Drift HD

i wanted to start a specific thread on the Drift for purely selfish reasons. just looking for other users input on best practices and 'hot tips' :biggrin:

i took a really awkward fall and my head hit the ground hard right on the camera. my ski was stuck on a root as i started to head into the this tree shot. as i initiated my entrance my left ski was stuck. as i picked up my leg to make the save it just did not move due to the springiness of this little f'n root! down i went hard on my head. unbeknownst to me, the fall had turned the cam on...which made for a little comedy later on going thru the vids.

anyway, right now this is all i got....the thing is damn durable!

edit for a good reason

I've got one and have been happy with it so far... maybe try to warranty that crack? Must have been a hell of an impact to break it like that, maybe time for a new helmet too?

How's the video? The few samples I've seen from actual users looks like the footage is not as smooth as the gopro, rather a bit choppy. Had hopes of buying it but was quite unimpressed by what I've seen so far. Any good footage you can post up?

ya, the impact was brutal. one of the hardest i've ever taken and it the fall was from a dead stop. no sliding or tumbling to absorb and lessen the impact. helmet might be due for replacement. i cannot imagine what i'd feel like without it. probably would have been knocked out.

i haven't created an account w/ utube or vimeo. i've only recorded in 720 also. i've seen some other vids and they have been good, including jaypow's.

i'll try to get something posted. i cannot edit music in yet 'cause i haven't bought any software. it records in .mov (like most) and i believe you lose some quality if you try to transfer to a different file type...not too sure though.

the new stealth drift looks pretty nice...

ok, this is all i have so far.

cloudy day, +1, helmet velcro mount.

My terrain park madness shot at 60 fps and slowed down to 33%:
http://vimeo.com/18913320

Stoked for my new Stealth!

Love the video I'm getting from the Drift.

One more of me Blowing myself up daily on the slopes.

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

this did not load in HD...because i don't know what the hell i'm doing:o

edit - for an HD version

^hey dude, are you still embedding the 'old' way? with the brackets and numbers, and whatnot. try using the film icon and just paste the url. it comes out bigger and cleaner looking.
im loving my Drift. here's one from a couple weeks ago.
http://vimeo.com/20771776

My first edit with the Drift Stealth footage. Slowmo comes out niiiiiice.

http://vimeo.com/21163916

Anyone have a recommendation for where to buy the Stealth model? I've decided to pull the trigger, but I've noticed that although they're not really discounted anywhere (excluding eBay) there are some package deals where some accessories are thrown into the purchase price.

^i bought mine from http://www.mypov360.com/buy/ . Great over the top customer service...they really support the ski industry too.

i don't think there are many 'deals' to be had right now. the market is growing too fast with only a few players...that would be my guess anyway.

Buttah - thanks for the tip. the fact that i can embed at all is a miracle!

we drink PBR in these here parts too...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A62I9FCdOc

After a season shooting with Drift HD170 and Stealth cameras, a "Money" edit was due. Holiday Valley in Western New York hosts the 4278 Terrain Parks.

I just show up at the lift and follow who ever is feeling it on that given day. Sometimes I flip them a camera on a stick or give them my helmet/cam.

http://vimeo.com/22029574

Music: Money (Featuring Gary "Nesta" Pine & Dollarman) Dub Side of the Moon (A Reggae Version of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon)

finally the waterproof case is here.

http://driftinnovation.com/2011/05/n...otective-case/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by buttahflake

^hey dude, are you still embedding the 'old' way? with the brackets and numbers, and whatnot. try using the film icon and just paste the url. it comes out bigger and cleaner looking.

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NO! NO! NO! TGR fucked up the new way, which is why you can't go fullscreen. Use the old way and then you don't have to go to vimeo's site to watch it fullscreen.

The latest vid that I figure most heads here will enjoy. Watch to the end of the video to see the side Velcro helmet mount saves the jumper from getting tangled in his lines!

they just came out with a new cam. much smaller and some new features. bacon - you play with this one yet?

http://networkedblogs.com/kRuUZ

I haven't slept in weeks because of all the "playing" I've been doing. This one trumps the comp for sure. LCD, Remote, Menu GUI, Replaceable Lens, Mic and Power in, HDMI out. Coupled to our new external battery pack you could shoot or timelapse for 20 hrs.

I just finished upgrading the firmware on my Contour and GoPro to do another comparison to Prove it. I'll be back with the results.

PS I'm seen a few times in the home page video shooting with my monopod.

Is the mic connection still the same?
Awesome to be able to put a lav on there. I just worry slightly about the connection.
An external mic is probably the best part about the drift from a professional standpoint.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Atrain505

Is the mic connection still the same?
Awesome to be able to put a lav on there. I just worry slightly about the connection.
An external mic is probably the best part about the drift from a professional standpoint.

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New connector is a 2.5 mm mic in.

Also 1080p is now 170 degree field of view.

Plus with access to external jacks our new external battery pack goes up to 20 hours. (seen here doing a timelapse)
http://driftinnovation.com/images/external-hd.jpg
The $99 Power Pack also charges phones, ipods etc.

