Video camera installation ideas

[pozo_izquierdo]

I have been wanting to do some video shooting while riding and the Big Trip to CCR was a perfect excuse to get into a bit deeper into the bullet / lipstick / helmet camera jungle.

My 8-year old Sony MiniDV videocamera also decided to quit so I had to purchase a new one.

Now my video package consists of following gear:

Sony DCR-HC 96 MiniDV videocam as a recorder. (With DV in/out + L.A.N.C remote jack)
2 bullet cameras (With Sony CCD), one on the helmet, one in the side of the trunk shooting backwards, both have a fixed 4,3 mm focal length
1 bullet camera (on top of the fog light) with 4 – 9 mm zoom
the bullet cameras are form http://www.rfconcepts.co.uk/helmet_cameras.htm (excellent and fast service...)
one microphone which is fixed next to my helmet intercom boom mic
one self made switching box which controls which camera’s picture is being recorded
one remote lanc-controller on the left handlebar. This can start and stop recording and also turn on / off the recorder
I have the camcorder installed in a Chicane tankbag in a position where I can flip the screen and it works as my camera monitor. I had some polyurethane board and I made a pedestal for the camcorder. I reeled the extra length of the audio/video cable around the pedestal.

All the bullet cameras need 12V power. I already had a switched power feed circuit for this kind of purpose so I pulled the 12V plugs close to the tank bag.

The switcher is made out of an empty plastic connector box. The left switch changes the signal between the front and rear cameras and the right switch between outfeed of previous switch and the helmet cam. The LANC controller is really a must in this setup. As the camcorder stands in such a position in the tankbag that it is almost impossible to switch it on /off or between rec /stby mode.

The helmet cam is fastened on a detachable panel of my Caberg Justissimo helmet. Luckily I have one extra helmet so I can steal the panel from it when not using the helmet camera. All the bullet cameras are equipped with a waterproof quick connectors so they can be removed while the cables remain under the fairings. Cables to the helmet (one for the mic) and one for the bullet camera are inside the Baehr intercom coiled wire.

I have tested the setup a few times and it seems to work OK Switching the cameras is easy and using the camcorder screen as monitor makes it easy to notice if a bug splashes in the middle of the camera lens so one hour footage does not get ruined because of that. Also the my narration via the mic works as long as I keep my mouth shut and don't make smart remarks on the fellow motorists...:p

I hope the attached pictures explain the story better.


Regards

[jorawro]

Geez Ari, you make our bikes on this side of the pond look naked;)

[cfell]

Ari.. looking good.. might I "suggest" you look into some sort of bug shield for the forward facing camera?

[grahamw]

Ari

Nice looking installation and shouold provide hours of fun. Completely mad ;-))

Graham

[motorhead]

Ari,

This is a mount I fabricated so my camera or small video rig can take shots while riding.

Used it for my 3700 mile trip last month with great results.

Scott

[pozo_izquierdo]

Hi Scott,

I also have the RAM mounts that I bought from "Uncle Rock" last year. They are OK for camera and video fitting, but as I have the CB #2 with wings I will have the windscreen on the way all the time. So far I have not found much use for the RAM mounts...I would need much longer RAM arms, I guess.

Therefore I decided to go the helmet camera route as this way I will be shooting over the windshield. Originally I bought just two helmet cameras. The small one facing backwards and the big one (with zoom) to be mounted on the helmet. I made a test ride with the bigger camera on my helmet but I thought that it will too heavy to be carried on the helmet all the time. Then I ended up buying one more small one which I mounted on the helmet and installed the bigger and heavier one on top of the fog light.

As far as Channings suggestion on the bugscreen is concerned I think that it would not make much difference. The picture will be ruined whether the bug splashes on the screen or on the protective glass in front of the lens...

Regards

[pieceofficer]

Ari,
Again, thanks for stopping by the other day. It was great to meet you two, and just so you know....I have ordered my cameras, they will be here this week. I do not have a Video IN on my camcorder, so I am going to start the hunt this week for a new one. Any chance I could get you to make me a selector box for the cameras? I have hunted online for an analog selector and cannot locate anything.

Also, I need another cupholder, I am going to mount mine like yours, one on each side of the chicane.... I am gonna be like you when I grow up.

