2 new soaring HD videos testing tail cam

Check out a few new soaring videos I made flying in northern Utah and
southern Idaho testing out a couple of new small HD video cameras and
camera mounts on my ASW20. In the newest video you will see that I
was able to better stabilize the tail cam for virtually no camera
shake compared to the April 18 video. You can see what it looks like
around Morgan and Logan Utah where there is a new regional contest
being held in August for the first time.

Make sure to click on the HD button and the expand button on the
youtube player to take it to full screen to get best picture.

http://phoebus.vassel.com

Hope you enjoy my rusty spring thermalling skills
Bruno

Nice!



At 15:04 26 April 2009, Bruno wrote:
Check out a few new soaring videos I made flying in northern Utah and
southern Idaho testing out a couple of new small HD video cameras and
camera mounts on my ASW20. In the newest video you will see that I
was able to better stabilize the tail cam for virtually no camera
shake compared to the April 18 video. You can see what it looks like
around Morgan and Logan Utah where there is a new regional contest
being held in August for the first time.

Make sure to click on the HD button and the expand button on the
youtube player to take it to full screen to get best picture.

http://phoebus.vassel.com

Hope you enjoy my rusty spring thermalling skills
Bruno

Nice!



At 15:04 26 April 2009, Bruno wrote:
Check out a few new soaring videos I made flying in northern Utah and
southern Idaho testing out a couple of new small HD video cameras and
camera mounts on my ASW20. In the newest video you will see that I
was able to better stabilize the tail cam for virtually no camera
shake compared to the April 18 video. You can see what it looks like
around Morgan and Logan Utah where there is a new regional contest
being held in August for the first time.

Make sure to click on the HD button and the expand button on the
youtube player to take it to full screen to get best picture.

http://phoebus.vassel.com

Hope you enjoy my rusty spring thermalling skills
Bruno

Nice!



At 15:04 26 April 2009, Bruno wrote:
Check out a few new soaring videos I made flying in northern Utah and
southern Idaho testing out a couple of new small HD video cameras and
camera mounts on my ASW20. In the newest video you will see that I
was able to better stabilize the tail cam for virtually no camera
shake compared to the April 18 video. You can see what it looks like
around Morgan and Logan Utah where there is a new regional contest
being held in August for the first time.

Make sure to click on the HD button and the expand button on the
youtube player to take it to full screen to get best picture.

http://phoebus.vassel.com

Hope you enjoy my rusty spring thermalling skills
Bruno

"Bruno" wrote in message
...
Make sure to click on the HD button and the expand button on the
youtube player to take it to full screen to get best picture.

http://phoebus.vassel.com

Bruno


Bruno,

Nice video. Well done!*

*Of course these flights would hardly have been possible without the extra
L/D gained with your MKII "high tech" yaw string. :c)

bumper

On Apr 26, 8:04*am, Bruno wrote:
Check out a few new soaring videos I made flying in northern Utah and
southern Idaho testing out a couple of new small HD video cameras and
camera mounts on my ASW20. *In the newest video you will see that I
was able to better stabilize the tail cam for virtually no camera
shake compared to the April 18 video. *You can see what it looks like
around Morgan and Logan Utah where there is a new regional contest
being held in August for the first time.

Make sure to click on the HD button and the expand button on the
youtube player to take it to full screen to get best picture.

http://phoebus.vassel.com

Hope you enjoy my rusty spring thermalling skills
Bruno

Nice.

What make/model video cameras were you using?

9B

On Apr 26, 8:04*am, Bruno wrote:
Check out a few new soaring videos I made flying in northern Utah and
southern Idaho testing out a couple of new small HD video cameras and
camera mounts on my ASW20. *In the newest video you will see that I
was able to better stabilize the tail cam for virtually no camera
shake compared to the April 18 video. *You can see what it looks like
around Morgan and Logan Utah where there is a new regional contest
being held in August for the first time.

