Anyone ever used this video camera mount before?

11-12-2005, 2:57 PM

Thinking about buying the AirTrakker TopMount http://www.waterskivideo.com/.. anyone have this and care to comment on it?

11-12-2005, 3:02 PM

personally, i think those things suck. they cant keep up with the rider when they edge in and out. i'm sure theres a way you could rig it to make it work better, but nothing beats a person doing the shooting.

(dakid) · (dakid) **Join Date: Feb 2001** 11-12-2005, 3:40 PM

the trakkers in the past sucked. dunno about this one tho.

quote:
nothing beats a person doing the shooting.

w00t

(richd) · (richd) **Join Date: Oct 2003** 11-13-2005, 7:04 AM

They have always had a tracking problem as the rider is always about ready to leave the frame and this one appears to be no different. Will drive you crazy after a while watching it.
That can be overcome somewhat by zooming way out but who wants to see that all the time. For practice & analysis these are fine for pro work worthless IMHO.

01-24-2006, 12:02 AM

Hey, sorry for the late post - Didn't get online over the holidays.

I got the TopMount early December. Only got to use it once, but worked good and am happy with it. Didn't see the problem you mentioned with tracking.

(Message edited by nettlesbe on January 24, 2006)

(trakkerguy) · (trakkerguy) **Join Date: Oct 2005** 03-12-2006, 9:40 AM

Just wanted to clear up some confusion on our products. The Trakker TopMount eb asked about (pic below) uses a rotary fluid damper to smooth the panning. This does a lot better job of providing the drag necessary to smooth out rope slap without sacrificing tracking accuracy. Our previous models had an adjustable tension/drag, and were sometimes difficult to find a good balance on the required tension.

Also, using the clamps instead of U-bolts allows us to make the camera pivot point farther from the skier than the rope attachment point. As the boarder goes farther out, it tracks a bit behind him, so when he cuts back in, the slight delay before it starts tracking again is much less noticable. Sorry for the long post...

Upload

http://www.wakevideo.com

(Message edited by trakkerguy on March 12, 2006)

(Message edited by trakkerguy on March 12, 2006)

(downfortheride)

I've always been set on a person handling the camera, but when it comes to editing and throwing down on tape the person filming really don't know how to do it. I have never used the camera mount, but it could be good putting it on your settings and just letting it roll. I would rather have a person rather than a remote working the camera. Having a camera mount you would need perfect water when riding. We all wish for that perfect session but it don't happen all the time. This picture was taken by a person and might not be able to make this shot through a camera mount. Good Times!
Upload

(trakkerguy) · (trakkerguy) **Join Date: Oct 2005** 03-15-2006, 1:33 PM

Great shot Josh. Is that a "rock start" ?

It is hard to get perfect video with the Trakker, but not due to water conditions. Light chop doesn't affect the picture at all. Only problem is if there is too much slack in the line...

(downfortheride)

Yes! I have titled this picture as Lake Powell shore start. Would you believe this was taken with a throw away water proof camera. It has taken hundreds of photos and I finally got one I like.