You have seen my bike...and not bad for only owning it for 2mos...haha

Next week I start the big ELECTRICAL install. I am going to run an extra 12pairs forward and aft as spares. I ordered a lot of 10relays and harnesses. I am getting ready to start the install of the auxillary switch bank you brought me as well. I will be letting you know how that goes.

[pozo_izquierdo]

Ari,
Again, thanks for stopping by the other day. It was great to meet you two, and just so you know....I have ordered my cameras, they will be here this week. I do not have a Video IN on my camcorder, so I am going to start the hunt this week for a new one. Any chance I could get you to make me a selector box for the cameras? I have hunted online for an analog selector and cannot locate anything.

Also, I need another cupholder, I am going to mount mine like yours, one on each side of the chicane.... I am gonna be like you when I grow up.

You have seen my bike...and not bad for only owning it for 2mos...haha

Next week I start the big ELECTRICAL install. I am going to run an extra 12pairs forward and aft as spares. I ordered a lot of 10relays and harnesses. I am getting ready to start the install of the auxillary switch bank you brought me as well. I will be letting you know how that goes.

Hi Bill,

and sorry for the late reply. Been busy with my blog and getting home etc.

By this time you might have gotten your new camera already, but I hope it also has the l.a.n.c. feature. This is quite essential in motorcycle use so that you can command the recorder from the remote button.
The selector box is actually no rocket science. Maybe that is why they don't seem to be so commonly offered. You just have to get some RCA (is this the right term..?) fixed mount connectors in which you plug your camera and microphone jacks. You might need to purchase also some male / male connectors in order to be able to connect to female plugs. The box itself could be any small plastic box (go and check your wifes earring or ring boxes..;-)
The selector switches are just simple two position small toggle switches which have two contacts. I don't recommend the 1 -0 -2 type of switch as the "0" results to a black screen on your recording. 1 - 2 type of switch is better.

How many bullet cameras will you have?

I can send you some more pics to explain the selector if you want.

I have one leftover cup holder so I can put it in the mail for you.

Regards

[simoncharles]

Has anyone tried attaching a tripod to the topcase and filming looking over the passenger/rider ?

[cws]

Has anyone tried attaching a tripod to the topcase and filming looking over the passenger/rider ?Hi Simon.
This is with tripod mounted on the top case rack (flat) - taped on with gaffer tape. Panasonic HDcam with a wide angle adaptor. Not sure if its quite what you mean, have thought about putting one up high above the passengers head looking down... just not done it yet.
video (http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p196/cws127/Snowy_Ride_2008/?action=view&current=Snowy2008_pt1.flv)

and some more here (http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p196/cws127/Videos/)

[simoncharles]

Chris,
Good quality shots.
Yes, I have also thought that shooting from behind and above would give some interesting results, but I suppose a very lightweight bullet type camera would have to be used.
Simon

[cws]

A bullet type would be less "visible" and less wind affected, but the biggest problem is vibration. The camera really needs stabilisation and shock mounting of some sort to smooth out those sudden jerks & bumps that are inevitable and ultimately ruin the flow of the footage.
I've come up with all sorts of whacky ideas for handycam mounting, but put none into practice, apart from what you've seen the results of.
I'd really like to have time to make a small gyro-stabiliser to mount under the camera just for that purpose, you can buy/rent them for professional camera setups (way too big for a handycam) but I think a small 12v bike-powered motor and weight could be used off the camera's mounting system, and it could also be used on a pivoting arm to keep the camera level to horizon regardless of the lean angle of the bike.
I think that could be used for some great footage from the rear of the bike if mounted high enough...
One day when I get time... :crazy:

[simoncharles]

Sounds like something NASA would have taken 8 years to develop !.

[cws]

... and the Germans would do it in 2, and it would be 4 x times smaller and probably much nicer to use... (and thats from experience with pro film gear) ;)

[jdgretz]

My buddy Dale took these (http://www.vimeo.com/3338529) recently using a relatively inexpensive GoPro Hero Wide (http://www.goprocamera.com/index.php?area=2&productid=1) . Looks pretty good to me for not a bunch of money.

jdg

[RVB1019]

This 2.5 year old thread just lives on! and on! and on!

[WylieCoyote]

There is a new HD SDRAM based camera that is out for bikes and related outdoor sports. I just ordered one, so I don't know how good it is. The videos they have posted look good. My only concern is that they dont have a lux rating listed for the camera. That is the level of light needed for a viewable picture. (1 lux is 1 candlepower).