Sounding pretty damn good. I was pretty impressed with the unit we got to use at intersection. This may be the best unit on the market.

http://driftinnovation.com/facebook/4-compare.jpg


August 2011 comparison with all four cameras and their latest firmware updates. Shot in 1080p, the Drift HD is the clear winner in color, sharpness and field of view.

I don't know about 'clear' winner, but definitely the HD 170 and GoPro look nicer to me.

that is a cool vid. the drift looked a little brighter to me (leaves on the trees) but that could be a setting? either way the drift and gopro look pretty damn good. although, personally i like the drift mount much better. i don't see many people losing them like the gopro.

The big detractor from the drift was the size. Looks like that's fixed. Thanks for posting up the comparison pics. Seems to be right on par w/ the contour in the size department. I can't believe the 200ft fall and still filming! I'm upgrading from a gopro 960 this year. I was thinking contour for ease of use and size but after this......

(xpost)

any early comparisons out there of the contour+ and the new drift hd?

http://pointofviewcameras.ca/contour-plus-camera.html

http://www.mypov360.com/countdown/

I am also looking forward to any comparison between contour+ and drift 170.

Hey baconzoo, how much more do you like the hd (small one) compared to the stealth? I found a great deal on the stealth for $180 and the best price i found on the hd is about 360. Do you think it is worth that much more?

The Stealth with the 4 hour battery is still the bomb for all day on the mountain. The HD is smaller yes, but the buttons are too. Going back to using the Stealth after using the HD, I was like: wow, this is easy to navigate. Both have their merits. My advice is to get both, a deal on a Stealth now and for all day on the hill, and a HD when you can afford a second camera. I use 2-3 cameras when I film. One always seems to be getting the timelapse.

I just got the HD170 "Stealth" (black) cam. The latch on the battery/SD card door seems really flimsy; it's just plastic.

Anyone have any issues with the latch failing? Other than that, this cam meets a lot of the criteria that I'm looking for.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by El Chupacabra

Anyone have any issues with the latch failing?

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No, I've had cameras completely caked with mud where I had to pick debris out to get it to close. Still worked perfectly.

^^^ Good to hear. I guess I'll keep the cam then. (Was considering returning it.)

Thanks for the response bacon. I'll get the stealth for now, but the hd will have to wait till i can save some more money.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by El Chupacabra

I just got the HD170 "Stealth" (black) cam. The latch on the battery/SD card door seems really flimsy; it's just plastic.

Anyone have any issues with the latch failing? Other than that, this cam meets a lot of the criteria that I'm looking for.

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no issues with mine either. been using it a lot in the ocean lately and the WP pouch has worked well. i would like to see some tweaking with that though. i think it could be better in a hard plastic case. the dial opening/closing tabs get clogged up with sand and salt which can be a bit of a pain. no big deal really, just a small area for improvement. the surf board mount needs improvement also. the gopro's looks to be better.

overall i am disappointed with the drifthd. some of the issues are:

- mount clip thingie broke off an arm for no apparent reason and it does not seem to be a standard replacement item. (found a couple from an ebay seller tho - about $30 for 2).

- back panel lost one of it's rubber plugs almost immediately which means i have to use the "solid" back panel. not a big deal but the one with plugs was much more convenient. i recommend putting a drop of glue on the tether end of the rubber plug to ensure that it doesn't come off so easily.

- the goggle mount looks pretty nice at first but in use the weight of the camera causes too much wobble and cause the mount to derail off the goggle strap. i had to rig up a leash as a safety.

- using the fixed mounts kinda sucks. if you mount the camera on top, you gotta get the mount right the first time because you can't adjust the camera up/down when mounted like this (only side to side). you can adjust up/down if the fixed mount is on the side but that's what the goggle mount is for so not really useful. i ended up having to buy an extra set of fixed mounts because removing the original to adjust the position lost it's sticky.

- when mounted on the side (goggle or fixed) you see too much helmet/goggle because of the extra wide angle lens. you can zoom in a little to correct this but every time you turn off/on the camera you lose this setting and have to redo it.

- no pole mount is available or possible. they sell a monopod but i'm a skier and don't want a third stick. there should be a mount to connect the camera to your ski pole.

- the remote sucks. it only stops/starts the video, it doesn't remotely turn on the camera. so i have to take my helmet off to turn it on (or off) each time i want to record. even the oldest Viosport POV had remote turn on/off. it wouldn't be so bad if they had designed the on/off button a little raised or larger so that it would be easier to feel for while on your head.

- camera batteries last about 2 hours. i think they claim 2.5 but i've never gotten that much video. of course, with the lack of remote off/on control, i lose a bunch of power with the camera on but not recording.

- playback and lcd off. the screen and playback is nice to have but when you have the "lcd off" set to 5s or whatever, the lcd goes off during playback. so if you want to playback on the lift, you have to go through the menus and disable the lcd off, playback, the enable the lcd off when you are done. PITA.

- since the lens is on the end of a cone, it is very exposed. this camera should come with a lens cap protector for transport. it's only a matter of time until it gets scratched up.

- sometime i get choppy video toward the end of a long shoot in low light. i don't understand the reason for it. it seems to be fine with the light levels up to that point. in bright light i can run a video as along as i want without any choppiness.


having said all that i guess it's still better than a GoPro since a) it has a remote and b) it has an lcd screen built in. but aside from that it's hard to love this camera.