Make sure to click on the HD button and the expand button on the
youtube player to take it to full screen to get best picture.

http://phoebus.vassel.com

Hope you enjoy my rusty spring thermalling skills
Bruno

Very nice, can you also share some pictures of your setup? How is the
camera attached, controlled, etc.?

On Apr 26, 4:57*pm, MX Junkie wrote:
On Apr 26, 8:04*am, Bruno wrote:

Check out a few new soaring videos I made flying in northern Utah and
southern Idaho testing out a couple of new small HD video cameras and
camera mounts on my ASW20. *In the newest video you will see that I
was able to better stabilize the tail cam for virtually no camera
shake compared to the April 18 video. *You can see what it looks like
around Morgan and Logan Utah where there is a new regional contest
being held in August for the first time.

Make sure to click on the HD button and the expand button on the
youtube player to take it to full screen to get best picture.

http://phoebus.vassel.com

Hope you enjoy my rusty spring thermalling skills
Bruno

Very nice, can you also share some pictures of your setup? *How is the
camera attached, controlled, etc.?


Thanks for the comments so far. It is fun to share soaring adventures
with both fellow pilots and non-pilots alike.

I wanted to try the low cost approach first with filming in HD and
mounting stuff on the outside of the glider to see if it would even
work half way decently before committing to more expensive higher-
quality equipment. Many have seen the excellent quality of the HD
videos Kempton Izuno has put out and I was interested to see if
cameras 1/10th the cost of what he is using could put out decent
quality HD video. While the results are not as good as Kempton’s, I
am encouraged by the initial results and filming while in flight and
telling the story of the day's task and adventure is quite rewarding
personally to share with friends and family.

Here is the video setup on the April 18th and 21st flights:
1. Inside cockpit camera - Kodak Z1285 I purchased used for $80. It
is a 12 mega pixel point and shoot camera and is one of the few point
and shoots that can take HD video. It is mounted to a cheap
adjustable arm mount I picked up at Best Buy. I am not happy with the
extent of camera shake because the flexible arm is not rigid enough
and I plan on replacing the mount with something sturdier. It is
positioned over my right shoulder and can swivel to look forward or
out to the right wing while ridge soaring.

2. Outside HD video camera - DXG-567V HD I got off of ebay new for
$77 including free shipping. I said I was doing this on the
cheap!

3. Both cameras are using a Cokin wide angle lens. Without this
additional lens on each camera you would not get anywhere near the
perspective of what it looks like in real life. I have seen Cokin
wide angle lenses priced for around $45+ online but then I found one
guy out of Ontario Canada selling them on ebay for $15 with shipping!
Crazy cheap. I checked while writing this tonight and he still has
listed 5 left at $4.95 each and then $11.95 shipping. Thanks ebay!

These lenses come with adapter rings and I super glued the included
25mm adapter ring to the front of both cameras. No joke. It works
great. You just have to make sure you center it before you touch the
two together because you only have one shot at it (instant bond) and
don't let any glue drip onto the lens. More expensive video cameras
should have threaded lens fronts so you don't have to improvise with
glue...

4. Both of my video cameras use 8 gig SDHC cards. That gives close
to 4 hours of continuous video. The problem I have had is that you
can't get batteries to last that long. The best AA batteries I have
found so far are the Lithium Energizers that cost a small fortune. I
tried rechargeable batteries on the first flight and only got an hour
of footage from the tail camera. Rechargeables are affected by the
cold and just won't last any longer length of flight. When I am ready
to launch I just turn on the tail cam and let it run until empty. The
cockpit cam can be turned on and off by hand.

5. I spent one Saturday afternoon and built the camera tail mount and
also 2 wing mounts and a nose boom mount I have not tried out yet.
They are leading edge cuffs built from fiberglass and carbon fiber and
then lined with felt on the inside. This was my first fiberglass
project and was quite simple to do. Just take plastic food wrap and
wrap the area you want to mold and then go another 3 feet in any
direction to not get any epoxy on your glider skin. I then taped wax
paper over that to be extra cautious. I then just used a basic
fiberglass kit I bought from the Home Depot. I put a small piece of
1/4 inch carbon fiber rigid sheet in between the fiberglass layers on
the leading edge to use as a stiff mounting point to bolt to. Just a
word of advise: don't put the half cured fiberglass in the oven to
help it finish curing - it stunk up my house for 2 days and the wife
was not pleased.

