# GoPro shaking problem



## BigBadConrad (Mar 22, 2010)

Borrowed a friend's GoPro Hero HD and spent a few hours playing around with it before we did a ride on a chunky AZ trail. Got an hour of what I thought would be great footage using the chest mount but...it was unwatchable because the camera rattled around in the plastic case so much that there is too much vertical shaking. The camera seems to fit snugly in the case when I put it in, and when I tested it on a paved street it was fine. But bouncing around on the trail was a different story. I couldn't tell it was rattling during the ride, but you could hear the rattling during playback and the picture shakes so much you can barely see the trail.

I am going to try it again soon. Thinking of wrapping a couple rubber bands around the camera before putting it in the case. Has anyone else experienced this, and what did you do about it?

Thanks,
BBC


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## tscheezy (Dec 19, 2003)

The camera really does not move inside the case significantly, though the rubber bands probably wouldn't hurt if you can get the case closed. The rattle is probably everything else moving, especially if you don't put some strips of tape under the quick release slider which attaches the camera to the chesty (this tends to be a loose fit). Overall the stock chest harness does a terrible job stabilizing vertical rotation of the camera ("pitch" in aeronautical lingo) because the camera is a heavy lever hanging off the front of the plastic plate, and all that keeps it from pitching up and down is the elastic shoulder straps. I use a fiberglass rod attached to the plastic plate and also attached high on one of the shoulder straps to act as a long stabilizing arm to reduce this movement. Even then, the rider needs to be very smooth. Chunky trails may still foil any attempt to get good footage. Helmet footage tends to do better when it's really rough.


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## SLOCanucker (Sep 8, 2010)

At the risk of looking like a unicorn when I ride, I've been experimenting with it mounted to the top of my melon. Seems to work well. It's amazing how great of a shock absorber a persons neck is. As far as sound, mine crackles as well but I just back out the sound of the video during editing and dub music over except for when people are talking...

I still have heaps to learn but it sure is fun!


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## Iridethedirt (Jan 20, 2008)

hey, post some of your videos!


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## hanskellner (Nov 10, 2005)

BigBadConrad said:


> The camera seems to fit snugly in the case when I put it in, and when I tested it on a paved street it was fine. But bouncing around on the trail was a different story. I couldn't tell it was rattling during the ride, but you could hear the rattling during playback and the picture shakes so much you can barely see the trail.


That's probably the clip mount rattling and not the camera within the case. I got a small U shaped rubber piece with my setup that you jam into the clip's prongs. This helps with the rattle. Although, placing a shim between the plastic clip and the mount can also help.

Also check for anything loose that might be bumping into the camera or mount. For example, a buckle from your camelbak.


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## whoda*huck (Feb 12, 2005)

There is definitely noticeable play in the mount interface. I usually put a piece of plastic (whatever wrapper or trash is handy) on the mount before sliding in the quick release and rip off the excess. I've used a leaf before in a pinch....


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## Lawson Raider (Jul 24, 2006)

Another thing you can try is using the camera upside down on the chest mount which I Have had alot of luck with doing. .


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## lost27 (Mar 31, 2008)

I found the Chesty mount almost worthless in anything other than smooth singletrack. There is just no way to get it tight enough without it feeling uncomfortable. As for minimizing the shake and the "clicking" noise present in almost every Chesty video, I put some duct tape under the clip where the camera mounts and lined the area between the chest clip and the plastic "base" as I found the clip would rattle against the base plate and the mic would pick it up.

I found Sony Vegas's video stabilization works pretty well but I wouldn't use anything higher than the "general footage, fast analysis" otherwise too much of the shot gets cropped.

Here is an example of the stabilization:





Reveille Peak Upper Super D Course from Lost27 on Vimeo.


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## LeeL (Jan 12, 2004)

lost27 said:


> I found the Chesty mount almost worthless in anything other than smooth singletrack. There is just no way to get it tight enough without it feeling uncomfortable. As for minimizing the shake and the "clicking" noise present in almost every Chesty video, I put some duct tape under the clip where the camera mounts and lined the area between the chest clip and the plastic "base" as I found the clip would rattle against the base plate and the mic would pick it up.
> 
> I found Sony Vegas's video stabilization works pretty well but I wouldn't use anything higher than the "general footage, fast analysis" otherwise too much of the shot gets cropped.
> 
> ...


There are ways to get the chesty mount tight; some require wearing a backpack with a sternum strap. Some don't. Quite a few articles about that if you do a search.


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## antiherohio (May 27, 2008)

lost27 said:


> I found the Chesty mount almost worthless in anything other than smooth singletrack. There is just no way to get it tight enough without it feeling uncomfortable. As for minimizing the shake and the "clicking" noise present in almost every Chesty video, I put some duct tape under the clip where the camera mounts and lined the area between the chest clip and the plastic "base" as I found the clip would rattle against the base plate and the mic would pick it up.
> 
> I found Sony Vegas's video stabilization works pretty well but I wouldn't use anything higher than the "general footage, fast analysis" otherwise too much of the shot gets cropped.
> 
> ...


What artist/song is that?


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## lost27 (Mar 31, 2008)

The Teddybears f. Iggy Pop Punkrocker (Squeak E Clean Remix)


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## biophase (Apr 30, 2004)

I am a dealer and noticed the 1st generation Gopro mounts were spot on. They snapped in snug. When they went to the HD, the little clips were slightly smaller and caused a rattling sound in the video and shook it a little. I definitely noticed this as soon as I tried the HD the first time over a year ago. Since then I've been using my old non-HD era clips. Luckily I had a bunch of them.

I think that GoPro has a small issue with the consistency of the clips. I hope they fix it but it has been a year.


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## Annadel72 (Feb 4, 2011)

Great vid, love that song!


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## Fullsailbiker (Dec 15, 2009)

Oohhh I feel like I was wearing my Grandpa's glasses while I watched that. My first chest mount did the same and then I followed tscheezy's advise and zip tied a carpenter's pencil to the left side and it made it very stable. It doesn't stop the side to side movement from hard pedalling but I can hit logs and rocks and all kinds of stuff with no big shaking. The short, one-sided brace on Go Pro's chesty doesn't stop the weight of the camera from rocking the whole thing. Tightening the straps alone doesn't do enough to keep it stable. I made my own chest mount and the plastic plate, that the quick release mounts to, is about six inches from top to bottom on both sides. I don't really even need to have the straps tight unless I'm hitting some big G-outs or stuff like that.


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## Dictatorsaurus (Sep 11, 2009)

Can someone please post pictures of the "pencil mod" how your vertically stabilizing the chest mount?


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## FlipTeck (Mar 10, 2013)

I also need help with this!


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## paxfobiscum (Dec 16, 2014)

Two years later and you post a Spam response! Did you know that vendors are required to pay MTBR to post ads.


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