Helmet Cam - The Best Way?

[Craig Lieberman]

Jad's right.

The HV30 would require you to use the VividRGB (Cine) setting (IIRC) to even come close.

The ContourHD's provide pretty vivid colors. Good in many cases, requires tweaks to match to any other HDV camera.


Nevertheless, their stability at speed, durability and ease of mounting on vehicles make them a must have for me.

For your project, there are many options, me thinks.

[M. Paul El-Darwish]

I use a Mino HD120 (720p) for car shots and Kodak Zi8 for bike shots. Not sure why these have not been mentioned here.

[Paul Cronin]

Hi Craig,

Marcus you can achieve those shots with either camera. I have had great results with CountourHD and GoPro mounted to the inside windshield of a helicopter with the suction cups. Also some of those clips the camera is mounted on the shoulder of the pilot easy with the right mount.

I prefer the GoPro since it is 1080p the CountorHD I have is 720p. But CountorHD now has a 1080p option. Remember these are very low bit rate cameras 12-15Mbps on the 1080p cameras so use sparingly if the production is for more then just the web.

[Marcus Martell]

Sup Paul?
Check what i found it on the site of this awesome photographer.Look what kind of system do use European Aerobatic team to shoot from the cockpit
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/d...ci2009_258.jpg

Whaere can i find your interesting on board shots?I m very curious

[Marcus Martell]

Paul is what u use on your video"Bird's Eye View Helicopter Promo"..

awesome footage on your site

[Paul Cronin]

Hi Marcus,

Thanks glad you like the short promo for my pilot's company and some of my footage.

I have not posted any of the interior clips from the helmet cam shoot yet. It is on my list of items to edit.

I do have one still that I grabbed from the helmet cam footage here it is. We have been flying and shooting together for 6 years and have a blast as a team. This is one of the rare shoots where we do not have a producer in the front seat.

[Marcus Martell]

Just saw this pic on your blog.....

Now finally i have the right person to speak with talkin about shooting from helicopters!

Just went on board a couple of times here in EU but i was only with a z1 handheld no gyros oe wescam! Do you have any suggestions to shoot from a small helicopter?

thx mate

What do u think about the picture linked above?

[Paul Cronin]

The picture linked above is nice if you have room for a bigger camera and it is inside. You can not have any camera outside unless it is approved in the US by FAA.

Hand held is a tough deal. Go into my blog and you will see a post that shows three options of shooting. Hand held, Gyro hand held (two Kenyon KS-8's, and our old gyro rig mounted the machine with four KS-8's. This post was done a few years ago so it is old info but still a go idea on how the footage will look. Gyro Stabilized shooting – WhiteCap Video Blog

Our new rig is two KS-12's which is four times more stable then four KS-12's. The reason we keep upgrading is more focal length while still staying rock solid. We compete with the Helicopter with mounts outside at less then 1/2 the price.

If you must hand hold I would suggest you rent two KS-8's and have one inline with the lens under the lens and the other off the back of your shoulder brace with the gyro 90 degrees to the one under the lens. Attached are two pictures of how I did this years ago. But the clients I have now this footage will not be accepted.

Now the next items in my opinion is a must: I record to the Convergent Designs Nano. this lets me use high bit rates up to 280 Mbps I-Frame or 180 Mbps Long GOP. This makes a world of difference for the fast moving footage. Currently I do this on the EX1 but in one month I will be doing this on the new Sony PMW-350 a 2/3" camera. This will open of tons of lens options. We already have 4 days of flight testing lined up in Jan when I receive the camera to test lens options for different focal lengths.

Shooting from helicopter is fun exciting work but you have to be perfectly prepared. I mean perfect. Too much at stake. The pilot should IMHO have at least 3000 hr of flight time in the machine you will be flying. And the list goes on and on. I do not discourage you I encourage you. When we fly and we nail the shot there is no better feeling. Then when I do a shoot on the ground wow it seems easy.

[Paul Cronin]

Sorry here are the two stills I said i would upload.

[Paul Cronin]

We should start a new Thread on Helicopter shooting.

[Marcus Martell]

Awesome gyros...How much do it cost to rent them in US?

[Paul Cronin]

Kenyon Laboratories--Kenyon Gyro Stabilizers for cinematography, cameras and binoculars.