camera on wheel is going over relatively flat terrain (much like the old rail car cameras).

Now your body goes up and down as you walk or run. It is the nature of the human body. Thus ANY body mounted camera will be affected by that up and down movement. Please note, this up and down movement is independent of the terrain, you have even if you are walking on a perfectly flat track. When biking most of this up and down movement do NOT reach your chest or head, for the simple reason you have a stable base with your ass on the saddle. You will have SOME movement in a chest or head camera when you are biking, but no where NEAR what you get if you were walking.

On the other hand the bicycle is based on the wheel, which provides a fairly constant movement with little up and down movement (independent of the terrain itself). Thus on a flat track you can achieve no movement up and down. On actual roads, you have runts, turns, potholes, curbs and other road hazards. These hazards move a handlebar based camera up and down, but less then if the camera is on your chest or helmet (and much less then if you were walking and the camera was on your chest or head).

If you have a front shock absorber, it will adsorb some of those hazards, but not all of them. On the other hand, the handlebar mounted Camera will provide a more stable base then anything on your body.

Now, your body on a bike will also be more stable then if you were walking, but the movement of your muscles as you bike will cause some movement of the camera, thus the camera most stable position in on the handlebars. It is NOT a good a a stationary tripod, but most cameras with video stabilization should provide a decent photo.

Here is a report on someone who has used Video Cameras on Bicycles:

Mounting the camera to the bicycle

Surprisingly, mounting the camera directly to the bicycle can result in very little apparent shake, if the camera has a wide-angle lens. The length of the bicycle's wheelbase and the rigidity of its frame avoid the nodding motion of a head-mounted camera. The camera must be rigidly mounted to the bicycle, though. A loose or flexible mount will amplify vibration.

Any camera mounted to the bicycle will lean with it in corners, and there are other bicycle motions which affect the image. These depend on how and where the camera is mounted.

http://sheldonbrown.com/image-stabilization.html

Just a comment you need the lightest camera on the most rigid mount to the handlebars for the most stable video. In the movies Wide Angle cameras were disliked for they had a tendency to make even thin people look "Fat". Thus the option of using a Wide Angle Lens and then cropping the photo to make it look more stable was NOT an option. On the other hand, unless you want to show your videos on a super wide movie screen, the photos from a wide angle lens are good enough. Thus a wide angle lens (and that is most lens in SMART phones, Cell Phones and Point and shoot cameras) is good enough if you mount it on your handlebars and it comes equip with even a cheap image stabilization system.