Track Cams

Hi

Would like to add my 2 cents on the Go Pro.

I have the same one as the Captain had. I agree that the sound just sucks. I would have liked to have better battery life and also support for bigger than 2gb cards.

However I bought this camera to do outside recordings on the NSX and my track motorcycle. It will be used to have some on board movies from the track and also on the streets when I attend track meetings or cruises of some kind. It will be put in a compilation of some sort.

I have a small plastic bag with Ni-mh batteries and also 3*2gb cards. I'v not tested it that much. But what I see is that I get about 50 minutes recording on a 2gb card on a set of ni-mh batteries. If I change the batteries I can take about 150 still images before the 2gb card is completly full.

On trackmeetings or cruises I will have my MSI Wind U100 Netbook with a 500gb harddrive. I can dump all info on the sdcards to the netbook in minutes.

Inside the car I have had a mini dv camera next to the headrest on the passenger seat. It has worked good. It is a old JVC GRDV3 which will be changed into HD camera of some sort in the future.

I have made a small video just to show what can be done with the Hero. The space availible on the website is very small so the thing is highly compressed.

It can be found here

The still images is taken with the camera too. The quality of the recording is okey and this test video do not show how good it can be. The videos on the Hereos website is the way it really is when you are not restricted on the web as I am.

It does what I want it to do. The inside recordings will be in dv quality and will be in hd some time in the future.

Bang for the buck? Well for me it does what it is supposed to do and at a cheap price. I have it in front of the car. All things I record will be edited and put in a movie of some sort anyway so sound is not importent.

I will use it on my track bike too and also on the roadbike when I get it.

That was my 2 cents..well I guess it is at least 10 dollers worth of opinons :smile:

Regards
 
stuntman said:
The new GoPro wide angle has different internals that is far more efficient and lasts 2.5-3 hours on a set of LITHIUM ION BATTERIES. -GoPro only recommends Lithium Ion batteries in their original one, but V1 only lasts ~50 minutes on a set of batteries. Any re-chargable or 'cheaper' batteries won't last 50 minutes and dont work well at all in extreme cold climates.

Old V1 can only use a 2GB SD card = ~50 mins as well.
The New Wide-Angle camera can use a 4 (and I think 6GB) card for ~3 hours of video.

Set sound on Low, and it should be okay for mounting outside the car. If you mount it inside, remove the white weatherstripping to get more sound.

If the batteries are dead, they will only record a few minutes. I got in the habit of replacing the 2GB SD card and batteries after every 45-50 mins. The new wide angle is much better.


If my needs were purely in-car, I would get an HD camera. But since I need to look at suspension articulation, wheel travel, mount the camera in bizzare/high hazard areas (I also use it for in-car to view line/shifting of students) but as a whole, they serve my needs.

CL65 Captain has different needs and the HD cam is a better fit. With that in mind, think about what you need/will use it for, but if you're creative and want some pretty badass angles, the GoPro is hard to beat.
Click to expand...

As Billy stated previoulsy the battery issue ect. was updated in the new Wide Hero

Anyone that is intrested in a GO PRO Hero wide motorsports or any other GO PRO units i have a GB (see link below)

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122646

I do not need to meet a minimum order so i'll be ordering them in a week or two.
 
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My last vid was shot on the Gopro hero wide. The newest one. At first I had it behind the seat, and it focused entirely on the seat and I got nothing else. Then I put it on my dash, right on top of the cluster. This thing is TINY and very light, one small piece of velcro and its on. Its maybe 2" by 3", I took it out of the waterproof case. Then I had the mic on high and got nothing but static. Put it on low, and you can hear fairly well, the window was down so imagine the wind at 130 MPH coming in... still it captured sound but you can hear it pop at high speeds. The picture quality is not bad, but not great. You can see the jiggly effect.

