Video Camera who uses one?

[master6]

Finally got out for a ride with my 808 camera today. I think I need to rethink my mount a little bit. The video I got was incredibly shaky with a strange wobble effect. I'm guessing it had something to do with the rolling shutter on the camera and the framerate as much as the roughness of the road.

yeap 100% rolling shutter & vibration - not wobble.
The SMALLEST of vibrations will do that, can you strap the camera to the mount a little better? (inner tube?)

My camera is mounted using the velcro pads that came with it. I found a lot of vibration, and eliminated most of it by wrapping a strong rubber band around the camera and mount.

[johnm_oz]

Just bought a couple of these

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/170804552039 ... 1497.l2649

If nothing else they'll give me a couple of clamps and tripod screws to work with...

Cheers
JM

Let us know what they arelike when you get them.

Graeme

Shall do. I don't imagine they'll be marvellous, but for the price they should be a good start to fabricate something decent...


Cheers
JM

[GraemeL]

GraemeL - off topic. but what camera are you using to take those photos. is it a DSLR? they just look crisp

Yep,it's a Canon 50D with a 100mm Macro lens.

Graeme

[GraemeL]

Finally got out for a ride with my 808 camera today. I think I need to rethink my mount a little bit. The video I got was incredibly shaky with a strange wobble effect. I'm guessing it had something to do with the rolling shutter on the camera and the framerate as much as the roughness of the road.

yeap 100% rolling shutter & vibration - not wobble.
The SMALLEST of vibrations will do that, can you strap the camera to the mount a little better? (inner tube?)

My camera is mounted using the velcro pads that came with it. I found a lot of vibration, and eliminated most of it by wrapping a strong rubber band around the camera and mount.

If your using Velcro, grab yourself some 3M DualLock instead, it holds the camera nice and tight without any play. Also if you are going to use a rubber strip, just use inner tube as Nate suggested. If the rubber is too thick it tends to allow movement.

Graeme

[newbikeorupgrade]

I'm building my jumbo tick tack box x 2 atm will let you know the results!!! thanks graham

[master6]

My battery pack for the 808 #16 arrived, and I gave it a run. With an 8GB class4 card, it ran for a whisker over two hours before the card was full. I came home, deleted what was on the card, and set it recording again in our garden. About 3 hours later I collected the camera, and hooked it to the computer. I kept getting a message asking me to insert a card in drive E. I disconnected from the computer, and tried to set the camera recording. It turned off each time when I pressed the shutter button.

My son has the same model camera. His card worked in my camera. My card would not work in his camera.
I took the Verbatim card back to Harvey Norman, as it had a 2 yr warranty. The fella there stuffed around, tried two card readers, and two laptops, said the card readers would not work, and gave me a new card.

It has been suggested to me, by someone who knows a little about computers etc , (and I know vastly less ) that letting the auxiliary battery pack run flat might have a different effect to letting the incamera battery run flat.

Do you have any thoughts on this please?

[GraemeL]

My battery pack for the 808 #16 arrived, and I gave it a run. With an 8GB class4 card, it ran for a whisker over two hours before the card was full. I came home, deleted what was on the card, and set it recording again in our garden. About 3 hours later I collected the camera, and hooked it to the computer. I kept getting a message asking me to insert a card in drive E. I disconnected from the computer, and tried to set the camera recording. It turned off each time when I pressed the shutter button.

My son has the same model camera. His card worked in my camera. My card would not work in his camera.
I took the Verbatim card back to Harvey Norman, as it had a 2 yr warranty. The fella there stuffed around, tried two card readers, and two laptops, said the card readers would not work, and gave me a new card.

It has been suggested to me, by someone who knows a little about computers etc , (and I know vastly less ) that letting the auxiliary battery pack run flat might have a different effect to letting the incamera battery run flat.

Do you have any thoughts on this please?

I doubt the battery has any affect on the card. I have run my external flat a few times while connected to the Jumbo and it hasn't affected anything.

From what I understand, using an external battery actually charges the cameras battery, so you are essentially running on the cameras battery anyway. When the external battery runs flat, you still have a fully charged battery in the camera.

If you have a card reader use that to transfer files and format the card, if you don't have one, I recommend you get one.

Graeme

[GraemeL]

I'm building my jumbo tick tack box x 2 atm will let you know the results!!! thanks graham

Don't forget to post pics when it's done

Graeme

[khendar]

yeap 100% rolling shutter & vibration - not wobble.
The SMALLEST of vibrations will do that, can you strap the camera to the mount a little better? (inner tube?)

My camera is mounted using the velcro pads that came with it. I found a lot of vibration, and eliminated most of it by wrapping a strong rubber band around the camera and mount.

If your using Velcro, grab yourself some 3M DualLock instead, it holds the camera nice and tight without any play. Also if you are going to use a rubber strip, just use inner tube as Nate suggested. If the rubber is too thick it tends to allow movement.

