onel0wcubn

What kind of Video setups are you guys using? In the past I've just used my regular vid cam and held it in my hand. I bought a GoPro this summer for my motorcycle and plan on using that for this upcoming season.

Just curious to see what you guys are using.

Anor

You won't get good footage filming yourself. You need someone with control to follow along side. Otherwise 90% of your footage will be useless. In the past a basic handheld with stablization has worked for some fun footage. If you're editting, you might need to drop 4-5k to get anything worth your while. But a camera is basically as good as the person holding it.

onel0wcubn

I'm talking about filming in general while riding..Not of me just holding my camera and going down the mtn.. that's just pointless...

In regards to filming others and vice versa.

ColinHoernig

Last year at Breck I basically just held the camera in my hand using my arm like a stabilizer, but that only works so well and for so long..

A good thing to do is to look at making a handle for you camera if it doesn't have one. SkatePerception.com has a huge amount of tutorials on making handles. That will help stabilize your footage a bit. You could also build or buy a circular stabilizer which suspends the camera in the middle, you hold the ring on the outside and your footage is decently stable, especially with optical stabilization in the camera.

Anor

Yeah dude. Sorry the thread is called "Filming WHILE riding" and I thought you just meant yourself. And I assumed that GoPro was a helm camera, which aren't great for snowboarding footage. But like I said, any camera will do if it has some sort of water balanced stablization. You can get a camera for a little as 400$ with that, and some other features supporting sport use (like water resistance). You and your buddies will learn to ride while keeping a good frame after filming for a few days and reviewing it. Just start with something basic (that won't look like blurry crap) and you'll be fine.

If you test some in the store try some that have stablization by walk briskly (I doubt they'll let you run around with it);shake it; spin around with it. Just do the same thing amoung several cameras and see which appears to balance it's shot best. Not all handhelds are created equal, but in the end you'll need to learn to keep a steady hand with the best of cameras.

I also find my old 8mm tape camera can't film snow at all. It's contrast is so bad not even white balance in editting can fix it. Most new stuff doesn't have this problem at all. A lot of cameras allow lens filters for that, which can be fun to play around with and are only 10-30 bucks a piece.

ColinHoernig

Best bang-for-your-buck camera is the Canon VIXIA series (either HV-10 (if you don't care about size and manual controls), HV-20 or HV-30 would be best). Either the HV-20 or HV-30 can be had for around $400 on eBay, and they shoot in HD, have decent manual controls (shutter speed and aperture, there are some tricks you can use to get the shot you're looking for). I can upload some test footage from Breck when I used my HV30 there last year. Great little camera.

Anor

Colin mentioned the "circular stabilizer". You can get those in a box frame that holds your camera suspended in the middle. Those are a bit bulky, but awesome for protecting your camera from falls. Both kinds work well.

RomeBeta32

I found this two years ago. Buying one soon verses making my own. Cheap on Ebay too!
“The Scorpion” by Cam Caddie – Universal Stabilizing Camera Handle – New Product! « The Filmtools Blog – Filmmaking Equipment & Industry News

ColinHoernig

You could buy that for $60, or you could get a piece of 1/4" aluminium strip, a bicycle grip, and a small screw with a wingnut to hold it on the camera. If you want you can even drill a whole in the top of the handle and mount a shoe on it for accessories (mic, light, etc.). Did all that when I built my first handle for skate filming for < $10.

Mr. Polonia

Mcgiuver

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