Helmet cam setup

Techniques and equipment.

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Postby Stelios Zacharias » Oct 27, 2007 4:45 am

I should have my own Fenix in my hands on Monday and out for a test next weekend. Do post your results.

Stelios
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Postby Rick Brinkman » Nov 15, 2007 11:32 am

Here's my attempt at a helmet cam.

Image

Image

I used my Canon Powershot SD 450 set on movie mode. It was set on 320x240 and 30 fps. I could go up to 640x480, but I would need more/bigger sd cards. I filled up two 1GB cards as it was.

Lighting was using my 3W spot on my Apex and two additional 3W flashlights.

Here is a link to some of the footage:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MnDYNhq9H0w


Not great, but I'm pretty happy for my first try. :woohoo:
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Postby NZcaver » Nov 15, 2007 12:43 pm

Nice work!

Love the "predator" style 3 circles of light in some of the footage! I've used my little Canon (an A-540) for shooting in-cave video clips too. Can't say I mounted it to my helmet like you did, but the results weren't bad. The quality and low-light characteristics with the Canon are certainly better than with the ATC2K helmet cam, even if the latter is more compact and convenient.
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Postby Rick Brinkman » Nov 18, 2007 2:49 pm

Thanks!

The footage on YouTube is just to show how the light levels worked and how much camera shake there was. Personally, I don't like the lighting. I just used what I had on hand. I need to find a couple lights that I can strap on that have a lot more flood.

The camera is pretty exposed too. I'd be afraid to take this setup in a crawl or in a wet cave.

One of the guys in the footage works at a TV station and thinks that a little more detail can be brought out when he edits it together.

When done...should have a 1/2 hour+ of a 2-drop vert cave trip. If nothing else, my parents finally get to see what that cave looks like. :tonguecheek:
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Postby Stelios Zacharias » Nov 19, 2007 10:20 am

Stelios Zacharias wrote:I should have my own Fenix in my hands on Monday and out for a test next weekend. Do post your results.

Stelios



Well, I got my Fenix - one AA model and one 2 X AA model. Both eat their way through batteries very fast on full power. So fast I am not sure how useful they will be for lighting video for any length of time. This coupled with the tight beam might restrict their use for me.

I am going to post again once I have actually tried them out in real conditions.
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Postby NZcaver » Nov 19, 2007 12:31 pm

Stelios - JoeyS recently posted a link to this Zebralight in another thread. I realize we've both just gone out and spent a wad of money on the Fenix flashlights... but I wonder if a wide-angle light like this might be useful with a helmet cam? It's limited for throw range and will probably be a little blinding to anyone you're caving with, but it might work well for illuminating anything within a body length or so.

I've been happy with my Fenix AA flashlight. Reading the specs, I expected it to eat through batteries on high power. It seems to do better with NiMHs than alkalines, and it does really well on the 3v lithium cell I have in there right now. If I'm using it with the ATC2K, I'm limited to an hour of shooting time anyway (2GB card, highest quality).

Yes, like the PT Apex high beam, the Fenix beam is really a little tight for good results. I wonder how it would work if we supplemented our regular helmet cam lighting with a wide angle IR LED light?

I hope to post the results and observations of my first in-cave helmet cam experiences soon. I just have to make the time to do it!
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Postby Realms » Nov 19, 2007 5:23 pm

Luxeon Endor...mmmmmmm..........
never stop imagining what could someday come to pass...
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Postby NZcaver » Nov 19, 2007 6:36 pm

Realms wrote:Luxeon Endor...mmmmmmm..........

300 lumens...mmm...mmm...mmm, blinding. Look out, here comes the train!
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Postby Realms » Nov 22, 2007 10:59 pm

540 @700ma....mmmmmmmmmm :grin:
never stop imagining what could someday come to pass...
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Postby Stelios Zacharias » Nov 23, 2007 3:06 am

NZcaver wrote:Stelios - JoeyS recently posted a link to this Zebralight in another thread.


Must... not... become... flashlight-junkie

aaarrrgg!!

(Zebra is on the way...)
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Re: Helmet cam setup

Postby Videocaver » Apr 1, 2008 11:08 am

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Re: Helmet cam setup

Postby barcelonacvr » Apr 1, 2008 1:11 pm

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