A ride and tour of Bethesda, Maryland

I love riding my electric Tidalforce bike and I have another blog entirely devoted to Tidalforce bikes here:

http://ebikerider.blogspot.com

However, I also love using my GoPro HD Hero 2 camera. The two were made for each other!

Here's a video of my ride from my home to Bethesda, MD and from there to a tour of old Bethesda, Maryland. There's a newer section with all of the major chains, but this section has many fine restaurants and peculiar food and gift shops of all kinds.

Very neat use of 4 GoPros!

I found this information on goprouser.freeforums.org.

http://goprouser.freeforums.org/gopro-panoramic-photo-head-t5430.html#p39026

It shows how Martin Gallagher has created a mount to hold 4 GoPros so that they can be used to create 360 degree panoramic videos! Just go here and check it out.

http://www.gopano.com/video/5952

Very creative!

Ambrose

Another Tripod/Grip Added to the Stable

I enjoy taking my GoPro everywhere with me. However, using it in it's polycarbonate case is not easy unless you have either a hand strap or some other way of holding on to the camera. I spotted this online and had to grab it. It's a "Fotomate M-07" tripod/grip. It's comfortable to hold and it's compact. I can easily hold it at waist level for long periods of time.

Here it is without the camera.

 Other angle.

Here it is as a tripod. You can change the angle of the mount by pressing the little purple button. 

The top of the mount is a rubbery material which grips the GoPro Tripod Adapter well.

 Here's the GoPro mounted to it.

Another view.

Here it is being held. You can see that it's a good angle.

It's very comfortable to hold.

The only shortcoming of this grip/tripod is that the angle of the mount is a bit weak and so can change very easily without pressing the purple button. Also, the grip/tripod doesn't hold together very well so you have to keep a good grip on it. Perhaps it would be wise to wrap it with a velcro strip or some hockey tape! So far, I'm enjoying it. It fits in my Scottevest very easily.

More later,

Ambrose

Fotopro MS-5 monopod/tripod

I've wanted/needed a small portable tripod for my GoPro HD Hero 2 for a while now and couldn't find anything online that would fill my requirements. I wanted something that was very compact when folded. Something that could be used as a camera extender or wand so that I could get shots of myself or others that was higher or further away than normal handheld shots. I wanted something that could be used as a tripod and not just a monopod or wand. I wanted something that could be used to raise the GoPro higher off a table than just resting it on the table. I wanted something that was very compact.

I think I found it and it arrived in the mail! It's the Fotopro MS-5. I bought it from Meritline.com for $12 when it was one of their daily specials. I love Meritline because of their very low prices and their free shipping. The tripod arrived very quickly and this item actually came in a nice cardboard box with instruction manual in Chinglish!

Here it is in it's smallest position.

Here it is with two extensions. There is one more available so it can be even taller.

More later,
Ambrose

iPad 3 in the house!

I ordered a Verizon 4G LTE iPad 3 or as Apple calls them, the New iPad. The better camera, higher resolution display and 4G capabilities were exactly what I was looking for! I'll have more from the iPad 3 later!

Ambrose

How to NOT use a GoPro!

I read this story and had to relay it. It seems that a company was covering a rally in Moscow with a GoPro HD Hero hoisted above the crowd with 6 helium ballons when the line holding it broke and the balloons took off! If you happen to be in the Moscow area and see 6 helium ballons, please let these folks know! This is the area where they think it went! I guess the lesson learned is have redundant safety systems and have a "Plan B" in case things go haywire!

link: http://themoscownews.com/local/20120224/189485104.html

Timelapse Traffic Jam 2-10-2012

I was stuck in a traffic jam this morning behind a crash that happened on the Beltway. I took this time lapse video. It starts slow and then takes off after the crash scene! If you stop the video at the right time, you'll see the one car left on the scene about to be hoisted on to the flat bed.

Another Timelapse Video 2-7-2012

It was a lovely evening so I decided to do another time lapse video! This was at a 2 second interval again and the golden hour colors were lovely!

Comparing the GoPro HD Hero 1 to the HD Hero 2

I knew that my Hero 1 wasn't a perfect camera. I thought that it lacked a bit in sharpness and I just wasn't happy with how the colors looked. It would blow out highlights and looked washed out most of the time. However, since I sold my Hero 1 before I got my Hero 2, I couldn't compare them side by side.

I found this video which proves how much better the Hero 2 is compared to the 1! Be sure to check it out in HD by clicking on the little gear icon and pulling up to at least 720P:

Short video on my way home

The sun was setting and the clouds were quite beautiful last night. I just stuck my GoPro outside the window to see how well it would do with the wind noise. The speed varies during the video between 30 and 50 mph. I think the camera did relatively well considering the speed.

Ikea Ordning Panning Timer for Time Lapse Videos

I've previously posted about using an Ikea Ordning timer as a panning tool. However, I needed to finish the project by adding a GoPro Flat Adhesive Mount to the top of the Ordning as well as drill a hole in the bottom and add a 1/4-20 adapter so that I can mount it on a tripod. I did this last night and here's the result. I mounted it on my little Ultrapod folding tripod.

