2nd camera and or helmet cam?

[John Locke]

Jeff,

That sounds like the way to go then. I was searching and found this site

http://www.polarispowersports.com/polaces/elecaces/w2873376p.html

but it just doesn't look that sturdy. One thing you never have to worry about with Bogen/Manfrotto...sturdiness.

I'll see if I can track down a super clamp here and let you know how it works out.

[wefdenver]

The Magic Arm I see in pictures does not look strong enough to hold an XL1. Am I right?

[Jeff Donald]

The Bogen Magic Arm will hold and XL1 with no problem. But being just a single support it transmits every little vibration and movement to the camera. The arm is conservatively rated to handle 9 lbs. I've put considerably more than 9 lbs. on it with no problem. Bogen has some old photos on their site also. All the newer Magic Arms have a large knob to tighten the arm, rather than the lever. The new design is much better.

[wefdenver]

I see 2 types of super clamps advertised. With and without a "stud". What is the purpose of the "stud"?

Also, how does the magic arm attach to the super clamp?

[Jeff Donald]

The Magic Arm has a stud on both ends if memory serves me correct. The stud is inserted into the Super Clamp and locked in place by a thumb screw. There is a safety release so that if the thumb srew loosens the Arm doesn't fall off the clamp. The Arm when locked is extremly rigid and can support about 10 lbs. The stud ties into the rest of the Bogen system of clamps, arms, light stands etc.

Jeff

[John Locke]

Hats off to Jeff!

I bought the super clamp...and also needed the stud, and also a plate with a quick release attachment. The stud attaches to the bottom of the plate with quick release, then slides into the super clamp and is securely tightened. Once everything is tightened it's very secure and stable.

The whole thing then clamps down on to the T-juncture of my handlebars. You can point the camera forward, sideways, or even back at yourself. I'm looking at a way to attach it to the rear facing away from me, and then mount my Varizoom monitor on the handlebars in front of me.

The shots are really smooth on smooth surfaces...would be smoother (and quieter) if I didn't have nobby tires, but still it's pretty good. But on surfaces like brick...it's pretty bouncy.

Anyway...it'll work fine for some fast, jittery cam shots...and also for some smooth surface dolly shots. It's funny to see the looks you get when you whiz by with the whole rig.

I'll see if I can get Adrian to bring his camera to take some shots of the whole rig together, and I'll post them along with some examples of footage taken.

Thanks for the suggestion, Jeff.

[Greg Matty]

I just received my helmetcamera.com camera yesterday and I will try it out this weekend. It will be plugged into a ZR-40 so it will be interesting to see what kind of quality I end up with.

If I can get cleaner to work, I will post some video on a site somewhere and post a link to it here. It isn't XL-1 related, but I imagine some people will be curious as to how well it works.

Greg Matty

[Paul Sedillo]

<<<-- Originally posted by Greg Matty : I just received my helmetcamera.com camera yesterday and I will try it out this weekend. It will be plugged into a ZR-40 so it will be interesting to see what kind of quality I end up with.

If I can get cleaner to work, I will post some video on a site somewhere and post a link to it here. It isn't XL-1 related, but I imagine some people will be curious as to how well it works.

Greg Matty -->>>

Greg,

I look forward to seeing a report from you. We are currently working on several projects that could benefit for working with the helmet camera. The price seems reasonable. My team will be shooting a series of mountain bike spots, as well as several multisport events. This device would add a nice flavor.

Also, what cleaner are you working with?

[Greg Matty]

Paul,

I may not have phrased my last post properly. I was referring to Cleaner 5 EZ. That is the free version that shipped with Final Cut Pro. I used Cleaner 4 EZ to compress some QT movies for my website and it worked like a charm. With QT 5, and soon 6, the standard I want to get Cleaner 5 EZ up and running. The only issues is that I can't find my registration information. I don't know if I can still get an unlock code as someone told me that that someome bought Cleaner from someone else. That may or may not make a difference, I will soon know.

With respect to the helmetcamera.com camera, I think I will be impressed. A friend and fellow dirt bike rider has one and I saw some of the footage. It was pretty good. This was viewed through iMovie on a CRT but I still liked what I saw. If I make it back to Costa Rica or Belize to get some new footage for my video, I would not hesitate to use footage from the helmet cam. I know it isn't up to XL-1 or GL-2 standards, but given the dramatic perspective a helmet cam gives, I think it is a fair trade off. BTW, my friend plugged his camera into a ZR-10 and it sill looked good.

I will let you know as soon as I get some footage with it.

Greg Matty

[Margus Kivilaan]

maybe you can have a look at www.boneheadcomposites.com/2002/cameras.htm skydiving camera helmets and accessories. They are using mostly handicams and rarely lipstick cameras
rgrds, Margus