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I wrote some software in matlab to do automagic horizon detection and straighten the video about a year ago. It worked ok, not perfect but definitely has potential, The algorithm was something that was made for micro uav flight stablization when they only have a camera and no imu onboard:

www.mil.ufl.edu/publications/mav-papers/6.pdf

obviously the big problem was when the horizon was not in the field of view. sometimes the algorithm could lock into the whitewater/dark water transition and use that.

I was hoping for something less painful than keyframe rotation in commercial video editing software. writing the software was a bit painful, but running it was easy. still needs some more work to be more robust.

here is an example in waves so lots of kite rotation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmm03rUHGco

with twin riding and a more stable kite position it is easier..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUX9DtOsA5E

now tiny imu/ahrs loggers are readily available, and I happen to have a few on my desk for some projects at work so maybe I will attach one to my camera next time i try this .

I had the opportunity to get out and kite this afternoon here on lake washington.
was a little cold hence the drysuit and head covering.
filmed my session using the hero 3 with a modified line mount 2.0.
keep in mind that the hero and hero2 cameras will work very well with the newly introduced line mount 2.0, however I needed to make major modifications so that it can be used with the hero3 due to the square lens.
this edit was from today and I spent minimal timing throwing it together. I mainly wanted to show those unfamiliar with the new line mount. it does film much better than the original line mount. yes you will still need to flip the video during editing. I used the mount plugs that allow me to position the mount up the lines preventing the mount from sliding down the lines. camera was approximately 4-6 feet up from the line split. gives it a nice perspective.

What are the modifications you made to fit the new mount to the Hero 3? I just purchased the mount assuming it would work with my new GoPro. Pictures would be awesome but if you could give me some info on what specific mods you did i would appreciate it. Thanks

Can you make a short, How to,video on how the mount connects to the cam? or pictures

stringy wrote:I had the opportunity to get out and kite this afternoon here on lake washington.
was a little cold hence the drysuit and head covering.
filmed my session using the hero 3 with a modified line mount 2.0.
keep in mind that the hero and hero2 cameras will work very well with the newly introduced line mount 2.0, however I needed to make major modifications so that it can be used with the hero3 due to the square lens.
this edit was from today and I spent minimal timing throwing it together. I mainly wanted to show those unfamiliar with the new line mount. it does film much better than the original line mount. yes you will still need to flip the video during editing. I used the mount plugs that allow me to position the mount up the lines preventing the mount from sliding down the lines. camera was approximately 4-6 feet up from the line split. gives it a nice perspective.

anyone using a contour, post ya vid, wana see the vid quality.
ive just bought a contour roam 2 (blue) line mount head mount etc,
cant wait to get on the water and try it out.

janaeo wrote:anyone using a contour, post ya vid, wana see the vid quality.
ive just bought a contour roam 2 (blue) line mount head mount etc,
cant wait to get on the water and try it out.

Should compare well with the GoPro HD2 - and it's priced better! I got a red one coming

RyanRoberts (username I think) works a camrig and posted the first videos from the Contour line mount - should be able to search them out...

ptraykovski wrote:here is an example in waves so lots of kite rotation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmm03rUHGco

with twin riding and a more stable kite position it is easier..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUX9DtOsA5E

OMG make it stop!! It looks like you are tilting and bobbing independently of the water's surface. Some sort of carnival funhouse mirror trickery designed to make me puke!

Kudos for trying to address the problem, though!

filmed with a $100 Vado HD cam and some velcro for a strutt grip. Stabilizing done with After effects, and Final Cut.

Spleeft, your footage looks very good! But I must add perhaps, mounting onto the kite solves the shaking, but does not solve the problem if you did want to mount the camera closer on the lines.

But then again, narrowing the field of view a bit more and mounting on the kite rather than the lines seems like a much easier solution than trying to stop the line shaking. What is the field of view on the Vado?

A 170 degree GoPro mounted on the kite makes the rider look like some random dude far, far away and gives one tunnel vision when seeing the kite in the picture. Your footage looks way better with the Vado.

Does anyone know if the GoPro 1 can be changed to a much narrower field of view, something like 60 or 80 degrees? I think kite-mounting it with around 60 degrees field of view should give awesome footage?

I think the new GoPros can change to 90 degree field of view? That should already give nice videos when mounted on the kite. Can anyone confirm?

having the cam on the kite, you cannot tell the size of the surf and you cannot see the rider, you cannot record what your eyes are seeing, so what is the point? personally above the head and above the depower/power straps are the best place.
Which one of the below pictures you rather have in your kite photo collection