Action-Cam Woes: Shaky/shoddy video

[brooksb5]

Hi all,

So I was wondering how to best get a good or great quality video from my budget action camera. Before you ask: Why not a GoPro, I usually use this thing used on my road/gravel bike to keep track of nasty/reckless drivers who like to toe that line of getting too close (i.e. roads are smooth so it’s not an issue).

I’ve tried a bar mount and a chest mount and while the perspective is good…the video quality is awful (even recording at 1080 and 60 fps). Lots of shaking up and down, very difficult not to get a bit nauseated while watching.

I’m hoping some of ya’ll out there can provide some feedback on best places to mount it so the video is a lot more stable, and hoping the solution is not buying a $300 or more camera.

Thanks!

[Rob Juric]

Unfortunately, your best bet is a GoPro. That being said, check your Facebook market place. I bought two GoPro Hero 3 blacks, one for $75 the other for $35. They are both better and any off brand, brand new 2019 version. Also, a helmet cam will be best in your situation. A lot of stuff happens and you look towards it and your bars and chest mount don’t. If you’re looking to cover your butt incase something happens, then helmet mount is the way to go. Also to add, your head will kinda work like a stabilizer so the video will be a lot smoother than bars or chest.

[pkrohnert]

Have you considered the Rylo?  It’s a 360-degree camera, recording everything all the time.  Then, you do the stabilization in the editing process (since you have ALL the footage, it’s able to keep anything you want stable, simply by shifting the field of view around).  I’ve been considering them for a while now, and I think I’m going to pick one up at some point.  They’re actually on sale for July 4, if you’re interested.  (No, I don’t work for them, I’ve just been drooling about them for a while).

 

There are other options that are similar, like the Insta360 ONE X and the GoPro Fusion, but from what I’ve been able to tell, Rylo’s software has yet to be beaten.

[Noneed2hate]

IIRC some of the newer go pros have a video stabilization feature that actually works decently, additionally for the quality you generally have to play around with the settings a bit to get the most optimal quality out of the camera.

[pkrohnert]

I’ve heard the same thing, that every newer generation of gopro has better stabilization (which isn’t surprising).  I had a Hero 3, and moved up to a Hero 5 when I saw how much improvement there was over a gen 4.  But they claim the 7 is another real leap forward.

I use a chest mount with my GoPro Hero 5, it seems to give me the best stabilization, and you can always run a stabilization software pass afterward, but that tends to cut into your quality a little bit.

[brooksb5]

So what software have you been using to stabilize the video?

The 360 cameras sound cool, but depending on where I mount, it’ll probably devolve into the same question on how to stabilize and get good feed. Not to mention the Rylo is still way more than I’d ideally like to spend.

I may just end up not recording my trail rides, which is kind of a bummer but I probably am not doing anything super thrilling anyways. More of to catch that deer that runs out in front of me every time at the state park that nobody else ever sees.

[pkrohnert]

The Rylo uses its own software app, available on iphone/android or Mac. It seems to generate some pretty impressive results from what I’ve seen from their sample videos (https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm-xmM8hGy7/?igshid=1x2mo1a61e3pk).

 

As far as stabilizing my current gopro video, I use some free software to run an analysis and then a stabilization pass on the video. It’s a little clunky, but not bad to operate when you get used to it, and the results are pretty good – and, of course, it’s free. I can provide more info if you’re interested.

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