The Ikea Ordning certainly matches the GoPro HD Hero 2 in the looks department and it almost looks as if it was made specifically for it!

The GoPro sits on top perfectly and the timer has a nice bell in it that chimes when it returns back to "0".

The little tripod adapter that I used was made of aluminum so the flanges broke off when I tried screwing it into the Ordning. However, it still functions perfectly.

I took these with my iPad so the quality is low. Sorry. You still get the idea, right? :)

Here's a sample timelapse I took last night. That's me trying to take photos of it.

More later!

ambrose

The beginnings of a slider

I've been thinking about making a slider recently. If you don't know, a slider allows you to create very dramatic time lapse videos or scene setting videos with just a small amount of movement in them so that there is more visual interest. Olivia over on Youtube has an example of a relatively expensive, albeit well made slider and what it can do here:

She shows samples of how to manually push or pull the slider, however, I want to automate/motorize mine so that I can do time lapse videos such as this:

It all starts with a railing, a roller bearing and of course, a motor of some sort. I looked around a bit and found this motor. It's a motor from a car's ventilation system. It's very small, very slow (5rpm) and it's simple to power (12VDC). It's also geared so it should be easy to have it attach to a pulley of some sort.

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/DCM-276/5-RPM-GEAR-MOTOR-12VDC/1.html

More later,
Ambrose

Terrific information on the GoPro Hero 2

I took a look at the page where I found the reference card and actually read the article. it contains tons of good information! I highly recommend it.

http://www.scubadiverinfo.com/3_cameras_gopro_hero2.html

Handy GoPro Hero 2 Reference Card

Here's a quick and dirty reference card for the GoPro HD Hero 2. The Hero 2 has a vastly improved user interface compared to the Hero 1, however, a quick reference is always welcome.

http://www.scubadiverinfo.com/images/GoPro_Hero2_Menu.pdf

Clone Sony ECM-DS70P microphone with right angle adapter

I thought I would post a picture of my clone Sony ECM-DS70P stereo microphone connected to my GoPro HD Hero 2 via it's stereo microphone input. I used a Radio Shack right angle 1/8" or 3.5mm adapter. With the adapter, the microphone is oriented in the right way and should produce an accurate stereo sound stage. I'll post some samples later on.

To make it work with the GoPro in it's polycarbonate case, would require some drilling!

Another Time Lapse Video 1-18-2012

I took this video of my drive home from work. In order to capture enough light, I set the GoPro HD Hero 2 for a 2 second interval. That allows the camera to get a recognizable image. It also blurs the image nicely. I used Picasa to create the movie. I set Picasa for 1/24th of a second rendering. It should have a smoother flow than 1/30th of a second. Let me know what you think. Be sure to watch it full screen and at least 720P. Click on the little cog and select 720P. Thanks.

Home made handle for the GoPro HD Hero

I have been looking for a handle for the GoPro HD Hero 2 for a while now and just couldn't justify paying the $10+ for something so simple. I decided to take a few minutes and made one myself.

The parts list is fairly simple.

A short length of 1/2" PVC pipe.
A bicycle handlebar grip
A 1/2" PVC pipe cap.
A 1/4"x20 by 5/8" machine screw and nut
A GoPro tripod adapter

Simply fit the bicycle handlebar grip onto the 1/2" PVC pipe. See how far the end cap fits onto the exposed end of the PVC pipe. Cut the pipe to that length. Drill a 1/4" hole into the middle of the cap. Put a nut onto the 1/4"x20 machine screw. Screw the machine screw with nut into the end of the PVC cap until the threads come through the cap. Fit the cap onto the end of the grip. Screw the GoPro tripod adapter onto the end of the screw and attach the GoPro case! Simple!

It's much simpler to cut the PVC pipe if you have a $4 pipe cutter from Harbor Freight Tools. This inexpensive tools makes cutting PVC pipe fast and clean. I highly recommend it.

You can of course, make the pipe length anything you'd like. Here's one that's about 30" long.

The whole project took about 10 minutes to make and makes holding the GoPro much easier and steadier.

GoPro Time Lapse without rotation

I just put together another time lapse from my office window. This time without the Ikea Ordning. It's fairly straightforward and kind of boring, but it's still fun to do. This one was a one hour time lapse compressed into 27 seconds. The GoPro HD Hero 2 took 749 images. I didn't let it run long enough for it to get really dark.

Ikea Ordning Timer as a Time Lapse Tool!

I've tried to find a low cost method of doing motion time lapse videos with my GoPro HD Hero 2 and have seen many videos on Youtube on how to make an inexpensive timer. Most of them require you to take apart a timer and mount a 1/4"x20 screw. I really didn't think that was such a good idea and looked for a nicer, easier answer. I found it in an Ikea Ordning timer.

It has a nice flat top so you can either stick on a quick release mount or simply sit the GoPro right on top of the timer. You simply twist the top of the timer to a desired time and the unit slowly returns to "0".

Here's a couple of quick sample videos I've made you. The first one was captured at 1/2 second intervals and stitched in Google's Picasa software.

I just assembled the second one now so here it is!

More later,

Ambrose