Things have been really busy around here, so I was happy to have a quiet day to just ride. My original plan was to get out very early, but the Takkyubin delivery guy had missed me already once, so I called and let him know I would be home Sunday morning. While I waited for the package, I refined an earlier project of building a mount to attach a digicam to my handlebars. I went with a 'zero-budget' concept, as I have a lot of material to work with in my junk closet, and I couldn't leave the house to go shopping anyway.
My previous attempt produced video that was was unwatchable (mount too flimsy / camera too heavy) and audio that was all wind noise. This time I had to improve the mounting, as I had to use my heavier camera with its stronger metal tripod mount. Although I had damped the wind noise by taping a cotton puff over the camera's mic, gusts were just to loud and awful to listen to. This time I switched around some hardware, and used a Sanyo digital audio recorder for the sound component (in my rear pocket, out of the wind).
My package arrived after 9am, and I was ready to ride and get some footage! I quickly realized that spirited riding (near or above 5000 rpm) still resulted in violent camera shake, and smooth roads are much better, too. I chose the longest smoothest clip to work with , and added the sound and the music when I got home. I'm not really satisfied, and the processing eroded the video quality a lot, maybe because there were too many programs involved. At least I know what is possible now, and might try again, weather permitting.
This ride was on the way home from the spirited ride, unfortunately with Mt. Fuji behind me. It goes through the susuki fields on our side of the mountain, and through some of the jieitai training ground. In the distance you can see the Ashitaka mountain range. Because of the long weekend, and afternoon hour, there are a lot of cars on the road, limiting speed but preserving video smoothness!
Best watched full screen but away from your monitor a little bit:
2 comments:
How fun! Loved going on such a nice afternoon ride with you.
Yeah, that made me queazy.
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