Gopro for doing self video analysis?

[Mr.E]

I don't own a gopro or similar and have never ridden with one. How do folks feel about the feasibility for use in self filming for technique analysis? I'm not sure if riding with a lever in my hand would toss my technique far enough to render it moot.

[dredman]

The new Hero 8 is amazingly easy to use. Riding with one in hand is tricky and I most often do not ride well with one in hand.  The stuff I post is highly edited to remove the not so pleasant riding.  That being said, I can hand the camera to my wife or a pal and get great footage.  With it on a selfie stick all they have to do is point in the general direction and they will most likely get you in the shot.  The new 8 has 3 different lens setting (Super Wide, Wide and Linear). The linear work well with someone following, paralleling or leading you. The 8 has great stabilization and requires very little/no post processing to have the footage end up very watchable.  

Watching yourself will really help solve a lot of problems.   Riding with a group of varying skill riders will also help the group collectively learn.  Either way, learning is a lot of hard work!  

Consider joining us for the MCC. Lots of folks with GoPro's and we share all of the footage on a Google Share drive.  And we will have some professional film and camera guys. Oh and we have clinics!  Instructors @Coreyand Kathy @kinpa rock and have helped many carvers over the years!

Hope that helps with your question and some possible solutions.

[SunSurfer]

I've owned a GoPro for several years. Great for POV shooting and footage of others. Put a selfie stick in my hand and my balance goes out the window.

The best footage I have of my own riding has been shot by others ( thankyou!!!!!) and shot as I ride toward and past the camera. A small camera with some sort of zoom capability can do a pretty good job.

Carving mates shoot footage of each other.

 

[st_lupo]

This is what I’m going to start using for this purpose.  Rylo just got bought up, so all cameras are at a serious discount (got mine for $187 including stick and protective case).

 

 

[philw]

I have a Rylo - see videos elsewhere for examples. I find the Rylo (or GoPro Max) is a better than a traditional POV camera as the stabilization is better and you don't need to aim the camera at all. It's easier to use a 360 camera, although you have more editing to do. Less to do whilst riding, more to do later.

I actually got some useful feedback from someone on here (viz: try a different rear foot angle), so there's your evidence that the basic idea works.

Carrying a pole does affect your riding, however. You need a fairly quiet upper body, which is fine if that's your style but maybe not so much if it isn't.

You can video other people, and again 360 is easier than a directional camera because you can't miss the shot, although you have to be very close... this shot shows Ken (Orange) trying to video me (front, yellow) the other day. He may look far away, but these are very wide lenses and he's uncomfortably close. You need to be on it to ride that close safely. You can however see probably that my mate Jim in the back is in the back seat, although he already knows that and doesn't care. Ken's using a GoPro Max someone lent him - he stopped using his traditional GoPro 8 as soon as he realized what you can do with 360.

It's worth pointing out that the video quality from traditional 180 GoPro cameras is vastly better than the 360 cameras. That's where the trade off is. I miss the 4K ProTune quality, with the Rylo being best in perfect light and at lower resolutions.

[AcousticBoarder]

I got the hero 7 last year and have used it for self analysis. It has the same features as the 8 listed above. Having others film you is great, sometimes it just isn't possible though if you are riding by yourself. I tried sticking mine to my board with a surfboard sticky mount and tethering it to my bindings... Worked for about half a run, granted I did not put the mount on the board till that morning, might try again and heat up the sticky with a heat gun first. Also, I tethered with kevlar string, I'm weary if paracord would hold well, tie line/trick line does not. I will look for the video and post later if I can. 

OK here it is 

 

As for holding a selfie stick, my findings are similar as others here, but it is definitely possible, look at folks like @Ryan Knapton. I think he made a video about selfie sticks too. Important thing is to keep the camera below the stick too, that's where the action is, not your face. Here is my attempt last season, not the best. 

Both videos are just put together with go pros phone editor, nothing fancy. No image stabilization besides what is already on the camera. 

[Beckmann AG]

23 hours ago, Mr.E said:

How do folks feel about the feasibility for use in self filming for technique analysis?

If your plans involve 'professional' feedback, you'd be better off hiring a friend to shoot you with their/your hand-held computer.

For the most part, it only takes a brief sequence of turns to identify any dominant obstacles to progress, and that's well within the capture range of the average phone.

if you fancy yourself a visual learner, the distorted image probably won't be much use, as it doesn't resemble anything you're likely to see in the wild, in real time. 

Unless you happen to ride with, (or just want to look like) Reed Richards.

 

 

[Mr.E]

I mostly ride by myself. Just looking for another feedback tool. 

[patmoore]

I did a comparison between the GoPro Hero 3+ and GoPro Hero8.  Note the difference in the head movement.  BTW,  I used  a triple suction cup GoPro mount.

 

[patmoore]

Three-time Olympian Kaylin Richardson demostrates the Invisible Selfie Stick feature of the GoPro Max.  

 

[inkaholic]

Mr. E,

I know it is a bit of a haul navigating traffic and all on a Sunday but you really should meet us, LCI, after Montucky. We help each other all the time and even shoot pixels sometimes, especially if after ride recovery drinks will be paid for. You will get good feedback and visual representation, watching others, of what is being said to you.

Ink

[Mr.E]

Thanks! Schedule wise it's the most consistent day I have with my wife, but one of these weekends when she's busy I'll head over. Should be fun, even without visual aids

[Erik J]

I ride alone 99% of the time. I generally strike up a conversation with whoever I'm on the lift with. After a short conversation, you could offer a stranger a couple bucks to follow you for one run with your own cellphone or gopro.

Like Beckman said you dont need an hour of footage.