Graeme

I've got some stuff called OneWrap which I use for tidying cables. Basically double sided velcro with the hooks on one side and the loops on the other. I wrapped it around the mount and the camera and it eliminated most of the play, so we'll see how that works out on the next ride.

[Mugglechops]

The place I bought my Gopro from has the outdoor edition for $255us today only. davesmotors.com and go to deal of the day.

Remember hbf as the coupon code to get another 5% off.

Mine took about a week to arrive including Easter.

[Baalzamon]

The place I bought my Gopro from has the outdoor edition for $255us today only. davesmotors.com and go to deal of the day.

Remember hbf as the coupon code to get another 5% off.

Mine took about a week to arrive including Easter.

NOOO MUST COVER MY EYES

Too late, I'm there and it's in my basket.....

[Mugglechops]

First play around with it

[Crittski]

Solid mount setups mate, video looks good. THe biggest problem I have had is getting shake free footage (Contour). If that is your first attempt, then well done!

[Mugglechops]

I just used the standard Go Pro handlebar mount and the chest strap.

[khendar]

So I stuck some OneWrap velcro around the 808 and its mount and took it for a spin today:



Much smoother. No wobbling at all. That puffing sound you hear is my supreme unfitness.

I'm thinking about getting some Sugru and making up a helmet mount for the camera, just for slightly different perspective.

I also noticed something slightly annoying. When the camera starts a new file there's a 2 second gap, which today just happened to occur when a van heading into a roundabout nearly didn't stop in time.

[master6]

I have the External Power Pack for my 808 #16. The cable that came with it is sloppy at the connection to the Power Pack when charging, and the slightest movement interupts charging. I can use the USB cable that came with the camera, without this problem.
I have sent the following email to Eletopine 365, and will let you know the result.
Apart from this problem, I am very happy with the power pack.

Email sent:-

I have received the External Power Pack for my 808 #16 camera. The cable for the pack is not a tight fit in the power pack, and when I connect it to charge, any slight movement will interupt the the charging. I then move it a little, and charging starts again. I have tried the USB cable that came with the camera, and it fits more tightly into the power pack, and I can move it on my desk while charging, and it does not cause a problem. I need two cables so that I can charge both my camera and power pack at the same time.

[master6]

I have the External Power Pack for my 808 #16. The cable that came with it is sloppy at the connection to the Power Pack when charging, and the slightest movement interupts charging. I can use the USB cable that came with the camera, without this problem.
I have sent the following email to Eletopine 365, and will let you know the result.
Apart from this problem, I am very happy with the power pack.

Email sent:-

I have received the External Power Pack for my 808 #16 camera. The cable for the pack is not a tight fit in the power pack, and when I connect it to charge, any slight movement will interupt the the charging. I then move it a little, and charging starts again. I have tried the USB cable that came with the camera, and it fits more tightly into the power pack, and I can move it on my desk while charging, and it does not cause a problem. I need two cables so that I can charge both my camera and power pack at the same time.

The reply from eletopine365 was prompt:-


"Dear friend,

Thanks for your message. Sorry to hear that. The cables with the ups charger is universial, so it may be not as good as the our special cable for #16 camera. Like my own universial usb cable, it is not as good as the special cable for my Nokia mobile phone. Like many digitial device, it will be better to charge the ups charger frist, then you can take the ups charger to charge the camera when you want to use our #16 camera. Or it may hurt the ups charger, like the mobile phone, it may hurt the phone if you use it while charging.

Thanks much for your kindly understanding. Any other confusion, please kindly advise by return. Looking forward to your reply.

Regards,
Mandy"

This is not the reply I expected. I dont care whether something is as good as , not as good as, better, or worse. I just want something that works satisfactorily, and the cable supplied with the External Battery Pack is not satisfactory in my opinion. I expected to be supplied with a cable that works, if necessary, another one like the one that came with the camera. I want to be able to charge both the camera battery, and the external battery at the same time, as the process is time consuming, and surely I will get longer recording time by having both batteries fully charged.

[GraemeL]

Let me get this straight....

You have a dodgy cable that came with the external battery, is this the short one that you connect to the camera when out and about or the long one?

If it's the long one that you connect to the PC to charge, you can use any USB cable to charge it. The same goes for the camera, you can use any USB cable to charge the camera from the PC.

Graeme

[GraemeL]

So I stuck some OneWrap velcro around the 808 and its mount and took it for a spin today:



Much smoother. No wobbling at all. That puffing sound you hear is my supreme unfitness.

I'm thinking about getting some Sugru and making up a helmet mount for the camera, just for slightly different perspective.

I also noticed something slightly annoying. When the camera starts a new file there's a 2 second gap, which today just happened to occur when a van heading into a roundabout nearly didn't stop in time.

Looks a lot better The delay in recording is just something we have to put up with, the couple of seconds is needed to close off the file and start a new one.

Graeme

[khendar]

So I stuck some OneWrap velcro around the 808 and its mount and took it for a spin today:



Much smoother. No wobbling at all. That puffing sound you hear is my supreme unfitness.