This "cuff" is then taped to the glider with the same expensive but
very strong left over cloth tape I bought from Tim at wingsandwheels
to reseal my control surfaces and gear doors last season. The mount
stays on rock solid with generous usage of that cloth tape. Bolted to
the cuffs I am using 1" ball RAM mounts I purchased at www.gpscity.com.
They had the best prices I could find and were very friendly to deal
with. The Ram mounts have adjustable arms and you can get a rubber
ball with a camera mount screw in it to screw your camera onto. Very
slick deal. I ended up taping a second attachment point with a balsa
stick on the tail mount to the top of the camera for the second video
because I was not happy with the camera shake on the first try. It
turned out much better than the first video. Compare the two takeoff
rolls and see the difference.

I'll try to take some pictures of the setup the next time I go out to
show the mounts. One word of caution - while I did not notice any
adverse flight characteristics of the tail mount video system I know
my exact weight and balance for my glider and the extra few pounds on
the tail were within CG. I also mounted it low enough to not
interfere with the airflow to the horizontal tail. I will be
interested to see what the wing mounted cameras feel like to fly with.

Bruno
http://phoebus.vassel.com

On Apr 26, 9:12*pm, Bruno wrote:
On Apr 26, 4:57*pm, MX Junkie wrote:



On Apr 26, 8:04*am, Bruno wrote:

Check out a few new soaring videos I made flying in northern Utah and
southern Idaho testing out a couple of new small HD video cameras and
camera mounts on my ASW20. *In the newest video you will see that I
was able to better stabilize the tail cam for virtually no camera
shake compared to the April 18 video. *You can see what it looks like
around Morgan and Logan Utah where there is a new regional contest
being held in August for the first time.

Make sure to click on the HD button and the expand button on the
youtube player to take it to full screen to get best picture.

http://phoebus.vassel.com

Hope you enjoy my rusty spring thermalling skills
Bruno

Very nice, can you also share some pictures of your setup? *How is the
camera attached, controlled, etc.?

Thanks for the comments so far. *It is fun to share soaring adventures
with both fellow pilots and non-pilots alike.

I wanted to try the low cost approach first with filming in HD and
mounting stuff on the outside of the glider to see if it would even
work half way decently before committing to more expensive higher-
quality equipment. *Many have seen the excellent quality of the HD
videos Kempton Izuno has put out and I was interested to see if
cameras 1/10th the cost of what he is using could put out decent
quality HD video. *While the results are not as good as Kempton’s, I
am encouraged by the initial results and filming while in flight and
telling the story of the day's task and adventure is quite rewarding
personally to share with friends and family.

Here is the video setup on the April 18th and 21st flights:
1. *Inside cockpit camera - Kodak Z1285 I purchased used for $80. *It
is a 12 mega pixel point and shoot camera and is one of the few point
and shoots that can take HD video. *It is mounted to a cheap
adjustable arm mount I picked up at Best Buy. *I am not happy with the
extent of camera shake because the flexible arm is not rigid enough
and I plan on replacing the mount with something sturdier. *It is
positioned over my right shoulder and can swivel to look forward or
out to the right wing while ridge soaring.

2. *Outside HD video camera - DXG-567V HD I got off of ebay new for
$77 including free shipping. * *I said I was doing this on the
cheap!

3. *Both cameras are using a Cokin wide angle lens. *Without this
additional lens on each camera you would not get anywhere near the
perspective of what it looks like in real life. *I have seen Cokin
wide angle lenses priced for around $45+ online but then I found one
guy out of Ontario Canada selling them on ebay for $15 with shipping!
Crazy cheap. *I checked while writing this tonight and he still has
listed 5 left at $4.95 each and then $11.95 shipping. *Thanks ebay!

