Video camera mounting positions??

Hi all,

Following from one of my previous posts, I have recently picked up a Contour Roam2 camera + mount. Ease of use and price was too good to ignore. I am tossing up where to place it in front of my seating position. It only comes with the one 3M adhesive for the mount so I don’t want to waste it!

Can users of cameras please share where they place them (front and rear) with photos if possible?
How far along the front of the boat do they place them and what are the advantages/disadvantages of doing this?
Tethering to the boat is also important so what do people do here particularly as you push it further away from the cockpit?
I know it will vary depending on the video format frame rates used as well so any insight would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Glen

Hi Glen,


I use Contour cameras too, great little gadgets. Not sure what ski you paddle, but on the Think boats, I use a handle bar mount from Contour and attach it to the safety handle at either end of the ski. The camera can then be easily rotated, for front and back angles, and swapped from front to back of the ski with a small screwdriver in seconds. You can also easily adjust the tilt to get a profile of the paddler.

I did have a mount which I had to tape each time, and that was a serious pain in the back side. I've only used the mount you're talking about once, for the side angle in this video.



The small mount you are playing with is pretty restrictive, and there isn't much room for adjustment after it's fitted. Also not sure if you will get a good paddler profile as it will be very low to the deck. The additional mounts are quite cheap and might be worth looking at.

Cheers.

I use GoPros and they come with a variety of mounting options.

I often mount on deck pointing backwards at an angle so that the paddler is to one side of the shot and you can play with other paddlers coming behind or alongside.

The deck mount is a sucker mount - and I always reinforce it with some duct tape.

Other advantages of this mounting: you get a sensation of speed because the camera is close to the water; the lens is frequently cleared by waves washing over.

I also frequently use a helmet mount, which gives a nice point of view. But you have to remember to stop occasionally to wash the lens which tends to accumulate spray droplets.

I've been experimenting with a camera mast, positioned behind the paddler. It gives a great point of view, but presents a challenge for keeping the lens clean. We're building a system to irrigate the camera, driven from a pump in the cockpit... If we get it right I'll post the details.

But the main thing is to try to come up with innovative points of view - it's gets very boring seeing the same old "paddler in the centre of the frame" shots (IMO)!

Have fun!

I've got a Contour with a Kayalu suction mount and mast. In this video it's aft of the rudder and you can see the tether to the bungee cords. You're probably going to want to play with different angles so plan on getting more mounts or one that you can move around. I also use the handlebar mount on an old bike helmet.

I've got a Contour with a Kayalu suction mount and mast

Is it just me or does the camera seem to be bouncing like crazy?

Yeah Rob, I think it vibrates a little. Not sure if it's the mount, the hull flexing or the mast not tightened up enough (or all three!). It may be picking up a lot of vibration being so close to the rudder. You can push the camera from side to side a little with your finger so I imagine any hull vibration or knocks reverberates up the mast, especially its various joints. Hadn't worried about it, until now. Thanks

Cheers,

Peter

Here's a video that I put together recently that was intended to test a 1m mast which I located about 1m in front of the rudder. I think it gives a great viewpoint.

The challenge with this mount is how to keep the lens of the GoPro clean - we stopped every 15min or so for my buddy to splash and clean it. We're building system to squirt water through a pipe connected to a bladder in the cockpit.

Rob - what boats are you and the other single ski paddling...?

coldwater wrote: Rob - what boats are you and the other single ski paddling...?

I'm on a 13kg Vacuum glass epoxy Swordfish.
My buddy Dale is on a 17kg glass Knysna Kayaks Genius Blu.

Rob - how's the mast attached? The perspective from that height gives a better impression of the size of the sea. It looks great.

may need its own post,
but what software are people using for video editing, i'm looking for something reaaaaaly simple, just to cut up longer clips into manageable posting sizes etc.

A

Physio wrote: may need its own post,
but what software are people using for video editing, i'm looking for something reaaaaaly simple, just to cut up longer clips into manageable posting sizes etc.

A

Windows Movie maker can do that comes with most Windows's

Punches wrote: Rob - how's the mast attached? The perspective from that height gives a better impression of the size of the sea. It looks great.

The mast was built out of a discarded carbon windsurfer mast, bonded onto a wide baseplate that was moulded off the deck of my Mako Elite. Fortunately it fits the deck of my Swordfish too!

The way I attach it is twofold - I used self-adhesive velcro, but I also duct tape the baseplate to the deck as well. Finally I have a safety line that goes from the mast along the side of the deck (taped with small bits of duct tape) forward to the footstrap.

what software are people using for video editing,

Coming from a GoPro and Mac perspective, I use the (free) GoPro Cineform Studio software to view and cut segments out of the raw video files, then I use iMovie to put the stuff together.

Alternatively, you can use QuickTime.

But editing is a huge pain whichever way you do it!

I have to say that the perspective in this video helped me find what I think may be a major flaw in my technique...

It seems that you go a lot further and faster, if you actually stay in the ski.

Any problems with the taller mounts during the unexpected airborne-occupant events that may sometimes occur?

thanks saslex, windows movie maker seems pretty easy, so far.







a cpl of snapshots pulled off a clip, the vid was otherwise too boring to post.

Has anyone else has problems runing the ciniform software from gopro, I can intal it but when I try to run it.. nothing...

Physio wrote:

Are you paddling a submarine?

sAsLEX wrote:
Are you paddling a submarine?

maybe less doughnuts needed, or a higher volume boat?

Rob,

That high perspective gives a much better viewing angle.

Makes the sea look more like it probably or actually is compared to the deck mount, that seems to turn cyclonic conditions into lakes.

Also captures companion padders much better. Well done. Now just to find an old broken sailboard mast.

I guess there is no swaying effect from having that sort of (although light) weight up so high, or I guess you would have mentioned it?

I guess there is no swaying effect from having that sort of (although light) weight up so high, or I guess you would have mentioned it?

The first time I used the mast, it was on my Fenn Mako Elite, and I did feel a little more tippy. But no, on the Swordfish, I can't say that I feel much difference. That's actually why I got the SF in the first place - to be a stable camera platform.

What it did seem to do though, was affect the trim of the boat, which I expected, but in a good way - which I didn't expect. It seemed to me that it was even easier to catch runs...

It's something I've wanted to experiment with actually - putting a small (500gm or less) weight on the nose or tail to move the centre of gravity to see whether it makes it easier to catch runs.