Sony handlebar mount VCT-HM1 and Action Cam HDR-AS30V shaky , too much vibration.

So I took my Sony handlebar mount VCT-HM1 and the action ca, HDR-AS30V out for another sin with my cross country mountain bike to see how it performs.  Last week it was ultra shaky, both due to the mount and the case for the camera itself, the camera was rattling around in.  I mounted the arm vertically this time to try get rid of some of the shake, and I added shims to the inside of the case so the camera wouldn't rattle in the case.  Unfortunately it is still unacceptably shaky as this video on even an asphalt road shows, never mind on a singletrack trail.  Image stabilization was on in this video, too.

This Sony VCT-HM1 mount is pretty useless, I think I might try the Minoura VC100 handlebar mount.

Sony HDR-AS30V GPS Kinda Sucks Part 2

     My second video clip of a longer movie shows the poor GPS performance of the Sony HDR-AS30V Action Cam with me walking and jogging around my neighborhood.  The calculated speed from the GPS is all over the map, bouncing from 0 to 8 mph, even though I am traveling at relatively constant speed.  The track again also shows lack of accuracy, part of the track being 10m/30ft off of where I was actually traveling.  I did not walk through people’s back yards as the track shows.

 

 

      Again, what’s the point of having a GPS attached to your video if both the track location itself and the speed are inaccurate and worthless?  I would have rather paid a bit more for one with an accurate GPS, than have one with useless GPS data.

 

Sony HDR-AS30V Action Cam GPS Kinda Sucks Part I

I took a ride last Sunday with my new HDR-AS30V last Sunday to test the camera and mount itelf out.  The shakiness from the mount and also from the camera rattling around inside the case itself aside, the GPS’s accuracy doesn’t seem to be all that great.  It appears to lose it’s position sometimes, makes assumptions and then draws the wrong track.  This video clearly shows that the GPS isn’t following where I am riding.  By looking at the track, you would think I was looping back, doing tight 180 turns and crossing back on the path I had already ridden where that isn’t the case at all. 

What’s the point of having a GPS enabled action camera and recording the track if the track it generates isn’t accurate at all?  My suspicion is that the GPS receiver and antenna are low cost to keep the cost of the camera down, and probably low accuracy as well making it kind of pointless.  I’d recommend not paying the extra $100 for the GPS enabled HDR-AS30 and stick with the lower cost HDR-AS15 if you are looking to pick up a Sony Action Cam.

 

Um, no, this isn't anything close to accurate, we didn't cross the road at any point.

Sony VCT-HM1 Action Cam Handlebar Mount Review

I'll let the video speak for itself for the most part, but here's a summary:
     I just got a Sony Action Cam HDR-AS30V last week and took it for a spin today on my cross country mountain bike with Sony's VCT-HM1 handlebar mount accessory.  To cut to the chase, the handlebar mount is horrible.  It exaggerates and induces much more shake than if it was firmly fixed to the mountain bike, due to the articulation joint and the flexible plastic.  Not only that, it adds noise from the plastic parts shaking..  and it costs $30 to boot.  For that price, it should be rock solid and perform stellar, but it doesn't.
     I suggest you stay away from this mount at all costs  It's like throwing your money away.  I don't think I will ever be using this mount again.

Sony Action Cam HDR-AS30V

    So I picked up a Sony action cam.  I had been wanting one for a while, not that I am into all types of extreme sports, but it would be good to use on occasion, it's also good for timelapses.  The choice of action cam is a difficult one.  There's the industry standard GoPro, Sony Action Cam, and a bunch of others made by Midland Radio, Garmin, and a bunch of others.  You would think someone would jusy go to the industry standard, but after looking into it, the Sony appealed to me much more than the GoPro.  Up until it went out o business, I actually liked Contour's form factor, but it kicked the bucket recently.  GoPro introduced it's 3rd gen earlier this year and has just released the 3+.  After doing a bit of research, it looks like Gopro only released the 3+ as a fix for what the 3 black should have been in the first place.  There's many reports of buggy software, the camera shutting off randomly, freezing up, corrupting SD cards and horrible battery life to boot.  I don't want to spend money on a product a company that is run like that.  People seem to think GoPro's seat on the throne is untouchable, but I tend to disagree.  GoPro doesn't have the expertise in manufacturing cameras and the tech thtat goes with it, although they are learning quick.
     There's a wole handful of features that I think the Sony HDR-AS30V has that the GoPro doesn't.  Namely GPS, better battery life, better low light, image stabilization.  From the sounds of the boards and reviews I read, the image quality on the GoPro has a slight edge, but that's under the right conditions.  The other features and the solidit of the Sony design won me in.  Besides, i can't stand the form factor of the GoPro, it just seems wrong to have a big square thing that looks like a 2001 digital camera on your head creating extra drag and/or the possibility for the camera to be kncked out of alignment.  I don't think the Sony is even available in Canada yet.  It's not on Sony Canada's website - only the HDR15 GPS-less model is, but I got one on eBay.
     I plan to take it out for a test spin for some night cross country mountain biking in the near future, and I will report back when i get a bit of a chance to check out the capabilities properly.