These lenses come with adapter rings and I super glued the included
25mm adapter ring to the front of both cameras. *No joke. *It works
great. *You just have to make sure you center it before you touch the
two together because you only have one shot at it (instant bond) and
don't let any glue drip onto the lens. *More expensive video cameras
should have threaded lens fronts so you don't have to improvise with
glue...

4. *Both of my video cameras use 8 gig SDHC cards. *That gives close
to 4 hours of continuous video. *The problem I have had is that you
can't get batteries to last that long. *The best AA batteries I have
found so far are the Lithium Energizers that cost a small fortune. *I
tried rechargeable batteries on the first flight and only got an hour
of footage from the tail camera. *Rechargeables are affected by the
cold and just won't last any longer length of flight. *When I am ready
to launch I just turn on the tail cam and let it run until empty. *The
cockpit cam can be turned on and off by hand.

5. *I spent one Saturday afternoon and built the camera tail mount and
also 2 wing mounts and a nose boom mount I have not tried out yet.
They are leading edge cuffs built from fiberglass and carbon fiber and
then lined with felt on the inside. *This was my first fiberglass
project and was quite simple to do. *Just take plastic food wrap and
wrap the area you want to mold and then go another 3 feet in any
direction to not get any epoxy on your glider skin. *I then taped wax
paper over that to be extra cautious. *I then just used a basic
fiberglass kit I bought from the Home Depot. *I put a small piece of
1/4 inch carbon fiber rigid sheet in between the fiberglass layers on
the leading edge to use as a stiff mounting point to bolt to. *Just a
word of advise: don't put the half cured fiberglass in the oven to
help it finish curing - it stunk up my house for 2 days and the wife
was not pleased. *

This "cuff" is then taped to the glider with the same expensive but
very strong left over cloth tape I bought from Tim at wingsandwheels
to reseal my control surfaces and gear doors last season. *The mount
stays on rock solid with generous usage of that cloth tape. *Bolted to
the cuffs I am using 1" ball RAM mounts I purchased atwww.gpscity.com.
They had the best prices I could find and were very friendly to deal
with. *The Ram mounts have adjustable arms and you can get a rubber
ball with a camera mount screw in it to screw your camera onto. *Very
slick deal. *I ended up taping a second attachment point with a balsa
stick on the tail mount to the top of the camera for the second video
because I was not happy with the camera shake on the first try. *It
turned out much better than the first video. *Compare the two takeoff
rolls and see the difference.

I'll try to take some pictures of the setup the next time I go out to
show the mounts. *One word of caution - while I did not notice any
adverse flight characteristics of the tail mount video system I know
my exact weight and balance for my glider and the extra few pounds on
the tail were within CG. *I also mounted it low enough to not
interfere with the airflow to the horizontal tail. *I will be
interested to see what the wing mounted cameras feel like to fly with.

Brunohttp://phoebus.vassel.com

I forgot, one last important piece of info if anyone is crazy enough
to also try videoing their flights. The videos these cameras spit out
are .MOV files and look terrible when you first view them on your
computer. The colors are completely washed out and faded looking. I
ran them through a free program called "Any Video Converter" to a high
resolution 4000 bit .AVI format and the coloring improved
considerably. The sky was suddenly blue and not gray. Hope this
helps.

Bruno
http://phoebus.vassel.com

Bruno,
This is fantastic stuff! You are doing some great pioneering work,
especially with the mounting. We need more pilots doing what you are
doing. Cheap, creative and good enough, that's the motto!

I too am moving to lower cost cameras, and just took my new Canon
SD780 up on the last flight. I'm leaning toward more of a 50/50 of HD
footage and high resolutino still images that I'll later markup with
motion graphics to point out key features. But regarding the video,
yes, keeping things steady and getting the wide angle, as you point
out, are critical. I like your technique of super gluing the lenses
on. The HV20 still does take better quality footage, but it's bulk
works against it.

Keep 'em coming, we want to see dozens of pilots putting out high
quality footage and editing it into web videos.

Kemp