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- 23 comments
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canon hv20 or the newer hv30 have the best reviews for small hdv cameras. avoid avchd as editing can be problematic. minijack audio inputs only on these cameras so you may want a separate audio recorder (my preference) or a "beach box".
although a sennheiser 416 is the most weather proof directional mic it needs phantom powering and the wind gag will make it bulky so the best quality lapel/clip mic with minijack connector would be the most compact and easy to keep dry (in a food container) and will do for interviews/voxpops with 1 person at a time. i'd advise rycote windgag for the lapel mic as almost everything about the dd is exposed to the elements. don't forget headphones to monitor your audio and hd/hdv needs more light than sd even with night vision so if you have a fancy bike light (eg. dinotte) you find life easier.
if you can get your hands on a sony a1 (hdv) it doesn't have the picture quality of the canons but will be easier to plug a mic into.dan (sound recordist).
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a man goes into a pub and says to the landlord:
"there is a fantastic network across london for cyclists to use; it's called the road, the only problems with it are the way some people use it.
most cycle lanes are there for the convenience of the drivers and are more often a danger to riders.
make residential roads no faster than a cyclist.
scrap lights.
scrap badly driven cars.
more underground car parks to get the things off the road.
and pay people to cycle (in the long run it will cost us less)!"landlord replies:
"alright mate, calm down. there are green routes that seem to encourage leisure cycling, maybe getting families to ride at weekends will be a big factor in changing trends - a bit like that program on tv last night ('the woman who stops traffic')."man decides he'd rather drink beer elsewhere and leaves pub.
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i don't want to spoil your fun or anything but skidding is 1 thing, stopping quickly is another.
an emergency stop should involve moving your weight back, this allows you to use more front brake (which does most of the work) and helps to keep the back wheel on the ground (which helps). if you ride fixed you've got the nearest thing to ABS braking that a (simple) bike can have, make the most of that. using your legs to control your speed on steep descents will help you develop the muscles for this (and skidding).
weight forward skidding is fun, trendy and profitable for tyre manufacturers. and a hop-skid can allow you to change direction quickly (like a hand brake turn), but locking your rear wheel is a stunt that is best to avoid (if you can) in an emergency situation. not least because if you end up side-ways in heavy traffic you will increase you chances of being hit from behind.
my personal experience is that i can stop my fixed (with street gears) quicker than a road bike (with similar tyres) because it's easy to lock the back of a road bike even when you don't want to. the only times i blatantly use skidding is when i end up off road and there's not enough front tyre to stop it from locking up and/or it's quite steep - obviously, it's better to lock the back than the front but still move the weight back if you genuinely want to stop or control speed.
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SB's site was the mark of a genius - his desire, skill and enthusiasm for sharing his knowledge with the rest of us is a gift for anyone who wants to know anything about bikes. i know he was not into charity rides and i'm guessing he'd not think much of a statue or similar but for his online gain ratios calculator alone he deserves a tribute somewhere, somehow. a guardian of the zeitgeist, a genuine loss to the modern cycling era.
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looks like i may have an opportunity to go sri lanka (columbo and candy) and i was wondering if anyone here has taken a bike or rented 1 and explored the roads on 2 wheels.
thanks.
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i forgot, these are pretty cool (i don't have a pair but know people who do):
http://www.dacs-audio.com/Distribution/Soundman/soundman_main.htm
these would allow you to do a 2 person interview and get excellent stereo ambient tracks the rest of the time without the handling noise if you use camera mics. you'll still need rycotes (richmond film services).
btw lucas brunelle's helmet cam is great for shots when racing through traffic but it's going to be limited if you want a range of shots from different angles and not much fun for interviews. if you're going with 1 camera i would go hand held with a small camera on lanyard in case you need both hands on the bars. i've found a way of getting audio from a radio mic into my nokia n95 or video camera (for sync) as well as sending a signal to a separate recorder (email me for details). a radio mic would be great for interviewing folks on their bikes.
dan