The 8,- Steadistick

STEADISTICK & GOPRO: A PERFECT MATCH

This is a very neat little device that won't set you back a week's pay but adds some fun & unusual functionality to your kit. It's a tripod, is it an antenna? No, it's a steadistick! A very simple tool that people apparently use to photograph themselves.
Why did I buy this? Well, I was kind of disappointed with the way my GoPro helmet-footage looked when I went skiing last month: jittery, choppy images nothing like some of the real steady stuff I had shot with it from the hood of a car or mounted to a toy speedboat for instance...
Then I saw some snowboard footage where people mounted their GoPro to a stick of some sort and someone also mentioned that that was the way to go. I started a search and found a telescopic mounting device for small camera's for 20 euro's. A quick search on eBay and I found the exact same thing for $8,- shipped from China.
It's nothing fancy and I don't know how long it lasts but it's a lot of fun and can get you some real unusual perspectives and steady footage. Try following your dog without this 'monopod' and it will look like crap. Biking or walking footage? Couldn't get these shots without it.(at least not by yourself...)
The best part about it is that it folds up so small it fits in your inside pocket, even with a small camera attached! You can't beat portability on this one. 'The Steadistick- you won't leave home without one'.

Skiing and snowboarding with the GoPro HD

A STILL FROM THE GOPRO FOOTAGE (FOLLOWING TOMMIE, MY SON)

I'm in Austria: skiing for the first time in 15 years and Tommie, my 10 year old son is snowboarding for the first time in his life. Naturally the GoPro had to come along and capture us descending the slopes beyond the speed of light ;-)
I shot some great footage the first time out, circling around my son while he was sliding down the hills, low angle stuff just above my skies and high speed stuff just blasting down the hill by myself. But when I came back to the hotel that evening, I discovered I had made beginners mistake #1: not checking your gear before taking off for a shoot. And so I learned there was no SD card in the camera... (and I also understood at this time why there was no light blinking when recording...)
Yesterday was better but my MacBook Pro 1st generation will not play back these MP4 files without stuttering. Transcoding to ProRes does not help. I'll just have to wait until I'm back on my Mac Pro in Amsterdam.

SMILE! YOU'RE ON HD CAMERA... (OUR HOTEL)

 Tomorrow I will try and attach the GoPro to my helmet because going handheld is far from ideal when you're racing down a hill and need to keep your eyes open in all directions...
I can still ski after all these years and it's so much fun to see my son has a talent for the snowboard. Too bad I screwed up my (already bad) knee trying to see how fast my friends and I could go downhill yesterday. (normal pace: about 15 minutes. suicide speed: just under 5 minutes) I banged it around so bad I now have a swollen, pulsating knee and am taking a day's rest. My son went rolling in the snow naked after we went in  the jacuzzi last evening and he is in bed next to me with high temperature. Both of us should be good to go tomorrow. Got some more sliding & shooting to do... (hope to show you the result soon!)

The Human Slingshot

This seems to be the week of sickening video's so let me just add one more, to round it all up. This is just the third time this week my stomach turned around!

Sick GoPro jump

So you have the day off, you and your two buddies are kinda bored... you decide to go out and buy 6 GoPro HD's and jump off an elevator...

Cheap GoPro HD bike mount

CAMERA BIKE MOUNT: $3,- OR $30,-??!

Ever since I busted my GoPro HD mount that was used to attach my camera to racing steering wheel, I started looking for a replacement. I was looking at offers like '$20,- plus $32,- shipping'. Ridiculous. Then I saw something they sell as a GoPro bike mount but is not even an official GoPro accessory. But the price is still over $30,-. Absurd. Then I remembered I bought exactly the same bike mount last year for my Panasonic Lumix TZ7. Cost me $1,- plus $2,- shipping! Now we're talking. (don't forget you'll need a GoPro tripod mount to use any of these bike mounts)
Don't get fooled by so-called 'official accessories', an extra few minutes of searching on eBay can earn you lots of dollars...

NO-NAME BIKE MOUNT (LEFT) AND GOPRO TRIPOD MOUNT

Cracked: close call for the GoPro HD

GOPRO PLASTIC MOUNT: BAD PART OR MOUNTING ISSUE?

