The closer the cam is mounted to ground level the more it shows the change in gradient. So a chesty is for example better in that respect than a chin or helmet mount. Even keeping the chesty low on your chest makes a difference. In many scenarios what our eyes perceive as changes of level is in fact changes in light...….using contrasting shades is how an artist shows changes of level in a 2d dimension. So you can emulate that to a degree with grading in an editing suite ( post). I do that that a lot with windsurfing video......a high mounted ( mast) gopro can make a very choppy sea look flat and benign but up the contrast etc and you get to see the shape of the water better. If you want to show the steepness of a climb, the depth of a drop etc, experiment with a mount lower on the bike...….not easy! and puts the gopro at risk!
Using something like the bigger K Edge mount on the bars (ie the gopro fixing point ends up about 100mm below the bars) is a bout as low as is safe for the camera and even then needs to be mounted fairly close to the stem in case of an off.
Yes, hyper smooth is worth it! I've read that you've already decided to get a Hero7 Black - good move! Trust me, you or anyone else won't watch a movie that makes makes you feel sick. You'll just end up deleting them. I've made that mistake!
Thanks for all the info, that’s great.Yes, hyper smooth is worth it! I've read that you've already decided to get a Hero7 Black - good move! Trust me, you or anyone else won't watch a movie that makes makes you feel sick. You'll just end up deleting them. I've made that mistake!
Here are some tips:
I've upload my videos mainly for my brother who lives overseas - so that he and my nephews (who are all into MTBiking) can see what I've been up to. I'm not doing it as a proper channel as such, so I'm not pushing for subscribers or likes. It's just up there as my movie player and I have no intentions or illusions about monetisation. I am however using the channel to learn how to think through a story-board, record footage that fits it accordingly, then grade and post edit my videos to appear as high end as possible. I only have 3 finished videos... plus I have so many other raw footage on the editing queue, but I just can't be bothered at the moment.
- Battery management is key - turn off GPS and as many auto functions as possible... so that the camera is just taking footage and not doing all manner of other tasks that tax the camera's CPU and drain your battery prematurely. My set-ups are on my YouTube video notes.
- Memory management is key - get a 64GB microSD card if you're intending to use just one battery. For longer epic shoots, get a 128GB microSD card but you need to carry a spare battery with you. Make sure the SD card is "high speed memory" and compatible to the Hero7 Black. I use Sandisk Extreme. Using a sub par SD card can cause the camera to overheat.
- Record in 2.7K - to get more footage from your battery and memory card. You can 'up' your output resolution to 4K quality (up-rez) on post edit. 1080p is too low by todays standards - especially if you want to playback your movies through your large 4K TV at home.
- Frames per Second (FPS) selection is key - choose 24fps cinematic standard, or 60fps which is GoPro's recommended for cycling related videos. 24fps will be make smaller files - but surprisingly recording in 60fps is much less than double the file sizes. (see comparative video on this subject below)
- Learn to post edit - this will give your movies variation, so they won't all look the same. You can shorten it, add music, add titles and transitions to make your movies interesting. You need a decent computer if you want to do this. There are also video editing software that are either free or inexpensive. I just use the most basic FILMORA 9 and that's probably all you need... but there could be a learning curve though. If you discover that you're into this sort of stuff, you can do more serious and complex grading work with Da Vinci Resolve - they have a free version which is what I use.
- Upload your movies to YouTube - trust me you're not gonna watch your movies if you have to start-up a computer each time. If it's on Youtube, then it's already archived - and it's so easy to access and watch it on your TV, phone, or other devices... where ever you are. Upload and store them there even if they are "unlisted" or "private." Keep your movies short! We all have short attention spans these days. I try to keep mine around the 5 minute mark or shorter. A 10 minute video needs to have some sort of evolving theme or progressive story line otherwise it's just too long.
Be prepared to spend hours and hours and hours to produce just a short 3-5 minute video. You'll either love it or hate it.
Below is my "new bike day +3" - the first time I took my Trance E+ for a proper run. Excuse the heavy laboured breathing... I have a heart condition.
Don't worry, if you don't want to edit there is Gopro Quik. You can quickly make one of several videos into someThanks for all the info, that’s great.
Sounds a bit complex and time consuming.
I usually just take sort 1-3 min video on my iPhone mounted to the bars at the moment, just to share on FB. Most I do is crop a bit from the start and finish.
So really just after simple stuff that is stable and has a different prospective. (Anything be better than iPhone on the bars really ?)
I don’t even own a HD tv and my laptop is at least 3 years old, and don’t ask me what ram it has ?
The sound on the insta is pretty abysmal that’s all
That was pretty much the same conclusion as 90% of the comments. Quite a few people said it made them motion sick ?
