Action Cams, Phone Video and 'what' -'How' ?

Need help from a fellow owner, something to air - discuss away!

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greenwoo
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Action Cams, Phone Video and 'what' -'How' ?

Postby greenwoo » Mon Jun 24, 2019 8:37 am

After watching the occasional 'full' vids that have been put together here and elsewhere I realised that i don't have the time to edit a Tour into a 20-30 min masterpiece. But, Kentons /Rich's little video diary style got me thinking.

For me I like to take a few snaps during the day. Issue is that often from within a caged car that's no as quick as one would think - the phone/camera has to be zoomed/played with to get 'miss' the bars. Jumping out is of course an option, but as we tend to stop every hour or so, adding in a personal 'hop out' to grab 2-3 shots would be a pain.

Over the weekend i wondered about how to set something up that was a/ cheap b/ potentially easy to use whilst on the hoof....and which might serve multi purposes. Namely taking a single shot, having some road footage, and also when we pull up, being able to pan around to capture where we are and what we're doing.
And to be able to easily access the same after a trip to make up those kind of daily diaries.


My idea is to; Grab an unused phone from the drawer ( free ), a 3 headed suction mount (£7-10), an external mic - possibly with 2 inputs (£20) ( 1 to go just under the bonnet by intakes, the other if i got a 'two'er, into cockpit for the occasional voiceover as to where I am), and a bluetooth remote to switch the phone recorder on - £5-6. and a holder for the phone £5-10). Total = £40 or under.
Pop the suction mount rear of bonnet, tether (in case ) to the centre mirror and be able to switch it on as and when whilst driving, and be able to grab the phone for the 'walk around' shots.

That doesn't solve taking stills from the car as the phone will have to stay on video mode and i don't think can be switched via bluetooth. But that seems to tick 2 out of 3. The idea being that by using the remote i'd only be taking vid when i want to and not having the thing roll for an entire 'session', which in my mind means that when i'm reviewing there'd be less to wade through.

So people, what have i missed, any tips or thoughts as to why this isn't a good idea/base?

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Weathers
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Re: Action Cams, Phone Video and 'what' -'How' ?

Postby Weathers » Mon Jun 24, 2019 10:11 am

Weather proofing!

I assume that you already have software that will screen grab? The other issue being (certainly from apple phones - sorry I don't have anything else to compare it to) is that the lifts from videos don't appear to be as good quality as a real still photo taken with the same phone. Not sure how it is for other makes?

The gopro software is very good at screen grabs; then I export it else where for editing into videos or printing off.

My other thought is I'm not sure how well a phone would cope with any vibration from the car or jolts from uneven surfaces? For example newer Gopro's can cope with being hard mounted to the bars on a mountain bike (just about with suspension) but the iphones we've tried in the past certainly haven't. Better Gopro results still come from being mounted to your lid and therefore you act as a giant damper. Again only experienced this using the apple products I've had.

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Re: Action Cams, Phone Video and 'what' -'How' ?

Postby greenwoo » Mon Jun 24, 2019 11:29 am

@ Chris.
weather proofing...i wouldnt be bothering mounting the phone if the weather was inclement anyway, because the footage wouldnt be that appealing. I had wondered about a weather proof case, but decided it would be overkill.

screen shots/stills. I had pretty much figured that using a phone like this would solely be for Vid, taking stills will need to be another proper camera or my normal phone ( from the cockpit).

damping. Yep. Agree that could be an issue and had wondered about a gimbal...but that wont work ( i think ) as they keep the device dead level and up/down mountains won't work. I figured that a/ at rest for sure the phone would vibrate as per 'tickover'...but wasn't sure whether anything beyond that would be different to having an action cam/go pro mounted. IE/ if the road is bumpy its bumpy, no matter what, unless the action cam mounts have some damping built in ( which i dont think they do??)

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nelmo
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Re: Action Cams, Phone Video and 'what' -'How' ?

Postby nelmo » Mon Jun 24, 2019 12:24 pm

To be honest, those suction mounts are pretty useless for video - it's just far too bouncy IMO. I've got one on my dashboard and I have done some filming from it - it's OK but not for any more than a couple of minutes.

A better choice would be a decent clamp on a solid surface and rollbar's/cages are perfect but you would have to spend some cash on the mount.