I am returning it. Overall, I LOVE how small it is and how light it is. But it needs an external mic input and maybe a bit better resolution. Still, this is basically a camcorder for $200. I bought mine at REI because you can get a refund anytime. Unfortunately it is just not good enough. I'd spend more to get something better. Here is the vid, click HQ. The original is better still, but not all that different. For some reason I can't seem to embed this...

click here

What I am looking for now is an SD card based multi-channel recorder I can attach my own cams and microphones to. They seem hard to find. This would give several shots and sound sources.

Oh and I am having lithium ion batts die in about 30 minutes. Its good enough, but you do go through some expensive batteries.
 
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The new wide doesn't look much better than the old one I have and I have no idea why they didn't include a mic jack when they redesigned it. :mad:

As I have said before, with my modded Aiptek I bought a $20 lapel mic and settled for mounting it inside the trunk after trying several other locations. I tried putting it inside a 35mm film container stuffed with foam and mounting it in the recessed area above the license plate and several other external locations. None of which would negate the wind noise at 100+ mph. The best location that picked up the exhaust sound w/o any wind noise was inside the trunk.

Dave, the new $200 Aiptek is HD and has an external mic jack. :biggrin: The hard part is finding a non-permanent place to mount. I found a new extension to use on my Panavise suction cup mount for the rear.... will report back if it works without excessive jiggle.
 
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in comparing the vides in the previous post #2 i think the Aiptek seemed clearer as it's 720p and but my only issue is the frame rate seems jumpy. As if it is in slow motion (watch the drivers hands and out of cabin scenery be jumpy as it is played in the video). The go pro seems smother but not as clean on the image size. As for sound recording if you have access to MBQuartz mics or other units they work extremly well.
 
I tried the Aiptek Action HD today and now I understand what CL65 Captain was talking about. The auto focus stinks and the lens trying to focus makes it zoom in and out a little bit and it looks really lame. That model also doesn't have a microphone jack. I returned it to walmart and am probably going to order the GVS from Amazon. It did a much better job of getting video in the car with the 720p 30fps setting than my Canon HV20. The 60fps 720p setting had horrible compression artifacts and was unusable.

The noise in low light situations was pretty bad and it wasn't nearly as clear as my HV20, but of course that's what you get with a $150 camera. :biggrin:

I also didn't like how it adjusted to light level changes. It changes exposures too fast or something and is noticable.

I made a video comparing my Canon HV20 and the Aiptek Action HD on the same road on the same mount. You can see the autofocus zoom issue quite clearly.

http://www.vimeo.com/5708312
 
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CL65 Captain said:
I believe the new Action GSV has a feature to lock the focus at infinity. :wink:
Click to expand...

Yeah you push down on the little direction stick or something to lock it. Is this the same way yours works? Does it stay locked until you shut off the camera?
 
I just received the Flip Video Ultra HD 120 as a gift.
Before I unwrap it, I'd like to know if anyone knows if this is a good option for the track or should I exchange it for something else?
 
ryneen said:
I just received the Flip Video Ultra HD 120 as a gift.
Before I unwrap it, I'd like to know if anyone knows if this is a good option for the track or should I exchange it for something else?
Click to expand...

That a more advanced version of the original Flip video I have but I have been using mine with no problems. However some might want something better for the track. I guess it just depends on how good you want the video to be.

The thing I like about the Flip is its ease of use and how simple it is to upload to Youtube or another site.

One problem I do have is I have to bring my laptop with me to the track as the original Flip only holds 30 minutes of video so I have to download after each session.

Here is a vid from the track using my non-HD Flip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf9YkgQGJzw


What is the capacity of the new Flip? Also isnt it HD now? I might pick up a new one for the track.
 
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ryneen said:
I just received the Flip Video Ultra HD 120 as a gift.
Before I unwrap it, I'd like to know if anyone knows if this is a good option for the track or should I exchange it for something else?
Click to expand...