It does address a number of other issues facing bike users:

1) Wide angle lens - it has a wider field of view than any camcorders on the market. Important to see more to the sides.135 degrees.
2) Flexible mounting - helmet, adhesive fixed mount, and suction cup accessories that would work for a car too.
3) Lasers that show the orientation of the lens. You can move the camera to the sides and reorient the lens to get a horizontal picture.
4) Durability - all aluminum construction unlike the plastic camcorders
5) SDRAM media - no tapes or hard drives means no mechanicals subjected to vibration. Easy to carry extra memory for longer recording and support up to 16GB cards, which is 8 hours of recording
6) Can plug into bike for constant recording - dont have to rely on battery power.
7) H.264 hardware video encoding. Any techies out there know hardware encoded video is smoother, more detailed, and less pixelization.

Again, my only concern is lux rating, but camcorders dont work well at night, so it shouldn't be worse than them.

Here is the link:
http://www.vholdr.com/contourhd/features

I will post a review once I have a chance to play with it.

[simoncharles]

Image stabilization ?.

Look forward to your review.

[WylieCoyote]

http://www.vholdr.com/contourhd/features

I received and used the vHoldr camera for the last 2 weeks. The easiest way to get the information to you is to put everything in a pro and con list:

PRO:
1) High Def has a 135 degree wide angle lens. This lets you see more to the sides and the image fits wide screen HDTVs.
2) Flexible mounting - helmet, adhesive fixed mount, and suction cup accessories that would work for a car too. On a bike, I found I like the helmet mount best. The camera records what you see and that leads to a more interesting video. The only downside to this is that it is awkward if you want to ride with it plugged into your bike for power. The battery works for about 2.5 hours.
3) Lasers that show the orientation of the lens. You can move the camera to the sides and reorient the lens to get a horizontal picture. This is especially good for helmet mounting alignment.
4) Durability - all aluminum construction unlike the plastic camcorders. I didnt get the suction cup attached well and it fell off while riding. A few scratches, but it still works fine.
5) SDRAM media - no tapes or hard drives means no mechanicals subjected to vibration. Easy to carry extra memory for longer recording and support up to 16GB cards, which is 8 hours of recording. To get beyond the 2.5 hours the battery will support, it needs to be plugged into a 12v outlet. See the con section for information about an aspect of this.
6) H.264 hardware video encoding. Any techies out there know hardware encoded video is smoother, more detailed, and less pixelization. It delivers a picture better than any camcorder I have ever seen and is especially impressive considering the size. Fantastic quality.
7) Low light quality is better than expected. In a well lit area, you get a viable image, but that is about it. If you have tried to use a camcorder at night, you think this is a big improvement.
8) Accepts up to a 16 GB memory card to deliver up to 8 hours of recording. The camera is supposed to come with a 2 GB card, but mine did not. The factory quickly sent me one, but I had already purchased the 16 GB card. You should get a class 6 card to be sure that the card can handle the volume of data the camera sends it. Cheap overseas cards dont all have good sustained data rates, so better safe than sorry. They are not much more. (Mine was $65)
9) The fixed focus keeps the camera from being knocked out of focus.

CON:
1) The biggest con is that the access panel where the memory card and battery plug in must be open when plugging in the bike's power plug. I actually used a Dremel tool to open a hole up to use it with the panel closed. If I can open a hole, the factory should have done so. This is important if you wish to use the camera beyond the battery's 2.5 hour life.
2) If you change the quality setting to Standard Def (SD) the image not only reduces quality, but the image is no longer widescreen, which in turn means you have a reduced field of view. With a big SD card you should never need this.
3) No image stabilization that I can see. If the camera is mounted to the bike, make sure the surface is solid or there will be a lot of vibration. With the camera helmet mounted, the body helps significantly in reducing vibration.
4) Audio is great when sitting still or moving very slowly, but about 20 mph the wind noise makes the audio an annoyance.
5) There is no option for date time overlay. I have suggested this to the company, which is very receptive to suggestions. Setting the date and time is awkward. As best as I can tell, it is only used for the file date and time.

Final Word:
A fantastic camera at a great price. A few cons that will probably be worked out in the next revision of the camera. I am very satisfied that this camera does what it was designed to do, is a quality product, and the resolution is higher than anything at this pricepoint.