Curious after looking at so many great photos of trips and in particularly, action riding shots, what people use. I have a great camera, but not a small or new video camera. I've seen the folks on the ski hill with the Gopod are something like that.....any ideas? Also, how do you mount these....helmet or other?
Don Fitzpatrick
Woodinville, WA
2011 1200RT
1999 XR650L
Almost any digital camera is capable of taking excellent photographs, and many can serve quite well to make short video clips. The key is the operator of the camera.
You need to determine the extent of your desires in making photographs and / or videos balanced with the amount of money that you wish to spend and the time you wish to invest in learning some basic techniques and post processing the videos.
There is a whole topic herein dedicated to photography. You might do well to browse for some tips and enjoy some of the images -
http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=37
Guidance on so-called point-and-shoot cameras, which are ideal for motorcycling as they are fairly small and relatively inexpensive, can be found in this ADV thread -
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=457958
Several of the digital cameras that I've obtained have been the result of admiring the photos of other folks' moto adventures. Those cameras include predecessors to these units -
http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0356660
http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0345090
On-line vendors such as Adorama and B&H Photo often have better prices than local shops.
http://www.adorama.com/
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
The Vimeo website not only hosts some interesting indy videos, they have a nice little "video school" which has some good information -
http://vimeo.com/videoschool/lessons
The helmet mounted camera that you saw was likely the GoPro. There are a variety of units available. Following are a couple of websites that review many of these helmet cameras -
http://helmetcameracentral.com/
http://www.helmetcamreview.com/
Wow this is great, lots of info! I will sort through some of the threads and undoubtably have a good direction to go from there. I don't need to spend a fortune, but think it will be fun to have some "on board" action shots. Thanks again for all the info!
Don Fitzpatrick
Woodinville, WA
2011 1200RT
1999 XR650L
This little camera is what many professionals use for action shots on a helmet or mounted to a bike, car, or motorcycle.
Be careful to select the kit you will need. There is a helmet mount kit, a motorsports kit, etc. There is also an accessory little monitor that snaps on the back to see what you're shooting/what you've shot.
The clips I've seen from these can be professional quality, depending on the mounting and the operator.
Using almost any conventional videocam gives unacceptable results. The lens won't be wide angle enough to ignore the shocks and vibrations, the unit won't be sufficiently weatherproof, and the camera will not be designed to be sufficiently rugged to survive for long.
You can spend a lot less, and then you can make excuses as to why your clips are too shaky, to blurry, or the latest spill let the good smoke out of your unit.
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