DIY Headband-cam
Map Video
It must be over 20 years ago that Damon Douglas, US Team coach, during a visit to the Bay Area, gave a talk on orienteering technique. For illustration he used a projected map with course while playing a tape Peter Gagarin recorded while running the course. I don't remember if the recording idea was a suggested training technique but I've used it ever since in conjunction with the map for my post mortems.
The pieces were fastened together with a heavy duty stapler and a hole cut for the lens and that was it.
The results show, if nothing else, that this low tech approach has potential for presenting a view of the orienteer's experience, in action, at little cost; providing you have the camera, of course. It can effectively show the terrain, something you can only imagine from the map, useful as a tool for training, instruction and competition analysis in conjunction with a map. The video quality leaves something to be desired. Uploading to YouTube degrades the quality considerably. Google Video seems marginally better.
Probably not recommended for serious competition. The weight is acceptable but can be a distraction. The overall weight of the camera with battery and headband is about the same as a Silva orienteering headlamp without battery. A headcam is also a distraction to concentration if you are thinking about the resulting video. It seems necessary, from the example, to hold the shots of competitors, terrain features, etc. much longer than the quick glances you would normally give. Also, when map reading, the camera showed only the ground. More meaningful real-time commentary would make for even more distraction.
In this setup, the camera controls are exposed and the screen is easy to check when starting the camera. The prototype needs a retaining strap and adjustable head band.
The last couple of months have seen a huge spurt in O clips on You Tube. A lot of it is interesting and useful. I like seeing terrain types from around the world and some of the instructional stuff would be good for beginners. But there is a lot of nonsense and most seems to be overdone in terms of music and attempts at "production" and entertainment effects for my taste.
It must be over 20 years ago that Damon Douglas, US Team coach, during a visit to the Bay Area, gave a talk on orienteering technique. For illustration he used a projected map with course while playing a tape Peter Gagarin recorded while running the course. I don't remember if the recording idea was a suggested training technique but I've used it ever since in conjunction with the map for my post mortems.
Inspired by the cyclist's helmet-cam, I thought, "why not add video?" The result is this experimental "headband-cam" fashioned from items I happened to have on hand. The idea came the night before a local sprint orienteering event (Pt. Pinole) and I figured this would be a good opportunity. So it was just a matter of luck that I had exactly the right materials and they went together easily for, at least, a workable prototype.
The camera is a 6 oz.Canon SD680 with 2GB SD card. The materials are a couple of pieces of sponge foam and elastic webbing. The foam was coincidentally the right size and had a recess to fit the camera.
The camera is a 6 oz.Canon SD680 with 2GB SD card. The materials are a couple of pieces of sponge foam and elastic webbing. The foam was coincidentally the right size and had a recess to fit the camera.
The pieces were fastened together with a heavy duty stapler and a hole cut for the lens and that was it.
The results show, if nothing else, that this low tech approach has potential for presenting a view of the orienteer's experience, in action, at little cost; providing you have the camera, of course. It can effectively show the terrain, something you can only imagine from the map, useful as a tool for training, instruction and competition analysis in conjunction with a map. The video quality leaves something to be desired. Uploading to YouTube degrades the quality considerably. Google Video seems marginally better.
Probably not recommended for serious competition. The weight is acceptable but can be a distraction. The overall weight of the camera with battery and headband is about the same as a Silva orienteering headlamp without battery. A headcam is also a distraction to concentration if you are thinking about the resulting video. It seems necessary, from the example, to hold the shots of competitors, terrain features, etc. much longer than the quick glances you would normally give. Also, when map reading, the camera showed only the ground. More meaningful real-time commentary would make for even more distraction.
In this setup, the camera controls are exposed and the screen is easy to check when starting the camera. The prototype needs a retaining strap and adjustable head band.
The last couple of months have seen a huge spurt in O clips on You Tube. A lot of it is interesting and useful. I like seeing terrain types from around the world and some of the instructional stuff would be good for beginners. But there is a lot of nonsense and most seems to be overdone in terms of music and attempts at "production" and entertainment effects for my taste.
The DIY headband-cam is a simple and potentially effective way to capture some of the first-hand real time experience besides being a lot of fun.
-Joe
posted by Joe Scarborough at 12:39 PM
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