I thought I would start a thread on video camera's / editing software because shooting video is becoming more & more popular. I have see video talk in several flying threads but couldn't find one just on video/editing. I also know there are some experts on here that could help us all (Rich Wellner / Patrick Romano).

Camera's

I have a Contour+ with aviator lense, a GoPro3 Black Edition with NFlightcam Aviator Lenses (medium & dark), and occasionally shoot with the iPhone5. My best video (1080p or 720p) is shot with the Contour+ camera. I am having color issues with the GoPro when using the medium & dark Aviator lense and can't figure out what is going on. I have tried both 1080p and 720p but the colors are not correct. Protunes is turned off. See my video "Maule on the Grass". The wing mount camera is the GoPro with the medium aviator lense while the cockpit view is from the Contour+ with the aviator lense. Granted, the video was shot in bright sunlight but I have had the same results in other times of the day. Next time out, I will probably remove the aviator lense from the GoPro and just not worry about the prop distortion. Is anyone having this same problem? Would you share your GoPro settings so I can try to mirror them?

Editing Software

I have used both the iMovie software on a macbook and recently tried the GoPro Studio 2.0 software (both free) for editing. Both have issues/limitations. My videos are posted up on YouTube: Russell461 http://www.youtube.com/user/russell461. (I know...shameless self-promotion). So far, IMO, my best video is the Lone Star Maule Flyout (using iMovie). My last video (The Maule Cave) I used the GoPro Studio 2.0 software using one of their templates. It takes away most of your editing options. You just drop in video into their pre-set number of shots and it does the rest (adds music, etc...). I will try it next time on the manual mode. BTW....I was using the Contour+ camera on this video.

I would not mind purchasing better editing software (finalcut pro possibly) but I hear the learning curve is steep.

Camera Mounts

When I purchased the Contour+ camera, I also bought an exterior mounting spud / kit for that camera. I later bought the NFlightcam Exterior Mount (with mounting spud) for the GoPro when I bought that camera. http://www.sportys.com/PilotShop/product/19035. I mounted one spud on the tie-down ring and the other on the lower front stabilizer bolt near the tail wheel. Here is what I rigged up for the tie-down ring mount: http://www.flickr.com/photos/88643849@N ... 2348908347. The camera mount housing is for the Contour+ camera; however, the GoPro mounting kit works on it as well. I know Patrick has rigged up something to mount the camera on the strut closer to the fuselage and I really like that view. I had previously tried making a strut mount but the vibration resulted in bad video. I used metal strap over a piece of rubber but the metal was too flimsy and allowed the camera to shake too much. I'm still looking for a better option. Anyone want to share?

Spare Parts

Does anyone know where I can find a replacement Aviator Lense for the Contour+ camera ?

OK guys...share your experience & expertise !

Older Contour camera. Most of my videos are from inside the cockpit and I am pretty disappointed in the quality. I don't have the highest resolution camera and I am having difficulty determining if it is set at the highest resolution. The camera is set at the highest according to the switch but the software that came with the camera doesn't agree and says I'm shooting at a lower resolution. From image quality, I tend to agree with the software. I make changes but the camera doesn't seem to store my preferences...

I like shooting video. Where I run into motivational problems is editing. I never seem to have the time!

An interesting evaluation of the different cameras.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/12/garm ... eview.html

Here is a bracket I built that with the rubber washers has pretty much eliminated the vibration.

Very nice Ryes !

I am new to the camera thing (since Christmas), so this might seem ridiculous. I used the suction cup mount that you can get from Gopro. Ok, It was safety tied with baler twine, just in case. But the thing held just fine. Tried it on the wing, and also at the top of the front wind screen!

51598Rob wrote:I am new to the camera thing (since Christmas), so this might seem ridiculous. I used the suction cup mount that you can get from Gopro. Ok, It was safety tied with baler twine, just in case. But the thing held just fine. Tried it on the wing, and also at the top of the front wind screen!

You are a BOLD man Rob ! I had thought about it but never attempted doing that. I figured the suction cup would not hold but the safety wire/cord would and it would beat the crap out of my plane before I landed.

Thought of that... and decided that if the twine had little to no slack, it wouldn't bounce around much? Rhys, did you modify the mount with the bolt? Or is that a mount option? If you need any baling twine, I have lots!

Rob, the mount is the one that came with the GOPro for a tripod. So I just found a bolt of the appropriate size and length with a lock washer to fit. The aluminum bar was from Home Depot that I bent in a vise. You can never have too much bailing twine.

Here are some pictures of the RAM mount that I use for my Drift HD170 Stealth camera. It's rock solid but easy to mount or remove without tools and I can position the camera any way that I want. There's little vibration with it mounted on the tiedown ring and it's easy to get the airplane out of the picture if you want to.

andy wrote:Here are some pictures of the RAM mount that I use for my Drift HD170 Stealth camera. It's rock solid but easy to mount or remove without tools and I can position the camera any way that I want. There's little vibration with it mounted on the tiedown ring and it's easy to get the airplane out of the picture if you want to.

VERY NICE !

Great minds think alike.

My Drift HD170 is getting a little long in the tooth and I've been researching new action cam technology. I looked at the Garmin VIRB Elite and GoPro Hero 3 but the Sony HDR-AS100VR looks the most interesting. Does anyone have experience with it in an aircraft?

I have the gopro hero 3 all I can say about it is the battery life is short I just got one of the larger batteries and will play with that but so far I haven't been able to record any thing of much use. That may be operator error thought. I thought the remote would be good for controlling the recordings but I think it maybe the reason for the short battery life. I used the phone app but it definitely killed the battery in short order.

I wouldn't call me an expert, by any stretch, but thanks Russel!

But I have been lucky enough to try every POV camera and mount, plus tons of custom stuff that is on the market.

If you have a question please feel free to PM me. I have nearly 7 terabytes of raw video from over the years, some good, some bad, and have an idea of what works and what doesn't. That being said I try new stuff all the time. In fact I was at the hangar to 2 am last night hanging new mounts that I haven't tried before.

I use Final Cut pro for editing and while I don't have any formal training in editing I found it easy enough just using google. (I might not have said that at first). I use Motion for animating and Divinci for grading. I have no doubt that a pro would laugh at my lack of knowledge, but for the basic stuff it works.

If you haven't seen some of the stuff we put together here are two recent ones. I assume many of you have before though so don't click expecting to find something interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfXT38Y ... G298ClcXUQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrPJac80W9Y