Greets-

Mike Stoll has very graciously offered to write content for HCC.com. Mike is an avid helmet cam’er and we look forward to a variety of new content in the coming months.

A brief introduction from Mike follows, enjoy.

Thanks / Chad Lancour

The following is a brief introduction from Mike Stoll:
Hello-

I have been using a helmet camera system for a little over two years, and really love the perspective. My primary extreme sports are cave exploration and rafting. I’ve written an article for VideoMaker (July, 2007 Issue), and am currently writing one for Magxzine. This past week, I visited at least 10 different helmet camera websites (U.S.A. & UK) to see what’s currently being offered. It seems the camera units themselves are very similar in performance, but the thing that really sets a supplier apart from the others, is what equipment they offer from the camera back to the recording unit. Cabling and the illusive right-angle 10-Pin Sony connector has been a big headache for helmet camera users. Thankfully, there is at least one supplier that I know of who currently offers a right-angle 10-Pin solution (Xtreme Recall), making the use of the smaller Sony DCR-HC line possible. I’d like to see the industry develop better cabling solutions (video, audio, lanc) for the users to reduce bulk, and the number of cables hanging off a person. Lastly, I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the sold-state DVRs that can record at an actual 30 fps (with good video quality), and offer the user the same level on control as a lanc controlled camcorder. Whenever this technology becomes available, it will certainly help reduce the bulk of a helmet camera system, while also making it easier and faster for the user to download the video to their computer.

When I am shooting, I have found that having somebody or something in the main frame of the shot helps provide a perspective. Shooting open scenery with a helmet camera is a total waste. I also like to mix helmet camera footage with regular camcorder footage. The camcorder gives you different types of shots (i.e. zoom in on subject), which helps add flavor to the video. When using a camcorder, I prefer using a wide-angle lens (i.e. .6X - .7X) to give me a similar perspective as the helmet camera lens.
I’ve just starting posting some footage on YouTube.com and Blip.tv (search “helmet camera mikie”). For those interested in posting footage on these sites, here is a very useful link (http://www.squidoo.com/youtuberight/) that provides some great instruction on how to compress your video to look the best on the video sharing websites. Most of these sites will limit your upload to 100 MB file size or a 10-minute video. Be it known, all of these video sharing websites will re-compress your video, and you’ll never get the same quality as you see on your computer. As you may or may not know, video sharing websites “like” certain file formats better than others. My current video sharing formula is to edit the video in Adobe Premiere (any video editing program will work), and then export it to an AVI file. I will use Quicktime Pro ($30) to compress the AVI file into an H264 video file, and then upload it to Blip.tv. I’ll also use Movavi ($60) to compress the AVI file into a YouTube Preset, and then upload it to YouTube.com. After spending a week searching the Net and reading articles, this is the best formula I’ve found so far. YouTube is the most popular video sharing site, but I like Blip because the videos look a little better on their site.

Chao,

Mike Stoll