Bye Bye MSR Blacklite, Hello Titanium Pots

Old pots on the bottom, shiny new ones on top!

   I have been using my MSR Blacklite pot set for quite a few trips over the past decade plus.   I used it for both backcountry and car amping.  Now discontinued, it is a set of two stackable nonstick aluminum pots, a l.5 and a 1.9 liter pot, with a common lit and a stuffsack with nylon on the bottom and mesh on the top and a separate aluminum potholder.  The pots are pretty light and have been very useful to me.  Until recently, when I poured some water into the pots only to find the nonstick coating has started to peel off in flakes into my water I was trying to boil.  I think recently people have awakened to the fact that PTFE/Teflon coatings aren't all that great for you and you find eventually that you will be eating some of the Teflon as pots age, so many pot sets are either plain titanium, or have some kind of non teflon nonstick coating, better for you than the oldschool Teflon coatings.  I can only surmise this is why the MSR Blacklite set has been discontinued.  Other than the nonstick coating, it was a great pot set, for multiple people, and large enough to make meals in, instead of simply just using it for boiling water (if only just boiling water, why get nonstick?).  I used it either with my MSR Simmerlite stove, or on occasion, put it on the corner of the fire in order to warm some water.

  So I needed some new pots.  I like to have different sizes of pots on hand to adjust for what the upcoming trip holds - number of people traveling, type of food being prepared, whether the trip is weight sensitive (backpacking, many portages), or not.  I also prefer a larger pot for melting snow in the case of winter camping.  So i was looking for some Titanium pots, to avoid having nonstick coating.  Titanium isn't really required for strength in pots, but it is good to use for cooking as it leaves no taste, and it also acidic food resistant without a coating, unlike aluminum.

  There seems to only be a few manufacturers of titanium posts - Snow Peak, Evernew and Vargo are the main ones.  For some reason the are all from asia - the first two from Japan, and the Vargo from China.  All of them make a range of pot sizes.  I don't know why someone in North America doesn't make them - Canada is the third highest producer of titanium.  Most have the fold-in handle style instead of a separate pot lifter, and some kind of lid, usually with a flip up loop for pulling the lid off hopefully without burning your fingers.

     I had been looking at the Evernew pots for a long time, but there always seems to be a shortage of them and hard to find. I saw a good deal on the Evernew 0.9 liter ECA252 and bought it.  It is the red version, it has silicone coverings on the pot handle and lid handle colored red in this version to reduce likelihood of burning even more, and sports some very flashy graphics for impressing the bears in the woods, I suppose.  The pot lid is inset into a lip.  It feels extremely light and would be suited to a variety of outdoor pursuits.

     I also wanted a larger one on hand to have for car camping and for winter camping snow melting, etc. and picked up a Snow Peak Cook and Save 1.9 liter pot SCS-011T for a really good deal.  Similar to the Evernew, some models/sizes of Snow Peak are hard to come by at a decent price.  I found an awesome price just north of $40 for this one pot.  A bonus with this pot is it has a plastic lid for saving leftovers in afterwards to act like a storage container.  The lid overhangs the pot, it was necessary to design it that way so that it fit on top of the plastic cover.   The plastic lid is a cool bit of functionality that is good for car camping when there's leftovers.  This pot doesn't have the fancy silicone sleeves over the handle.  I've used it only once so far, car camping and the handle gets slightly hot on a liquid fuel oldschool Coleman stove I have.  And it's true what the say about titanium, things burn very easily.  I had to put it on the lowest possible setting when warming up some already cooked ground beef, combined with Manwich sauce, and it still burned ever so slightly on the sides.

     Both of the pots feature volume marks stamped into the sides so you can pour into freeze dried meals and judge the volume.  The Evernew pot also features a little indentation spout on one side to make it easier to pour, but the Snow peak doesn't so that the plastic lid can seal properly.

    Combining the two pots works out great if I want to have flexibility in boiling water and cooking in pots when weight isn't a priority.  The Evernew just happens to nest perfectly inside the Snow Peak, and gives good cooking capacity for a decent sized group.  And without nonstick coating on the inside, I'll see how long these last me, it should be much longer than the 10 years I got out of my MSR Blacklite.

UPDATE:  I measured the weights of the pots individually without the stuffsacks, and the Snow Peak without the plastic lid.  I was wondering if the silicone grips would make the Evernew pots heavier per volume.