I'm thinking about getting some Sugru and making up a helmet mount for the camera, just for slightly different perspective.

I also noticed something slightly annoying. When the camera starts a new file there's a 2 second gap, which today just happened to occur when a van heading into a roundabout nearly didn't stop in time.

Looks a lot better The delay in recording is just something we have to put up with, the couple of seconds is needed to close off the file and start a new one.

Graeme

I think what I might do is turn loop recording off, get a bigger SD card and and set the file cutoff length to 40 minutes. That'll cover a commute no problems and limit the number of gaps.

[AUbicycles]

I am having problems formatting 16GB class 6 microSDHC card for a Contour GPS on loan. The original 2GB card works fine, but is too small. The 16GB won't format - either the camera turns off, or I press the formatting button (for a while) and nothing happens. Now I am following the described process by contour for this model camera. I tried the microSDHC card (with an adapter) in another camera and it was fine, and recording is ok.

For the Contour GPS, there are some alternative instructions - a format with an SD formatter (software) or formatting via the computer - both of these however rely on the camera/card mounting, which it is not doing for me.

Any ideas? The card is compatible (from specs) but not giving me much joy.

[GraemeL]

I am having problems formatting 16GB class 6 microSDHC card for a Contour GPS on loan. The original 2GB card works fine, but is too small. The 16GB won't format - either the camera turns off, or I press the formatting button (for a while) and nothing happens. Now I am following the described process by contour for this model camera. I tried the microSDHC card (with an adapter) in another camera and it was fine, and recording is ok.

For the Contour GPS, there are some alternative instructions - a format with an SD formatter (software) or formatting via the computer - both of these however rely on the camera/card mounting, which it is not doing for me.

Any ideas? The card is compatible (from specs) but not giving me much joy.

Check the pins on the card, paying attention to the little plastic strips that run along the pins, make sure none of them are broken. Using a rubber, give the pins a clean. Put the card back into the camera, making sure the card is seated properly.

Have you tried these particular steps....

The ContourGPS must be formatted with the formatting “pinhole” button on the camera. To format a microSD card, follow the steps below.

Please note that all data on the microSD card will be lost during the format and that the record switch must not be in the forward position during this process.


Power up the camera withOUT the microSD card installed.
The camera wil beep 3 times. Now install the microSD card.
Using a pin or small nail, push and hold down the pinhole "formatting" button located above the microSD card slot. The camera will beep once when the format is complete.
Release the pinhole button only after the camera beeps.
Wait for 60 seconds.
Power off the camera by holding down the power button for 3-5 seconds.
Power up the camera again. The camera should have zero video files on it and be ready to shoot footage.

Other things to try....

To reformat the Micro SD card on a PC:

Insert the SD card in your computer
Click the "Start" button and go to "Computer"
Find the SD card in the listing for "Computer"
Right click on the SD card, and select "Format"
Use Fat 32 w/ default allocation and select the "Quick Format" box


To reformat the Micro SD card on a Mac:

Find the “Disk Utility” (should be found by going to your “Applications” folder and then your “Utilities” folder)
Select the SD card drive and select “Erase”
Use MSDOS FAT setting and select “Erase”


If the above do not work, then try this (Mac only):

Find the “Disk Utility” (should be found by going to your “Applications” folder and then your “Utilities” folder)
Select the SD card drive and select “Erase”
Use MSDOS FAT setting and select “Erase”
Click on the “Partition Tab
Select the pull-down menu beneath the text “Volume Scheme:” labeled “Current” and select “1 Partition”
Click the “Options...” button
Select “Master Boot Record” and click “OK”
Verify that the format is selected as MS-FAT under “Volume Information”
Click the “Apply” button
When you get the dialog box, click the “Partition” button

If you have tried the above and it still does not work....

Leave the card in the camera and connect the camera to the pc, switch over to USB mode and see if it reads the card, if so format it while it's in the camera using one of the above methods.

If you have a card reader put the card into that and see if it will format.

Try another USB cable

Try and format the card on another PC/Mac using the above methods.



If you have tried all of the above and it still won't format, I would be sending it back.

Hope it helps

Graeme

[GraemeL]

I think what I might do is turn loop recording off, get a bigger SD card and and set the file cutoff length to 40 minutes. That'll cover a commute no problems and limit the number of gaps.

Fat32 has a max filesize of 4gig, so as long as your 40 min filesize is less than that you will be ok, but if it is more then you will have a two second gap.
Another thing to think about is if something goes wrong, the file is corrupted etc the battery dies and the file is not saved, you lose a larg chunk of video.

Graeme

[Crawf]

Was in Masters over the weekend and spotted one of these for $240: http://www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product=1297
Packaging looked near identical to GoPro, specs near the same, but you get a remote and LCD included with the Swann.
I do wonder whether these things are coming out of the same factory just with different casings?

[Baalzamon]

Just got my GoPro Hero2 today. Took less than a week to get here from davemotors.