The B&H order has arrived, and I immediately got to work with my new GoPro HD Helmet Camera. Here is a quick video edit I compiled from my first two days on the mountain at Big White with it.
Truthfully, I didn't expect my footage to be compelling from the get go, so I hope you like the song!
Want some background info? Hit the link below.
I spent the first two days with my GoPro hand-bombing it while it was on a leash tied around my neck - not the safest thing to do but all's well that ends well. Why hand-bomb a helmet camera? Well, my helmet (Giro G10) had too many ridges on the top and a visor that got in the way, so there was nowhere to mount the GoPro securely with the included mount.
I had to find a shop in town with more mounting options. Deviate Boardshop didn't have any GoPro gear, but instructed me to head to Island Snow Boardshop who did have. So I bought a wrist mount from them only to find out it was for an older GoPro model and didn't fit my new one. Return that.
Finally, I made a stop at the boardshop up at Big White - The Village Rider, they had the handlebar mount, and it was only half the price of the faulty wrist mount I got. On top of that, the Handlebar mount also came with two extra 'joints' (pivot arms) for the GoPro. Perfect! I mounted the handlebar mount to a ski pole which I am excited to try next weekend. And with the two extra pivot points, I can now attach the included helmet mount to the side of my helmet, and still keep the camera pointed upright! So buying one mount, did double duty and made the other "stock mount" usable again!
Next weekend's footage should be twice as good as what I have shown in the video above. Why? Well as focussed as I was on riding, I also had to focus on holding the camera, which I can stop doing when it's attached to my head next time and focus 100% on snowboarding. At least I didn't have to be afraid to put my hand down in the snow while it was holding the camera, since its in a waterproof housing.
I was also wearing my new Kata backpack (also mentioned in my recent Christmas Again? post) that stuck out a bit more than I'm used to in close quarters and so had me hung-up on a few trees. It's fit has nothing on my super-duty sport-dedicated Camelbak, but my camera gear needed better protection from the elements while remaining accessible -- and that is it's specialty.
There you go, just felt like sharing a little and some background info to go with. Please subscribe to my YouTube Channel to see more videos when they arrive!
C Gardiner Photography | Promote Your Page Too
Truthfully, I didn't expect my footage to be compelling from the get go, so I hope you like the song!
Big White - First Two Days with a GoPro - February 26 & 27, 2012 on YouTube
Want some background info? Hit the link below.
I spent the first two days with my GoPro hand-bombing it while it was on a leash tied around my neck - not the safest thing to do but all's well that ends well. Why hand-bomb a helmet camera? Well, my helmet (Giro G10) had too many ridges on the top and a visor that got in the way, so there was nowhere to mount the GoPro securely with the included mount.
I had to find a shop in town with more mounting options. Deviate Boardshop didn't have any GoPro gear, but instructed me to head to Island Snow Boardshop who did have. So I bought a wrist mount from them only to find out it was for an older GoPro model and didn't fit my new one. Return that.
Finally, I made a stop at the boardshop up at Big White - The Village Rider, they had the handlebar mount, and it was only half the price of the faulty wrist mount I got. On top of that, the Handlebar mount also came with two extra 'joints' (pivot arms) for the GoPro. Perfect! I mounted the handlebar mount to a ski pole which I am excited to try next weekend. And with the two extra pivot points, I can now attach the included helmet mount to the side of my helmet, and still keep the camera pointed upright! So buying one mount, did double duty and made the other "stock mount" usable again!
One more important point that I had to find out the hard way: Your GoPro is not capable of exposing for a landscape comprised almost entirely of sun-beaten snow. So next improvement I will need to make is to get my GoPro some sunglasses - that is a neutral density or polarizing filter. It should bring the bright snow back into a brightness that is manageable by the camera. This is important because when you blow out highlights, you are basically erasing detail. And without detail, it's hard to tell if I'm going 5km/h or 50km/h.
Next weekend's footage should be twice as good as what I have shown in the video above. Why? Well as focussed as I was on riding, I also had to focus on holding the camera, which I can stop doing when it's attached to my head next time and focus 100% on snowboarding. At least I didn't have to be afraid to put my hand down in the snow while it was holding the camera, since its in a waterproof housing.
I was also wearing my new Kata backpack (also mentioned in my recent Christmas Again? post) that stuck out a bit more than I'm used to in close quarters and so had me hung-up on a few trees. It's fit has nothing on my super-duty sport-dedicated Camelbak, but my camera gear needed better protection from the elements while remaining accessible -- and that is it's specialty.
There you go, just felt like sharing a little and some background info to go with. Please subscribe to my YouTube Channel to see more videos when they arrive!
C Gardiner Photography | Promote Your Page Too