Just my $0.02 but I think ANY camera for the NSX/track NEEDS an external mic jack. I modified mine (PITA to take a part and soldier), but as far as I know the new Aiptek Action GVS is the only cheap camera that now comes with a mic jack. Nothing spoils a good track video like wind noise. :wink:
 
CL65 Captain said:
Just my $0.02 but I think ANY camera for the NSX/track NEEDS an external mic jack. I modified mine (PITA to take a part and soldier), but as far as I know the new Aiptek Action GVS is the only cheap camera that now comes with a mic jack. Nothing spoils a good track video like wind noise. :wink:
Click to expand...

Yeah the wind noise does suck. Where do you place the mic? I think at one time I just put some electrical tape over the mic on my Flip and that reduced the wind noise but I could still here the engine revs. Also I suppose you could just edit your video and put a cool sound track over it.
 
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Dhalsim said:
Yeah the wind noise does suck. Where do you place the mic? I think at one time I just put some electrical tape over the mic on my Flip and that reduced the wind noise but I could still here the engine revs. Also I suppose you could just edit your video and put a cool sound track over it.
Click to expand...

Ran a $20 lapel mic (Radio Shack) with a long cord to the trunk.

<object width="800" height="450"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5268330&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5268330&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="800" height="450"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/5268330">Chasing down a ZR1 at Putnam Park</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1145149">James Ackerman</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
 
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My two biggest concerns with getting a new video camera are it being wide angle as well as having good white balance in order to create a good picture. Do any of the video cameras have wide angle besides the Go Pro wide?
 
You can always attach wide-angle lenses. These have adhesive-backed metallic rings that stick permanently on your camera, and then a lense with a built-in magnet clips onto the ring. These can fall off on a track, so it's a good idea to wrap some electrical tape around it too.

Also, with a wide-angle lense, you can take automotive tint and place a strip over half of the lense. Align it so the tint covers the window portion of your camera, so you have a good view of your dashboard gauges on sunny days :wink:

Dave
 
Mac Attack said:
You can always attach wide-angle lenses. These have adhesive-backed metallic rings that stick permanently on your camera, and then a lense with a built-in magnet clips onto the ring. These can fall off on a track, so it's a good idea to wrap some electrical tape around it too.

Also, with a wide-angle lense, you can take automotive tint and place a strip over half of the lense. Align it so the tint covers the window portion of your camera, so you have a good view of your dashboard gauges on sunny days :wink:

Dave
Click to expand...

I added a Sunpak 0.45x wide angle to my Aiptek and taped it on with electrical tape.

SUCAM2110.jpg
 
great info. Thanks.
 
ryneen said:
I just realized my Flip Video Utra HD has 16:9 wide angle and good light balance. What else can I ask for!
Camera statistics: http://store.theflip.com/UltraHD.aspx
Click to expand...

How about an external mic input? the built in mikes are no good. I'd get the Aiptek, and I'd get a different mount. That suction cup one is too flimsy. I think there are better ones. I have used better ones but I forget who made them.
 
I've got a JVC non-HD hard drive/sd card camera that I use, picked up a $30 wideangle adapter and a suction cup mount off of ebay, it works pretty well for what it is, I just wish it did HD :redface:

<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fjPYzXylCk0&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fjPYzXylCk0&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>
 
ryneen said:
I just realized my Flip Video Utra HD has 16:9 wide angle and good light balance. What else can I ask for!
Camera statistics: http://store.theflip.com/UltraHD.aspx

I just bought this triple suction mount from Chasecam and will be tracking the car at the end of January. I'll post some videos so you can see the quality.
Mount info: https://www.chasecam.com/mounts/suction/SM30
Click to expand...

Here's a video of this setup. Very inexpensive and great video. Unfortunately I didn't have it mounted very well and there's more dash then window.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBHLKTpL_8s
 
Re: Back in the camera hunt

Well, after having my 3 year old (original) GoPro ripped off the rear wing in a big shemozzle recently, I'm looking for a replacement camera. GoPro has made lots of improvements in the past 9 months and are maintaining good popularity with us formula car guys. Contour is also on my list and is a bit more aerodynamic.

Needs to be rugged, waterprro/resistant, self contained, low cost and simple (eliminates ChaseCam for me). any other suggestions?
 

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