Len's Skiing Pages

Len's Skiing Pages
For our long weekend in Chamonix in 1999 I decided that it would be fun
to strap my video camera to my head. This is how I did it...

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Head Cam

I thought it would be fun to strap my video camera to my head as I skied. The resulting footage is actually a lot better and a lot steadier than I expected. I spent ages searching the web for a place that I could buy a helmet camera mount but couldn't find anything except really expensive sky diving stuff. I eventually decided to do it myself... I've had quite a few people ask me how I made my head cam, so here are some close up pictures and a bit of an explanation.

First, find a camera bag that's a snug fit around your camcorder...

Then cut a hole in the end so that the lens of the camera pokes out, you may also want to cut a hole so that your remote control can work, and so that you can see the recording light... Being able to see the recording light from the front will let you take lots of weird shots of you looking at other people saying "can you see the light? Is it recording yet?" etc...

Now, simply (!) attach the camera to the helmet using cable ties (the ratchet type that can't be undone). You may find that this takes a long while to get right. The best thing to do is attach the bag with the camera in it and then shoot some footage, then look at what you shot and try and adjust the aim of the camera using additional cables ties until the camera records what you're looking at.

Helmet choice could be important. I chose a canoeing helmet as it was light-weight, flexible and already had a lot of slots and holes in it. The ski helmets, though offering better protection, tended to be too solid and would have required lots of holes to be drilled in them.

I tend to carry a supply of cable ties with me when I ski with the head cam. If you need to adjust the aim it's fairly easy to do so on the lifts etc...

I found that the weight of the camera made my neck ache a bit, so I decided to buy the "extended life battery" for my camera... This is supposed to be worn on your belt and attaches to the camera via a cable. I bought another camera bag and mounted it on the other side of the helmet for that Princess Leia look... The resulting hat was much more balanced and now I hardly know I'm wearing it...