Ground Cams

[Figure9]

Doesn’t take long for a newbie flyer to find these forums & after doing a few posts it’s clear that many are wanting to join the video crowd for posting on the forum. That’s where I am now. The trusty iPhone works OK for pics & videos of flyers doing set-up & preflight, etc, but not a good option for tracking airborne models.
What ground cams works best for following models in flight? Is there a favorite that flyers use for hat cams or hand helds? What about stabilization? What about cost & best value? Improved videos for a better forum platform is what I’m interested in. I have an entry level skill set when it comes to camera work. Let me know what you’re using.

 

[Hondo76251]

I have the best luck using a head mount. I've got an older go pro session (the cube one) and of course they dont make it anymore but I hear there is a pretty good knock off of it now...

 

[CarolineTyler]

I use an action cam attached to the brim of a baseball style cap. Works fairly well and the head and neck make a super gimbal, but like all action cameras the lens is very wide so if you want the plane to be anything more than a dot against a big sky you will have to fly quite close

 

[CarolineTyler]

I have the best luck using a head mount. I've got an older go pro session (the cube one) and of course they dont make it anymore but I hear there is a pretty good knock off of it now...

The Runcam 6 Orange - super camera for around £100 !!! It's on my future shopping list

 

[Zetoyoc]

I picked up a used GoPro hero 3 from a local thrift shop for about $30. I have since velcroed it to a headlamp band and use that to record my flights. Instill adjust it poorly and get a. Few recordings of just sky or the video will be at a 30 deg slant but it mostly works for me .

 

[FL_Engineer]

Action cam clipped to the baseball cap worked perfect for me first time out and I had no previous experience YMMV.

 

[Homey]

This is pretty close to what i use, but i have a selfie stick clamp for my phone. My S8 was fantastic quality and my S10 should be even better!
It ain't no fashion show! Lol

Peter

 

[daxian]

runcam 2 on a baseball cap ...ala runcam ron on xjet ...mount from sir andrew newton ,cheap and cheerfull does for me !!

 

[Headbang]

I use a gopro session head mounted as well. Recently I was looking at what was available. There seems to be a lot of options. Key is to have it head mounted, what ever you choose.
I shoot in 4k and then zoom in while editing. My editor of choice is davinci resolve, it is free for personal use and crazy powerful.

This year I plan to get a 360 camera as well that I can setup and let go in order to get a larger variety of shots.

 

[Figure9]

I use a gopro session head mounted as well. Recently I was looking at what was available. There seems to be a lot of options. Key is to have it head mounted, what ever you choose.
I shoot in 4k and then zoom in while editing. My editor of choice is davinci resolve, it is free for personal use and crazy powerful.

This year I plan to get a 360 camera as well that I can setup and let go in order to get a larger variety of shots.

That’s very helpful. I’ve been considering the Hat Cam available online but I keep hearing the GoPro is a compromise to quality. It seems reasonable that shooting a flight with a telescopIc lens would be shaky & have a tendency to lose the subject flyer right out of the shot frame. I guess I need to look at highest resolution cameras, like you say 4K or better. Editing’s not my thing with my iPad being the only tool I have for video production, but I think I could manage something.

 

[CustomRCMods]

I use a head strap with my DJI Osmo Action. Exellent quality and stability as well as tracking on the model. I'd reccomend an action camera, and you can still edit on your iPad with an SD card adapter. Also, I often like to add micro fpv setups onboard or add action cams to larger planes to make videos more interesting to watch.

If you are looking for a cost effective action camera, this DBPOWER 4k Action Camera is actually really good for the price. I love mine!

Here are some examples:

DJI Osmo Action (Head Strap), Micro FPV Cam Onboard (DVR)

GoPro Hero 3+ (Head Strap), DBPOWER 4K Action Cam (Oboard)

 

[Figure9]

I use a head strap with my DJI Osmo Action. Exellent quality and stability as well as tracking on the model. I'd reccomend an action camera, and you can still edit on your iPad with an SD card adapter.

Thanks for this post. Head straps or Cam Caps are providing what I think are the best coverage of flight for posting on the forums. DTFB flyers frequently fly in parks or fields without assistance for shooting videos of their flights. I haven’t caught the bug for FPV yet but it looks like the DJI will do both ground cam & FPV well.

 

[CustomRCMods]

Yes. agreed. Good luck and make sure to post your videos when they start rolling out!