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Hie,

I'm looking for the best action cam for my mooney, I wish a camera that can be controlled from the inside, and I want a remote wich can control two camerams simultaneously,

Should I choose a Go-pro, A garmin, or an other brand ?

 

tanks,

 

 

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I'm new to these toys and am very happy with my Garmin Virb XE. It can be controlled via Garmin Pilot app if you already use that, or a standalone phone/tablet app. It can also link with other Garmin stuff like watches, heart rate monitor, etc. It also has native GPS functionality that can overlay data with the recording too.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

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My girlfriend just got me a new GoPro Hero4 Session. Small, black cube. Small form factor = less drag. I stick it on the outside, and the larger Hero3 is inside with an audio cord.

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I stuck more sticky pads on the tail tie-down ring and another on the top of the vertical stabilizer, but I have yet to fly with a camera in those positions...yet.

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I like the contours and the garmin cameras. You can control them from your phone and their video quality is very good. The only problem with the contour is its short battery  life.



Hie Oscar,
It seems to me that you use another brand? Has The battery more autonomy ?



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I started using GoPros, but I got disappointed by their Menu and their complicated set up functions. Also, GoPros battery life was better fitted for briefer activities, such as filming a downhill skiing run.

So I tried out the contour cameras, what I like about them is their simplicity and adequate video quality. The possibility of adjusting the lens manually to compensate for installation (it is often hard to find a perfectly smooth and level surface) was also a great plus. I also thought that the shape of the camera was great (small and streamlined). You could also control the camera from your phone. But the battery life was only about 60 minutes. 

http://contour.com/

When Garmin came out with their VIRBs I tried them out and I thought that they had found a nice balance between quality, ruggedness price, form and battery life. I have been using them now for a while and I like them.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the-trail/action-cameras/virb-elite/prod119594.html

I also purchased their latest model, but I am not totally convinced, Garmin tried to emulate GoPro (I guess it is the industry standard for action cameras), but I don't think the new shape is so great for putting it on a wing, I just preferred the more streamlined form.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/into-sports/action-cameras/virb-ultra-30/prod522869.html

But at the end what really matters is the editing software. You can do miracles with the right software. I use Final Cut pro and I am really happy with it.

Just to share with you how similar the results are, here goes a video I shot with different cameras. The camera that captures the shots from the tail is a contour, the rest are Garmin VIRBs.

 

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For what it's worth, I think the idea of controlling cameras from inside the cockpit is something everyone always asks for and thinks will be a good idea. But those of us who shoot lots of video realize it's not such a good idea.  All the vendors, GoPro, Contour, and Garmin cameras can be controlled remotely from your phone or tablet.

1. But you'll find that maintaining a wifi or bluetooth connection to the camera eats battery faster than just letting it run. A better solution is just turn the camera on and let it run for the duration of the flight and have the bluetooth/wifi turned off. I can easily get over two hours of video out of my GoPro's.
2.  Editing is a pain in the ass, but easier to do afterwards while on your laptop, rather than in the cockpit while flying. Turning the cameras on/off or start/stop while flying just never works very well and you'll wind up missing what you wish you'd caught.
3.  The "interesting" stuff you want to have on camera, is also the stuff that usually requires active flying on the pilot's part. Therefore you probably don't want to be managing camera's at the same time. I.E. landing, take-offs, shooting an approach, station-keeping in formation, etc.

I like the Garmin with the GPS, speed, direction, etc. super imposed on the video. But I like the GoPro Session's for their small cube shape and ease of mounting options. So I use GoPro's.

One mounted inside the cabin on the ceiling between and just aft of the front seats can give a good view of the panel and through the front windshield. You'll want a neutral density filter to take the prop out of the picture. You can also plug it into ships power and audio.
I think the best shots from outside the cabin are on the front outside corner of the horizontal stabilizer, high on the vertical stab, (I don't put it on top as the top moves around, but high on the side and close to the leading edge). Also on the tail skid for great shots of landings and the landing gear in transit.