I've got a cheap camera (cost £40) which came with a load of clamps and luckily, one of them fits my rollbar support really well. It also came with a remote control, so you can stop and start on the move AND it can take stills as well AND it can link to your phone so you can see what it is doing (problem with remotes, difficult to tell if you have switched it on or off :) ).

The link below is a newer version of mine - (darn, now comes with an external mic):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crosstour-Anti-Shaking-Rechargeable-Accessories-Snowboarding/dp/B07JVGB9SH/ref=pd_sbs_421_4/257-0706695-0415450?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07JVGB9SH&pd_rd_r=54915daf-967a-11e9-b767-d53918d4f91f&pd_rd_w=TsxEv&pd_rd_wg=g6LtT&pf_rd_p=18edf98b-139a-41ee-bb40-d725dd59d1d3&pf_rd_r=3S1VJHTH9SFANJ8PP0CE&psc=1&refRID=3S1VJHTH9SFANJ8PP0CE

Biggest problem is that the battery only lasts for about an hour or 2 (even if not filming), so you'd need to hook up a charger cable.

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Re: Action Cams, Phone Video and 'what' -'How' ?

Postby greenwoo » Mon Jun 24, 2019 1:37 pm

those suction mounts are pretty useless for video - it's just far too bouncy IMO.


Neil, not sure if we're on the same page, as i'm not sure why the type of suction type mount i've been looking at would be more bouncy than a clamp?
This was what i ended up looking at - as it has the adjustments to get it level that the 3 sucker ones didnt seem to have. Obvs you've tried the sucker style, but was that a similar set up; sucker AND then a phone holder? or was it an all in 1 that maybe could flex a bit?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/EXSHOW-Rotation-Suction-Windshield-Cameras/dp/B0798PG741/ref=sr_1_20?keywords=phone+mount+tripod+adjustable+suction+3&qid=1561377252&s=electronics&sr=1-20

The thing that the action cams don't give as far as i can see, is the ability to easily swap to hand held footage as in the video diary style?

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Re: Action Cams, Phone Video and 'what' -'How' ?

Postby nelmo » Mon Jun 24, 2019 7:24 pm

How do you connect a phone to that mount? Phones don't have that screw type connector. Otherwise, my suction mount is the same at the suction end but with a clamp that holds the side of the phone.

Take a look at video with suction mount:

https://zerolifebuild.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-sound-of-combustion.html

...and video when clamped to rollbar:

https://zerolifebuild.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-next-mansell.html

That action camera just pops out of the waterproof case and you can carry it around to film, like a camcorder.

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Re: Action Cams, Phone Video and 'what' -'How' ?

Postby greenwoo » Mon Jun 24, 2019 8:51 pm

i was thinking this kind of thing to hold the phone, and it would screw to the mount.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neewer-Smartphone-Holder-Vertical-Bracket/dp/B075R229KH/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=phone+mount+for+videoing&qid=1561196751&s=electronics&sr=1-7

yep, i can see the difference in 'wobble' - maybe i'll grab an action cam (borrow) and have a play and see if they;re as usable in the hand. If so, jobs a good 'un. If not, may either try a suction mount on the basis that it stands a chance of being binned, or go straight to a mount that i can clamp to the rollbar - which is the least favoured option as it'd mean a cable for the mic that has to be taped along/down.

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Re: Action Cams, Phone Video and 'what' -'How' ?

Postby b33fy » Mon Jun 24, 2019 9:08 pm

Manfrotto super clamp, tripod head and secondhand DSLR with HD video capability, app to phone for control(strap to steering wheel) job done.
Power.. small nail, fast hammer, Torque.. small nail, big hammer.. I got a big hammer :P

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Re: Action Cams, Phone Video and 'what' -'How' ?

Postby greenwoo » Mon Jun 24, 2019 10:07 pm

cool, nice cheap lightweight solution.....

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Re: Action Cams, Phone Video and 'what' -'How' ?

Postby b33fy » Mon Jun 24, 2019 10:54 pm

greenwoo wrote:cool, nice cheap lightweight solution.....


Sort of expected that.. depends what your priorities are. Quality is key for me over weight and packaging. Cost less than a gopro 7 all in. Mount £20 head £50, camera £100-£150. App and phone no cost.

Got some ideas for some tracking shots on the move using my current setup if you fancy it sometime. Thinking Lewes tunnel/south coast, maybe some city shots early one Sunday morning.
Power.. small nail, fast hammer, Torque.. small nail, big hammer.. I got a big hammer :P


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