I use a Contour Nflightcam HD as it also records sound through the headset picking up ATC and intercom. Great bit of kit ad has a 135 degree lens. I'd post one of my vids but I'm on my iPhone. If you want to see any of them then search "woodymmbbrr" in YouTube.

Thanks again guys.

I think I'm gonna settle for the GoPro due to its versatility, and will take a look at that skeleton case with the filter.

However, I am still concerned about connection to the aircraft intercom. I appreciate how it may take some experimentation to get the volume level right, however, I am more worried about the possibility of damage to the camera's mic input circuitry due to too strong a signal from the aircraft intercom output. I'm guessing the impedance will be a lot lower than that which is typical for aircraft speakers/headsets?

I just bought an Olympus digital voice recorder...with a separate mic...that fits inside the earcup of my head set...works a treat...add it to the video at the editing stage.

Nick.

I'm sure you can't do much wrong with the GoPro, it is the most common choice around... there must be a reason for it.

Cannot really comment on the mic input since I use a small separate audio recorder and combine both tracks later. I never had a problem with that. The camera mic delivers the background sound and the recorder adds ATC.


By the way:
A recent NVFR flight filmed with my VIO. The sky was indeed looking unusually nice that day but admittedly not that greenish... I'm not exactly sure yet why it turned out to be rather greenish than blue but I guess it was the white balance... beside that i'm really happy with the (very) low light performance. The pictures is crisp (until it got into youtube's hands...) and surprisingly low on noise!

Again, much has been posted on this, including a detailed list of stuff from me a few years ago, but the easy way to get a decent soundtrack is to get a miniature mike for the camera and tuck it under the headset earcup :)

It helps to have a cam which has a manual recording level control.

Headset / intercom connections are the best, and tidiest especially if you want to mount the cam somwhere and not interact with it during flight (the safest way; do the editing after landing) but you get a really good result using the above, with an ANR headset.

I am into electronics but have always found aircraft mike arrangements a bit of a black art and fiddly, so I stick to the miniature mike solution.

Maehh - you want a 3rd Gen image intensifier on that cam :)

Peter that sounds interesting but very expensive :E

However I filmed the same flight with a Sony Nex 5n which has a large APS-C sensor and does surprisingly good even hat higher ISOs. Sadly I messed up the focus settings (don't ask me how...) which left the whole thing blurred. Beside that the picture was pretty amazing. I'll have to give it another try next time :ok:

That does sound easier/safer than hooking the intercom straight up to the camera.

I may go for the mic/recorder option, as it may well work out at roughly the same price as getting the GoPro skeleton case required to access the mic port, whilst allowing me to record both the ambient noise (GoPro mic) and the coms (mic/recorder combo).

I'll be using a PNR headset, and not one of great quality (loaned from the club, need to save the money for flying now :p). I'll see how it goes, but I may end up having to hook the intercom up to the recorder.

Sorry to bump this, but does anyone have any links to the kind of mic I should be buying for use under the headset earcup?

All the ones I can find are either the hands-free type used for phones (slightly too large) or for something completely different. :p

Just another quick question!

Does this cable look like it has the appropriate electrical resistors for use in between cameras and aircraft intercoms?

Pilot Avionics PA 80 Video/Audio Adapter Cable (GA Twin Plug)

ODAI...the one I use is a few years old but works well...its an Olympus VN-480PC c/w lapel mic...I got it off ebay...unfortunately not of this model all come with the separate mic but they are available,

Olympus ME15 Tie-clip Dictaphone Microphone ME-15 BRAND NEW FREE UK POST | eBay

The metal part is removable.

To add. I just found and ordered this little gem.

Neutral Density ND / Polarizer Filter

It's essentially an ND lens that sits between the GoPro and the housing. I did not know there was any space there, but there you go. The advantage of course is that your system stays modular. You can mix and match stock skeleton or waterproof GoPro housings with or without this lens as required.

Should arrive in a week or so. I'll let you know the results.

Well, the ND filter that I ordered has just arrived. I have not tested it yet, but so far I'm not impressed.

All they did was take a bit of ND/polarizing foil and cut it into a circle so that it just fits the GoPro housing. No shaping of any kind has been done.

The space between the lens and the housing is hollow, so if you squeeze a flat sheet inbetween, it will wrinkle slightly. And it does. It seems to be localized and not very severe, so it might just work without causing distortion. (Edited: The manufacturer claims that the filter will adopt the proper shape eventually. Whether that's true remains to be seen.)

Furthermore, I found out the hard way that the ND filter scratches very easily. Let's hope that doesn't cause any issues.

So it might work, but I'm not sure yet whether it's worth the 15 euros (including P&P). It might be easier and cheaper to go to your local photo professional, buy a sheet of ND filter and cut it to size yourself. Heck, you might even be able to cut several of these from a single sheet, so you have spares, and can choose to use multiple filters if necessary.

I'll be at the airfield tonight and will see if I can do some testing. Weather is not looking too good though.

Oh, and all you get is the filter itself and the packaging. No storage container of any type. As you will not want to use this filter all the time, that's not too bright. Especially for something small and vulnerable like this. But I found out that an SD card holder will work just fine.

(Edited: If you do buy, buy direct from the manufacturer. Cheaper. GoPro Polarizer Filter | GoPro Accessories, GoPro Filters and Lenses, GoPro Microphone)

Okay, first report on that PolarPro ND/polarizing filter is that it doesn't work all that well. The prop is still a strange artifact and not a blur. (I flew aerobatics at 3000-5000', with a high, thin overcast at 10.000' or so, about three hours before end of daylight.)

As of yet I don't have any video shots that show the with/without situation, though. So I don't know to what extent it helps, only that it doesn't help enough, in this particular situation, to completely remove the prop artifacting.

The good news is that after a few hours in the GoPro housing, the filter does take on a distinct convex shape. Maybe with a bit more time (and maybe some warmth) the filter will be sufficiently convex to sit in the housing without wrinkling.

As some of you may have seen, the GoPro Hero 3 is now out. Especially the most expensive model (black edition) is a major upgrade from the Hero 2. And all are wifi enabled, which is of course very convenient if you mount the camera on the outside of your aircraft. (But is possibly illegal, so you did not hear this from me...)

But there is one other thing I noticed. In the promo video at the GoPro site and YouTube there are a few shots of aircraft and helicopters, and that annoying prop artifacting that is always present with the Hero & Hero 2 is no longer there.

I'm not sure whether this is because they are now using new sensor technology, or whether they are using ND filters or maybe a super slo-mo frame rate for those shots.

Anyone with more technical knowledge about sensor technology than me, cares to take a look at the specs, to see if they are indeed using better sensor technology to prevent prop artifacting?

Backpacker

Been working on the whole prop-blur issue with the gopro..
this one in standard HD settings. This one also in narrow view..(i don't think its as good in narrow..sort of waving??)
this one at 120fps...made some differance. This one in wide..(at 120fps you can only get wide)

still got loads of playing to do.......but more fum formation flying then, ;)

After some period spent experimenting I use a wide angle lens and a ear cup mounted remote mic.

Plugging the cam into the intercom gave me distortion from the transponder.

The standard lens is pretty limited for internal shots in a four place light aircraft.

My Panasonic camcorder is tape based (last of the steam engines) and has 3 CCDs with a stability software system and works how I want.

The fisheye actually shows external views as good as the standard lens. If you zoom the standard lens too much it gets crappy and shaky anyway.

The best way to shoot good video is to shoot LOTS of video...