I went for a ride on my racebike yesterday and attached my GoPro HD with the special bikemount accessory I purchased. Everything went well for the first 80 kilometers but when I rode back into Amsterdam the GoPro seemed to shake more than a few hours before... I thought it was one of the screws that had vibrated itself loose and felt if the GoPro was still secured tight to my steering wheel. It felt solid but the camera shakes actually got worse. A minute later I checked again -still riding fast- and when I removed my hand the GoPro fell, nearly crashing onto the pavement at 30 km/hour... if it wasn't for a reflex in which I snatched the camera before it dropped to the ground...
The plastic part that was holding it simply broke off after 80 kilometers of shaking. But it shouldn't have: this is the same mount they use for motorcycles or mountainbikes and that is way more abusive than a relatively smooth ride over paved streets..? The only thing I can think of is that I somehow mounted it too stiff and there was no slack to release energy/drain vibrations..?
Because for a sports camera, this should not happen...

THE OTHER HALF OF THE BROKEN MOUNTING PART

Crazy toy speedboat and GoPro HD Hero

On my last day in the US, a beautiful day spent partly on the beach, there was a guy fooling around with a remote controlled, miniature motorized speedboat. You couldn't help notice because the thing made so much noise, like a giant, mad insect...
I had my GoPro with me (carry a camera at all times!) and went up to the guy, asking if I could mount my camera to his boat. And so we did. This thing was about 2 feet long and went completely out of control after a minute or so in the water, furiously trying to shake off the camera.

But the GoPro stuck like perma-glue... a 100 point ride for the HD Hero!

Crazy toy speedboat and GoPro HD Hero from Filmersblog on Vimeo.

GoPro HD holds up in hurricane Irene

So Irene stopped us on our way out of the States. But could Irene stop my GoPro HD Hero? The hurricane has slammed into Massachussets on sunday August 28, according to the weatherforecasters and the hordes of desperate, sensation-hungry reporters waiting for a disaster to report on... This ia a great opportunity to test how waterproof my GoPro HD really is, how well it sticks to a car while gushing winds are trying to rip it off and if it holds up to the pounding of tidal waves...
Well, I can tell you the GoPro is indeed a Hero, withstanding 'the abuse' with flying colors. If you can survive a 'hurricane', you can survive anything, right?! Check out the footage and convince yourself. Parental Guidance recommended...

GoPro HD holds up in 'hurricane' Irene from Filmersblog on Vimeo.

Mailbox: GoPro LCD BacPac

THE LCD SCREEN COMPLETES THE GOPRO HD HERO

Got my LCD screen for my GoPro HD Hero one day after ordering- lightning fast shipping! It's a beautiful little screen and it comes with 2 extra housings, one for waterproof and one for non-waterproof use (the latter one is not sealed and thus has better audio) I was afraid the LCD screen would drain batterypower but it has a on/off button that works independently from the camera. This -and the GoPro Hero- seem like such simple devices but everything is so well designed and thought through... very 'Pro'..!

2 EXTRA HOUSINGS SHIP WITH THE LCD BACPAC

Just ordered: GoPro LCD BacPac

After unboxing my new GoPro HD yesterday, I sucked it onto my sister's old Volvo 960 and realized there was no way to frame the shot..?! You really need to buy the additional LCD BacPac -a tiny LCD screen that sticks to the back of the camera- to actually see what you're doing.
We drove to nearby Barrington as I anxiously ogled the HD Hero stuck on the rooftop, scared it would fall off and be crushed by traffic behind us...
That didn't happen and the footage looked great, better than expected- very sharp, and unjittery! Will post some video asap. This little camera shines but the LCD screen will turn what would otherwise remain a great gadget into a functional camera.

My latest camera: the GoPro HD (pricedrop)

SHEER LUCK OR DESTINY? A PARKING SPOT RIGHT IN FRONT OF B&H

It's all your fault. I felt obliged to post more videogear-related topics during this trip to the States and that's why I bought the GoPro HD on my way out of New York. Actually, I planned to just take a look at the B&H Superstore but when I walked around, I realized I was not going to leave this store without making a purchase. B&H has redefined the concept of a professional photo/video store. The complete choice of gear, the knowledge of the salespersons, the electric trolleys used to transport purchases to the cashregister: this is one smooth selling machine... (I am not in any way affiliated to B&H! I'm still waiting for an offer ;-)

So I was drooling over a line-up of camera's when a salesperson pulled out a GoPro HD to show a customer. It turned out this thing had just had a pricedrop from 299,- to 249,- I could not let it pass... After all, I found 110 dollars a few days earlier. Got an extra battery, a tripod mount and a handlebar-mount just to top it all off. Footage and review will follow later. Let's go shoot some action footage!

NEVER REALIZED THIS THING IS SO SMALL: HALF THE SIZE OF MY IPHONE