Just my $0.02

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On 12/4/2016 at 5:28 PM, gsxrpilot said:

For what it's worth, I think the idea of controlling cameras from inside the cockpit is something everyone always asks for and thinks will be a good idea. But those of us who shoot lots of video realize it's not such a good idea.  All the vendors, GoPro, Contour, and Garmin cameras can be controlled remotely from your phone or tablet.

1. But you'll find that maintaining a wifi or bluetooth connection to the camera eats battery faster than just letting it run. A better solution is just turn the camera on and let it run for the duration of the flight and have the bluetooth/wifi turned off. I can easily get over two hours of video out of my GoPro's.
2.  Editing is a pain in the ass, but easier to do afterwards while on your laptop, rather than in the cockpit while flying. Turning the cameras on/off or start/stop while flying just never works very well and you'll wind up missing what you wish you'd caught.
3.  The "interesting" stuff you want to have on camera, is also the stuff that usually requires active flying on the pilot's part. Therefore you probably don't want to be managing camera's at the same time. I.E. landing, take-offs, shooting an approach, station-keeping in formation, etc.

I like the Garmin with the GPS, speed, direction, etc. super imposed on the video. But I like the GoPro Session's for their small cube shape and ease of mounting options. So I use GoPro's.

One mounted inside the cabin on the ceiling between and just aft of the front seats can give a good view of the panel and through the front windshield. You'll want a neutral density filter to take the prop out of the picture. You can also plug it into ships power and audio.
I think the best shots from outside the cabin are on the front outside corner of the horizontal stabilizer, high on the vertical stab, (I don't put it on top as the top moves around, but high on the side and close to the leading edge). Also on the tail skid for great shots of landings and the landing gear in transit.

Just my $0.02

This is really great advice.

I assume you want to upload on YouTube so I'll tell you my side of it based on that.

I personally use the Sony action cams and like them a lot.   You can control multiple cameras with the wrist monitor which is about the size of the GoPro backpack monitors and velcros to your wrist.  As was stated above, I thought this was going to be an excellent idea but I never use it.  It's too much hassle so I don't recommend remote control of cameras.  You need to keep it as simple as possible or it's a drag to get all that set up.  The best way is to just push record on all your cameras, get in the plane and go fly.  When you land, turn them off and go download and edit.  

If you want to use a single battery you can do it but you'll have to push record and stop a lot and you might miss something.  Besides most of us need to concentrate on flying the plane, not playing with cameras so I don't recommend that method.The problem with video recording all of your flight is that you run out of battery.  On the Sonys I attach a portable external battery.  However I've been considering the GoPro Hero 4 with the additional $50 battery BACKPAC which should double the time and no external batteries to deal with.  This camera would go externally.  

The other thing to consider is if the remote control will 'wake up' the camera or if you have to wake it up manually.  Again, I never got that far because it was too much of a hassle.

Other things you'll need down the road is a way to edit and audio recording.

You'll want to get a post production software package like Adobe Premier (it will run close to $1k on eBay or $20/month for a subscription which isn't bad because you can cancel it) or if you have a Mac you'll save a lot of money on Final Cut Pro X (around $300 if I remember).  It's been a while so you'll have to look up the current prices.

I've never heard any action camera with great audio.  Sony is a lot better that GoPro though.  So you'll need a splitter cable for the com line so your viewers can hear what's being said to ATC.  You can record it on different devices.  Right now I use a portable Sony digital recorder that I tuck away in a pocket in the plane so there's no chords to deal with.  I've made a couple videos and I'm playing around with combining ambient sounds from the cameras and com radio sound. 

Content and some production value is what I'm trying to work on now.  I just started recording and it's a bit difficult to get the content that's interesting to viewers...I'm still working on this.  There's a lot of good videos on Youtube and a lot of people that drone on about their lives.

 A couple good YouTubers are Steveo1kinevo, Flightchops, MrAviation 101, Swayne Martin, Martin Pauley...all for different reasons; some are some are educational and well produced and some are just entertaining.

Good luck with you decision.  Most will work just fine.

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