Quick Contour HD Camera audio question...

[rhody]

Took a trial video of my camera on 2011 S1000RR with Taylor exhaust, camera mounted on steering head, and the sound quality sounds like a bunch of bees, it does not do the exhaust justice at all. Is there anything I can do to the camera, quick and dirty to clean up the sound (suppress the buzz) ?

Sponges, tape, dense foam ?

Would like to get decent sound quality at track tomorrow, sorry for the short fuse. Beggars can't be choosers. I will take what I can get.

Rhody...

[Mack]

I don't know if the Hero has a separate microphone input jack, but if it does, I'd get a better 'shotgun' or 'long-stick' microphone that is highly directional, tie-wrap it into some foam pipe wrap with the microphone end open and seal off the opposite end with the cord with a slotted rubber stopper to keep wind from rushing in the end of it too. Then cover that with some of that long synthetic cat fur stuff from a fabric shop.

Then point the affair towards the back of the bike and away from the engine noise and oncoming wind. Worked for me on the two VIO cams I use on the bikes. I just tie-wrap the whole affair to the frame pointing backwards. I can still hear the engine, not as much wind noise, and the better microphone helps to keep the exhaust note from sounding so tinny (smaller mike heads seem to sound more tinny than the larger mike heads which seem to have more bass, imho). Don't increase the volume so much that you get audio noise too.

Hollywood's audio gurus call what you need "Blimps" and they sell upwards of $300-$800 each! (Been there.) There are a few Youtube ways of making your own far cheaper like this one:

YouTube - DIY Microphone Blimp

I've heard so good audio out of the new Heros, but they have all been close behind the shield and not as much wind noise and less exhaust note. I like the camera to be out in the open air and not glare or reduced image quality off shooting through the windshield. Then you get bug spatter too, and bad audio.

So with the mike on the back end buried in the cat fur, I got better audio. Now to get rid of the bugs like the Indy car drivers do somehow with their rotating lens things.


Mack

[rhody]

Originally Posted by Mack

I don't know if the Hero has a separate microphone input jack, but if it does, I'd get a better 'shotgun' or 'long-stick' microphone that is highly directional, tie-wrap it into some foam pipe wrap with the microphone end open and seal off the opposite end with the cord with a slotted rubber stopper to keep wind from rushing in the end of it too. Then cover that with some of that long synthetic cat fur stuff from a fabric shop.

Then point the affair towards the back of the bike and away from the engine noise and oncoming wind. Worked for me on the two VIO cams I use on the bikes. I just tie-wrap the whole affair to the frame pointing backwards. I can still hear the engine, not as much wind noise, and the better microphone helps to keep the exhaust note from sounding so tinny (smaller mike heads seem to sound more tinny than the larger mike heads which seem to have more bass, imho). Don't increase the volume so much that you get audio noise too.

Hollywood's audio gurus call what you need "Blimps" and they sell upwards of $300-$800 each! (Been there.) There are a few Youtube ways of making your own far cheaper like this one:

YouTube - DIY Microphone Blimp

I've heard so good audio out of the new Heros, but they have all been close behind the shield and not as much wind noise and less exhaust note. I like the camera to be out in the open air and not glare or reduced image quality off shooting through the windshield. Then you get bug spatter too, and bad audio.

So with the mike on the back end buried in the cat fur, I got better audio. Now to get rid of the bugs like the Indy car drivers do somehow with their rotating lens things.


Mack

Thanks Mack,

Everything you suggest, includng using larger mic, pointing it backward, in a slotted ball with cat hair makes perfect sense. I will check into it, and possibly join a Contour HD forum after track day. For now I will have to live with it as is. Not sure the camera has a separate audio port, don't think it does, unless somehow through the mini-usb used to download/upload video.

Rhody...

[Ducky]

There are three models of Contour:

ContourHD
ContourGPS
and the latest Contour+

Only the Contour+ has a separate mic input, which they've added after listening to customers wanting this feature .

I added an external mic to my ContourHD which worked brilliant, until the camera flew off the bike (crap velcro mount) and because I'd modified it they wouldn't warranty the repair.

The do a waterproof case for the ContourHD and this works well to minimise the wind noise, or some people stick the foam off a microphone over the mic hole (on the bottom).

Much as I like the camera I think I'll be getting something else in future, this is my second and that flew off recently when the updated locking mount snapped (brand new too). Apart from the mounting and wind noise niggles the performance has been great.

This is the sound in the waterproof case.
password is 'KSB'

[rhody]

Originally Posted by Ducky

There are three models of Contour:

ContourHD
ContourGPS
and the latest Contour+

Only the Contour+ has a separate mic input, which they've added after listening to customers wanting this feature .

I added an external mic to my ContourHD which worked brilliant, until the camera flew off the bike (crap velcro mount) and because I'd modified it they wouldn't warranty the repair.

The do a waterproof case for the ContourHD and this works well to minimise the wind noise, or some people stick the foam off a microphone over the mic hole (on the bottom).