     The Evernew is a little heavier by volume but not by much.  Looking at the two pots closer, the Evernew looks like it might be made out of a lighter gauge material than the Snow Peak.  The Evernew is only 0.33mm thick, the Snow Peak is around 0.5mm.  The Evernew is only able to achieve this by adding bend areas to their design to give it more stiffness, both on the lid which is heavily bent, and the pot itself with the offset edge and a ring on the bottom which also helps hold the pot centered on stoves.  The Evernew is quite a well engineering design, much thought has been put into lowering the weight of it for something as simple as a pot.  However, on the down side, the Evernew is so light I will need to be careful about packing it, making sure I don't rest heavy loads from my backpack on it or push on it while trying to compress items in my pack. I could easily crush the pot with one hand it is that light, almost like a pop can, only marginally stronger.

 

      The Snow Peak on the other hand is a little more sturdier without all of the ridges on the pot or lid and I wouldn't worry quite so much about damaging it, although I could easily do that as well if I tried or threw my pack around.

 

Reflections on Summer and Changing Seasons

     There's a time in early September that instantly tells you summer is at an end.  And it's always too soon.  All of the back to school talk and Labor Day long weekend is complementary to it.  It seems there's always a time where the temperature drops quite drastically, the countryside smells like apples and goldenrod is everywhere, lining the sides of roads and trails, the mushrooms burst out of the ground,  the days of dramatic overcast fall skies begin, and also unfortunately the sunset and sunrise quickly start to change and the days shorten.  I love the seasons and the change it brings.  To me, it is also excitement.
     September is my favorite time of the year to get outdoors.  The provincial parks instantly quiet down, with a good percentage of the people that use them concentrating on school and other things.  The weather is so nice for some of it.  Sunny but not too hot during the day, perfect for hiking and paddling, and the nights are crisp and cool, perfect for sleeping.  The water has warmed up over most of the summer and it is inviting to go swimming, if you can bring yourself to believe that the water is nice and warm even though the air can be chilly at times.
     I look back at this summer and what I have been up to, and it always goes quicker than I would like.   I also think about what I have done over the summer and how it changes year to year.  This year I have not done much hiking at all, day trips or backpacking.  I think part of that is that there is not much in the close area to me that I have not seen before.  Some years I have paddled much of the summer.  That is not this year either, although I did buy a canoe, and use it for a bunch of short daytrips and also have been kayaking in Tobermory.  The water had been pretty high for paddling on the local rivers this year, much more so than years past, but I haven't taken advantage of it too much..  I did paddle from Guelph to Cambridge early in the spring melt which requires extra high waters.
     But, one thing I have been more into this year than years past is mountain biking.  I didn't for the first part of the summer.  It was cool and often rain or threatening to rain so I hadn't been biking to work.  I work basically 5km away, a perfect sort morning bikeride if I go directly there, it wakes me up and invigorates me first thing in the morning.  In the past I would alternate between taking my homemade moped (yes I put a two stroke enging on a cruiser biker, very fun to ride although a bit loud), and my pedal bike, it's a1996 (yes, that's right) Specialized Stumpjumper I had recently upgraded the front end with premium Fox 100RLC air shock forks, hydraulic brakes up front and earlier this year I added a Rockshox Reverb dropper seat to it, which adds a huge amount of functionality to the bike and the ability to rider rougger terrain.  It is quite an amazing hardtail bike for a frame and some components that are almost 20 years old.  The difference between the two bikes is that I can wear my work clothes with the motorbike and have to change with the Sumpjumper,when I get to work as it is an increase in elevation to get to work.  This year I have been pedal biking much more than the moped. What I have been doing lately is following under some power lines on a sort of firetrail out to the country, going to Guelph Lake and their decent mountain bike trails there, then heading back to my house along the Speed River which my house backs onto.  I ride 25-30km after work, almost all offroad and it gives be great exercise and fun at the same time.  
     In any case, I just got myself Light and Motion Seca 1700 Race lights for my bike so I can extend my after work mountain bikes despite how little light will be available after work, and I am looking forward to using it.  The trails will be completely devoid of fishermen, dog walkers, hikers and most other mountain bikers, all of which have not been much of a problem but the almost guaranteed solitude will be nice.  This light is a nice ultra bright and very light package designed by guys who make scuba lights, so it is sealed well.  It is very expensive, I found an awesome deal on it since the 2014 lights are bumped up to 200 lumen spec instead of the already insanely bright 1700 lumens I got, but I did save over $150 on it... managed to get it for $330.  I scoured the internet to find it at this low of a cost, it is not to be found anywhere else for this price now.
     I am also looking forward to hopefully heading to Chiniguchi in two weeks time for a paddling trip.  Chiniguchi is an area not much people have heard about, it is northeast of Sudbury between Sudbury and Temagami area.  It is a proposed provincial park, Crown Land and quite rugged.  I would like to do a 5 day trip there to get away from it all, if work calms down enough for me to get away.  It will be beautiful to get away from everything ad enjoy a decent backcountry trip which I like to do every late September/early December.  In fact, I am off to make some Chili now, which I will dehydrate for my trip.  Happy September! One of the best times of the year to be outdoors.