I got a GoPro and started playing with it...
 

..And I really wanted to make the chest mount work, but it can't point high enough and it shakes like mad. I should be getting a helmet mount around Monday, maybe that will be an improvement.

Here's one of my first semi-decent test vids using the gopro handlebar mount and post processing it with virtual dub's deshaker. You can see it in HD on Youtube, also.

Is there anyway you can crop the video to get rid of the shaky black bars all around the vid?

Looks pretty good but most handlebar mounted cameras have that road buzz sound that gets annoying on anything but short videos.

Gotta add some music dude. Splice and split some interesting clips as well. Side note... I've been watching every GoPro video on Youtube and Im about to do the same.

The shaking is because it's a camera without image stabilization built-in, and it's mounted on a bicycle. To reduce the shaking, I used an open source video editor called Virtual Dub and a plugin for it called Deshaker. When there is excessive motion, Deshaker does crop pixels. That's the cause of the black bars moving around at the edges.

Here's what the video looks like without Deshaker. (It's also way higher quality, since it's vimeo and not youtube.)
https://vimeo.com/48885391
Maybe a road bike can do without the stabilization processing, but my MTB vids sure can't. You'll puke in under 5 min watching those in native form! :lol: Actually, watch the top of the hill on both, when I'm out of the saddle. It's a big difference.

I really like the results with my GoPro stem-mounted - I feel like you're more detached and you capture less of the feeling of speed the higher you mount.

YouTube also has some kind of image stabilization (they offer to stabilize if they detect shaking in your vid), but I haven't tried it, yet.

I just used the head strap on my helmet. When mounted this way, a lot of vibrations are avoided.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hheUc...hannel&list=UL


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHn_w...hannel&list=UL

I think the guy understood that, what he was suggesting was that you slightly crop the now deshaken video so the black bars aren't so distracting. You'll lose the outer 10% of the video, but the end result I think will be better.

That first video makes me want to buy a mountain bike. How do you suffer through all of that? Job?

Curious, why is the camera pointed off towards the left and not forward?

Ha, it's pointed forward,I was only able to see half the vid......

Chest Mount, Time Lapse Video and Go Pro Handlebar Mount Problems
 

The chesty mount is an issue given your chest position on a road bike. I'm surprised that it was shaking so much for you. I found far less shake with the chest mount then with the handle bar mount. You may just need to tighten up the straps. You can put it on pretty tight with the elastic. I broke my handle bar mount twice now. The plastic arm snapped. The camera is a pretty heavy weight on a relatively thin plastic stick. What works well with the chesty is mounting it on your back and filming the riders behind you, or cars for that matter. This video has the handle bar and chest mounts pointing both forward and back. I like how the back mounted, where you see the rider behind you, came out.:


Today I decided to try out time lapse video on the Go Pro and it worked out better than I expected (Blog post with editing software and other detail: Time Lapse Video)


I have the helmet mount but haven't tried it yet. I figure I'll look like a Teletubbie with it on my head:
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=271838

Johnny P - Be Self Propelled

Odd...you didn't get helmet mount strap? I got one in my GoPro box.

Here's what you want to use if you want to minimize shaking and mount it on the handlebar:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=271848

K-EDGE GO BIG GoPro Adapter for Gopro Hero

http://www.amazon.com/K-EDGE-Handleb...ndlebar+k-edge

Huge improvement in video quality. I don't have any videos uploaded but it's well worth the money.

My dad bought the GoPro and bought the motorsports package.

I'm definitely ordering a K-Edge mount. Aluminum and a like how it positions the camera below and forward of the handlebars. Thanks for sharing!

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=271849

+1

Try the hand mount. Takes a little getting used to, but I can elminate the road noise and vid vibration, have all sorts of angle shots, including rear view, side view, and cool panning capability...wherever I point my hand. Going over bridges, I can reach out and point down and get a better sense of the climb over.
I adjust the strap so that I don't have to do a lot of maneuvering; sort of cocked to the side of my hand [looks funny, but works for me].

I'll try and post a sample here [gotta go ride right now]. BTW, I'm surprised I don't see more of these little gadgets at century events etc; they are great little cameras IMHO. I usually just use the bar mount on such event rides; less conspicuous that way [for personal use, memory etc, so I can live with the road noise and vibration etc just for my peruse].

To make the chest mount point higher flip the camera upside down.

this works somewhat, but when I stop the camera points at the friggin' sky. :(

I don't have a horizontal torso, I'm not pro. :thumb: I'm regular roadie low between 40 and 30 degrees I would guess (zero being horizontal). But without flipping the camera, the chest mount sure won't work.

You inspired me. :)
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/35896/Scree...22.04%20PM.png
Broke for the week now... :(

BUT, when I'm watching a video from a helmet cam, I usually have to excuse myself and vomit after 10-12 seconds. SO MUCH MOVEMENT. I could barely get past you getting across the intersection before having to stop. handlebar mount + little vibration and road noise is better than any helmet cam IMO. Besides, watching video footage from a road bike has to be edited very well and more than just road traveling in order to keep my attention anyway.

Love my K-Edge mount. If you mount it upside-down like the above image, make sure you run through the config routine to flip the video before shooting. You still get a lot of bike noise. You can even count your cadence. (I take a turn or two with an old, cut-up inner tube around the handlebar before tightening the screws. Mostly to "protect" the bar from scratching.)

That's the problem with the chest mount on a road bike. Depending on your hand position, hoods or drops, you have to reposition the camera or you're shooting the ground or sky. Don't get me wrong, the chest mount provides a unique point of view and I like it but like GoPro's plastic handlebar mount, there is lots of shaking going on. Here's an older video I shot using the chest mount. Of course, I edited out all the parts when I had I was shooting the ground and sky but you can get an idea:


One of these days, I'll have to get my arse in gear and post a video with my K-Edge mount.

+1 for both the mount and configuring the GoPro for upside down shooting. I protected my handlebars with 3M clear bra or Crankskins patches.