Much as I like the camera I think I'll be getting something else in future, this is my second and that flew off recently when the updated locking mount snapped (brand new too). Apart from the mounting and wind noise niggles the performance has been great.

This is the sound in the waterproof case.
password is 'KSB'

Ducky,

As you suggest I will look into getting the + model, and selling my old one. The sound in your video, was as decent as I heard in the recent Isle of Mann clips so it more than works for me (was that from the + model ?). I have a Taylor Exhaust which is deep throaty and loud, was that a stock or after market system on your bike ?

So you are saying on my current camera that small hole on the bottom, almost at the rear is the mic input, I have mine covered with the plastic tape that came on the camera, plus the flush mount to the camera body, is that part of the problem, should I take the tape off ? If this is confusing, I will take a picture or two or it and post to clarify where exactly I think the mic input is on the standard Contour HD camera.

Lastly, what do you use for video editing software, have you used Windows Live Moviemaker, something free, or something that you bought ?

I have raw video of a track day at Loudon, NH, and want to clean it up before posting. It was scary, but a lot of fun by the end of the day. Very addicting...

Thanks...

Rhody...

P.S. In rereading you post you said you added an external Mic input to a standard Contour HD, correct ? Was it easy, are you an electrical engineer, and if not, can anyone do this simply, safely, and cheaply ?

[Ducky]

Originally Posted by rhody

Ducky,

As you suggest I will look into getting the + model, and selling my old one. The sound in your video, was as decent as I heard in the recent Isle of Mann clips so it more than works for me (was that from the + model ?). I have a Taylor Exhaust which is deep throaty and loud, was that a stock or after market system on your bike ?

So you are saying on my current camera that small hole on the bottom, almost at the rear is the mic input, I have mine covered with the plastic tape that came on the camera, plus the flush mount to the camera body, is that part of the problem, should I take the tape off ? If this is confusing, I will take a picture or two or it and post to clarify where exactly I think the mic input is on the standard Contour HD camera.

Lastly, what do you use for video editing software, have you used Windows Live Moviemaker, something free, or something that you bought ?

I have raw video of a track day at Loudon, NH, and want to clean it up before posting. It was scary, but a lot of fun by the end of the day. Very addicting...

Thanks...

Rhody...

P.S. In rereading you post you said you added an external Mic input to a standard Contour HD, correct ? Was it easy, are you an electrical engineer, and if not, can anyone do this simply, safely, and cheaply ?

Mine was the normal ContourHD inside the waterproof case, and I only have the Akro exhaust slip-on fitted that BMW supply.

The microphone hole on the ContourHD is on the bottom just behind the front indicator LED and offset to one side, sometimes it's covered up by a sticker.

For video editing I use a range of software depending on what I want to do, nothing special but most of it is from AVS4YOU, who are like a buy once, get all software type of company, and another I use is Corel VideoStudio Pro.

On the subject of adding an external mic, it's fairly straightforward but quite fiddly as there isn't much space inside the camera for a socket, and some trimming needs to be done. I did keep the old internal mic too, so if you don't plug in the tie-mic, it just uses the internal one as normal. The parts are cheap (jack/plug is pennies, the mic is about £10), but you invalidate the warranty, which I didn't think I would need until the camera flew off...so you takes your chance (hence I haven't modified my new one).

You can see my old camera below:

Camera with external tie microphone

Camera showing connection underneath

Camera showing internal jack connector

Camera internals

HTH
cheers

[rhody]

It has been awhile and I am hoping Ducky is still with us and will read this.

I also own an iTouch and as luck would have it, TASCAM, a division of TEAC just came out with an iTouch accessory, the iM2 which plugs in to your input port.

The iM2 contains its own microphone preamp and analog-to-digital converter for low noise and great audio quality. Unlike mics that use the built-in iPhone preamp, the iM2 can handle up to 125dB sound levels to capture the loudest concerts and instruments without distortion.

and

Also contained in the iM2 is a stereo limiter to tame sudden loud sounds. The microphone level is adjustable with a knob on the side, making it quick to adjust without even looking at the unit. It's powered through the dock connector so no battery is required. A USB input is provided to charge your Apple iOS device for long recordings, either through a computer or TASCAMs PS-P515U power adapter.

and

•CD-quality digital recording (44.1kHz/16-bit linear PCM)
•Compact size ideal for mobile use
•Compatible with iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod Touch 4G , iPad, iPad 2
•Dimensions: 2.3" W x 2.2" H x 0.75" D
•Weight: 1.05 oz

From the specs it looks like my earlier iTouch won't work with it. My thinking was to keep using the contour, disabling the crappy audio when I upload and edit the video, and use the iM2 for high quality audio instead. My bike is very loud, above 109db, the iM2 looks ideal for clear crisp audio, but alas the older version of my iTouch probably won't work with it.

The last hurdle is how you upload the recordings from the iM2 to your PC/laptop, do you need special proprietary software from Apple to do it ?

I hate the idea of not being able to treat my iTouch like a simple file system where I can easily access the music, pictures and audio files I have stored there.

In any event, I thought I would pass this on, in the event someone else may think of a creative use for it.

Rhody...