Hi there! I’m just getting started and need some advice:
I primarily cycle around town and plan on capturing imagery via the app from my Moto g5 Plus. I’m struggling to find a mount that allows for horizontal positioning and doesn’t obstruct the camera lens. Any recommendations?
Looking to make an initial investment in an action camera for the car. Any opinions on GoPro vs. Sony? Hood-mounted seems to provide better imagery than dash… But I’m scared of hitting a pothole at high speed and losing the camera! Ha! Any recommendations for a sturdy hood mount?
You can get a free mount for your bike from here - https://shop.mapillary.com/ which will get you started. I now use a GoPro Hero 7 Black for all my car capture and have it on a fixed mount that has been adapted from GarminVirb mounts. This is after trying a few cameras - Garmin Virb (not recommended), Virb XE (better but still had issues), Contour Plus 2 (low resolution).
If you were considering multiple cameras then be aware that GoPro app can only control ONE camera running time lapse images, but multiple for video which means more processing before uploading. I believe multiple Sony cameras can be controlled from a single app/button.
This thread has some great images of various approaches for vehicle mounts
Nice link & feedback about the cameras and setups, lots of great options to choose from. Will likely test GoPro Hero 7 Black and hood suction w/tether etc during a road trip to Yellowstone next month.
My setup for bike capture is the free mount sent by Mapillary. Just a point to keep in mind : fixation is not strong enought so 2 times, my smartphone fell on ground. Now, the glass is broken and the phone is dead ) You have to take care if you use bad roads and if you shake it. The best solution is to buy a real VTT mount For now, I did not find a good model with a position “face to the road”. So I continue with the mount sent by Mappilary but I added a simple lace fixed on phone and handlebar to prevent another accident…
(I placed a card at the spot the phone should be )
At the back (that brown piece of metal) you see a simple DIY counter balance for the grip and camera.
I bent the metal end until the pole remains well vertical holding the pole between two fingers. That way you have to pay hardly any attention to keep the camera correctly positioned. I extend the three parts of the pole when walking offcourse. I need to put a bit more weight at the bottom for more stability (the YI360 weighs quite a bit more then the LG360)
[edit]
A bit off topic, but this is the “selfy stick” you see in the picture:
Thank you @man_from_barnaul and @eesger for the recommendations! I needed to upgrade the storage in my phone… but with that now taken care of, I plan on experimenting with the Mapillary-provided bike mount this weekend, with some security grip enhancements @blueberry (so sorry to hear about your phone!)
Most convenient in fasteners -gopro. With regards to smartphones, the planes (horizon) collapse, their holders “horned” - cling to obstacles, or even break.
I have a bicycle holder similar to EESGER, the weak link in it is a plastic loop (it is hidden in the depth behind the ball bearing).
I apologize for the translation.
a very basic setup, with the most obvious flaws being elevation (cameras not high enough) and tethering (one of the gopros got unstuck due to the heat, but just fell on its side), all cameras had enough power for a 1hr run. Will need to run cables if doing longer.
otherwise a fairly simple setup, got it up and running in 5 mins (could also be why the suction cup got unstuck…)
After a very long web search, I thought there was no ready-made way to mount 4 cameras simultaneously on one surface, apart from some hacky way like dslr cheesboard+1/4’-to-gopro-adapters or metal plate+clip mounts.
And then I found this. https://www.adorama.com/uk527023.html?discontinued=t Sadly, it seems discontinued
Anyone know of alternatives?
And here it is. The fit with these thumbscrews is a bit tight, and trying to capture level sequences with it is a pain, but should work well mounted on a car.
The problem is finding a suitable mount for the car - the base is somewhat proprietary, and works with UKPro poles but not much else. I made do with a wooden flute
weather and lack of time meant not much progress, so no significant changes.
car: same as above, but got some bungie ropes to add a bit of extra tethering to the suction cups, although in all fairness they stuck ok in close to 0 temperatures at low speeds.
still very happy with the gopro remote, makes shooting with an all gopro setup a breeze.
got aluminium extension legs for hero corner cameras.
one change I wanted to make is get a plastic tub of some sort and fix it to the roof upside down for some extra camera elevation, but couldn’t figure out a reliable way to do so without modifying the car.
car - inside: still looking for a virb elite CPL filter, and enduring without one by turning up saturation. Suction cup mounting inside is very easy and doesn’t obstruct visibility if done right.
bicycle: hard to beat a gopro Pro (yes, they call it pro) handlebar mount, especially if you can get one cheap. Really well made, stable and sturdy. You might want to swap the hex bolt for the camera for a thumb-friendly one, provided it clears the handlebars.
foot: the quad gopro mount from UKPro, mentioned above, should work nicely provided you have a matching pole
) You have to take care if you use bad roads and if you shake it. The best solution is to buy a real VTT mount For now, I did not find a good model with a position “face to the road”. So I continue with the mount sent by Mappilary but I added a simple lace fixed on phone and handlebar to prevent another accident…
)
