Camera wobble on Go Pro HD

[edb49]

I've just tested my Go Pro HD camera, and it has a definite wobble effect. Basically the problem is rolling shutter and vibrations. Lots of USA forums refer to it as the 'jello' effect.

Here's an example vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X2g8TrSAlU

(E.G. It looks like the lense is made from flexible material and someone is wobbling it, causing the image to distort.)

I've played around on VirtualDub/deshaker to try and fix this but not much joy, anyone got any tips?

[Dave 500]

Send it back and get another one sent out. If the next ones the same ask for your money back and get something else .

PS I used to live just up the road from there

[shaun fulcrum]

I'd deffinately send it back! I had an issue with the cable for my GO PRO Hero so emailed their customer service and they sent me a new one next day

Very good service imho

[edb49]

I don't think this is a fault with the particular unit, it is a general problem with all cameras using CMOS censors. There's a good example on Youtube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEaDrS-yzIE

I'll drop them an email and see what they say.

[Lauren87]

Had the exact same problem with our camera, turned out it was just a problem where we had put it, the vibration of the car made it go like that. If you have a car that has roll bars you can buy a mount that attaches to them, found that that took the wobble away. If its not that i'd send it back.

[Scott W]

Which bracket assembly are using with the camera? I've got the same camera and when using it on my kitcar I've used the roll cage/bar bracket you can purchase additionaly. I get no wobble whatsoever and I know my car makes everything vibrate!

[edb49]

Scott W said:

Which bracket assembly are using with the camera? I've got the same camera and when using it on my kitcar I've used the roll cage/bar bracket you can purchase additionaly. I get no wobble whatsoever and I know my car makes everything vibrate!

I'm using the standard roll bar mount, I've tried tightening all the fixings up as tight as they go but no joy.

[FasterFreddy]

As said, this is a problem with ALL CMOS sensors using a rolling shutter which includes the GoPro HD, Contour HD etc.

There's nothing you can get for less than £1500 which won't have this problem, but how bad you'll get it will depend on how you mount it, what engine you've got in your car/bike and other random factors.

IMO the GoPro mount system is not very good as they don't provide a tripod screw to allow you to do away with their plastic mounts and substitute a nice solid clamp to hold it firmly.

[swampy56]

FasterFreddy said:

As said, this is a problem with ALL CMOS sensors using a rolling shutter which includes the GoPro HD, Contour HD etc.

There's nothing you can get for less than £1500 which won't have this problem, but how bad you'll get it will depend on how you mount it, what engine you've got in your car/bike and other random factors.

IMO the GoPro mount system is not very good as they don't provide a tripod screw to allow you to do away with their plastic mounts and
substitute a nice solid clamp to hold it firmly.

They do a tripod screw now, as I use one fixed to a manfroto role bar mount! No problems to date!

[edb49]

FasterFreddy said:

As said, this is a problem with ALL CMOS sensors using a rolling shutter which includes the GoPro HD, Contour HD etc.

There's nothing you can get for less than £1500 which won't have this problem, but how bad you'll get it will depend on how you mount it, what engine you've got in your car/bike and other random factors.

IMO the GoPro mount system is not very good as they don't provide a tripod screw to allow you to do away with their plastic mounts and substitute a nice solid clamp to hold it firmly.

I agree with you on this - what doesn't add up for me though is the video on the GoPro website. The in car stuff looks fantastic, do you think this has had post-processing done to remove the wobble?

[FasterFreddy]

edb49 said:

FasterFreddy said:

As said, this is a problem with ALL CMOS sensors using a rolling shutter which includes the GoPro HD, Contour HD etc.

There's nothing you can get for less than £1500 which won't have this problem, but how bad you'll get it will depend on how you mount it, what engine you've got in your car/bike and other random factors.

IMO the GoPro mount system is not very good as they don't provide a tripod screw to allow you to do away with their plastic mounts and substitute a nice solid clamp to hold it firmly.

I agree with you on this - what doesn't add up for me though is the video on the GoPro website. The in car stuff looks fantastic, do you think this has had post-processing done to remove the wobble?

Sometimes you get lucky and don't see any of this wobble. For every clip they've put on their website there will be another they've not used because of the wobble. There's no easy post-processing you can do to remove this effect as it's too pronounced.

I've tested most small HD cameras and they all suffer from this to an extent but the smaller ones like the GoPro are the worst, probably because of their size and relatively cheap design, using plastic cases, mounts etc.

[edb49]

I've seen Sportcam have just started doing a 1080p kit that uses a CCD..

[FasterFreddy]

edb49 said:

I've seen Sportcam have just started doing a 1080p kit that uses a CCD..

If you mean their 'HD Pro' then no, it's not CCD. It's CMOS just like the rest of them.

[edb49]

FasterFreddy said:

edb49 said:

I've seen Sportcam have just started doing a 1080p kit that uses a CCD..

If you mean their 'HD Pro' then no, it's not CCD. It's CMOS just like the rest of them.

You sure? I emailed them about it last week...

SportCam said:

from Sport-Cam <[e-mail]> to Ed Butler

date 3 July 2010 08:08
subject Re: Sport-Cam HDPro 1080p

Ed

It is a ccd sensor

Regards
Giles
Sport-Cam


On 3 Jul 2010, at 07:40, Ed Butler wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Can you tell me if this is a CMOS or CCD sensor? I'm using a GoPro HD at the moment on my car, and the rolling shutter effect makes the video look horrible.
>
> --
> Ed Butler

Edited by edb49 on Monday 5th July 10:59

Edited by edb49 on Wednesday 23 October 09:08

[Paul_M3]

This is the reason I bought a 2nd hand Panasonic HDC-SD9, as it was the last 'normal priced' HD camcorder which used CCD rather than CMOS.

Only the high end stuff is available with CCD now unfortunately.

[FasterFreddy]

I can't begin to tell you how much BS is on their website.

They even describe a cheap SD DVR as "HD720 High Definition helmet video system". Look at the specs and you'll see it's complete rubbish.

That HDPro system has a CMOS sensor. I know because I've tested it myself.

You can't believe most of what you read on these Sportcam/Helmetcam websites unfortunately.

Edited by Jack Mansfield on Tuesday 4th December 15:45

[edb49]

I stand corrected!

What would you recommend for a camera with CCD sensor? HD or not, doesn't matter.

[FasterFreddy]

As Paul said above, only the really high end HD kit uses CCD.

The fact is, until the technology improves (or the high end chipsets fall dramatically in price so the Chinese can afford them) the most stable, vibration-free picture you can get on some vehicles will be with a good quality, standard definition, composite video bullet camera.

If you have a road-going car you use on track then one of these cheap HD systems may work fine, but if you have a 'difficult' car and you just can't find a way to eliminate the jelly effect no matter where or how you mount the camera, then the only real solution is to go back to SD for the time being.

ETA - although I probably should mention there are some plug-ins for the likes of Final Cut pro which are supposed to correct rolling shutter issues. The trouble is most customers buying something like a GoPro probably won't be buying FCP to edit. I guess there may be some freeware conversion tools coming along sometime as these CMOS cameras are getting so popular.

Edited by FasterFreddy on Monday 5th July 14:54

[Porkie]

I bought a GoproHD last week and tested it for first time at Combe this weekend against my AIM smartycam....

for the money the Gopro is excellent! really pleased with it! picture quality is great.

[edb49]

Just wanted to give a big thumbs up to Dogcam, they've taken the Go Pro back and given a full credit which I've used to buy a different type of camera (CCD based) from them, which won't have the issue that Go Pro has.