It’s not everyday you get to ride with a pro kiteboarder in the perfect conditions on a beautiful day. On May 8, I met up with Epic Kites owner Dimitri Maramenides and followed him on a downwinder in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Over two hours I got to shoot Dimitri jumping over land gaps, trees and even over myself as I was riding by him. I’ve seen some good riders before but there’s nothing like riding with a pro and capturing it all with a GoPro HD. I can’t wait for the new GoPro HD Wrist Mount to be released so I don’t have to risk losing my camera in the water as I’m shooting while kiteboarding.
From what I have seen so far, when Mark Zealand grabs a camera, a few guys and a wicked BC location, the footage is bound to be pretty rad. The whole point behind this video was to use a few different GoPro HD HEROs at different angles and fps, edit it all together and see the effects… the achievement is clear. Having used a super sticky adhesive to attach the camera to the riders helmet, he was able to bomb around, using the angle of his head to capture some pretty slick imagery, such as the parallel lines of his top tube to the narrow ramps and some pretty wild slow motion shots while grabbing a little air. The adhesive clearly held its ground, as there is no shortage of action.
The wide angle output of the Helmet HERO enables you to almost feel the washboard rhythms beneath the bike to the point that butterflies nearly appear in your stomach. Throughout the ride, Mark and another fella stalk the rider with the same HERO used as a handheld, securing some great angles on some pretty sweet curves and tricks. Liquid imagery is all you see, even when real life tends to be a little choppy… turns and drop offs are caught in fluid motion allowing your eye to follow with ease, without headaches. All filmed on Vancouver’s beautiful North Shore in spectacular British Columbia and mixed to some well suited, peppy beats, this short video shows just what you can accomplish with a little creativity and a beautiful day.
The Gopro LCD BacPac is the long anticiated detachable LCD screen for your Gopro HD HERO 1080p camera. One of the things missing from Gopro's excellent cameras has been the ability to preview your shots. Now, with the LCD BacPac video buffs can frame their scene before shooting video.
Some companies are just committed to excellence and GoPro is no exception. At NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) 2010 they offered excellent tips and creative options to capture the kind of footage you need.
GoPro has come up with a unique homemade steady cam design adapted from items you probably have lying around the house. Secured using four GoPro Ride HERO Mounts clamped onto a road bike handlebar, the HD HERO is connected via the included component cables to an external monitor for live, wide angle, HD output. A new skeleton housing is currently in development with port holes for AV and HD output, but you can get the same basic effect by altering the existing GoPro housing. The entire unit is powered by an external USB battery and since the HD Hero films in wide angle HD, this ingenious rigged up system records very steadily, perfect for reporting on the go.
Not to worry, GoPro is still working to release the LCD BakPac for Summer 2010. Retailing at just $49.99 US, this expansion pack utilizes the removable back door and innovative expansion port on the back of the camera, the HERO Bus™ to give you an LCD screen on the back of your GoPro HD for on-camera preview and playback.
UPDATE - January 30 / 2011
The Gopro LCD BacPac is the long anticiated detachable LCD screen for your Gopro HD HERO 1080p camera. One of the things missing from Gopro’s excellent cameras has been the ability to preview your shots. Now, with the LCD BacPac video buffs can frame their scene before shooting video.
Available in Spring 2010, GoPro introduces the HD Wrist Mount option. Encased securely in GoPro housing, the camera is clipped into the Velcro wrist band, allowing you to flip it up at moments notice to record, then fasten it back into place, allowing you to get on with your ride, run… whatever.
Some other new developments from GoPro include the Military Helmet Mount Kit and 3D Housing. How cool is this… taking 2 HD HERO’s, combined in a single housing, you are able to film in sync, in stereoscopic 3D, wide angle, 1080p HD. This wicked kit should be on the market near the end of 2010 and makes 3D video an affordable option for the first time ever!
Leading the pack with their innovative ideas and superior technology, GoPro has once again impressed with the pending introduction of these new products. I wonder how many of you are taking the handle bars off your bike right now.
Three months ago VholdR opened video submissions for their biggest challenge of the year: The Snowboarding Challenge.
The incentive? How about this!
Any video that placed somewhere in the Top 5 would receive a brand new snowboard from their hookup at Lib Tech, while the 1st place winner was awarded the new 2010/11 Travis Rice board - complete with some insane graphics and their exclusive Banana technology. That’s right, you heard correctly my friends. Now how’s that for 1st place!
All five top ranking clips were shot using the ContourHD Camera and while each is simply amazing in its own way, the winning clip stands out based on its mind-blowing footage and editing. Whether you’re familiar with VholdR’s ContourHD helmet camera or not, make sure you take a few minutes to check out these exceptional videos. Ranging from an early opening at Whistler based on beautiful fresh pow to some sweet back country shooting at Baldface, the folks behind these clips should be proud of what they were able to accomplish with this great camera in such incredible surroundings.
So be sure to check it out, and if you feel inspired to capture some footage of your own adventures out in the great outdoors, visit our VholdR page to check out the ContourHD Cameras and accessories.
