Perfect POV – Every Time

The Camera

Over the years I’ve tried really hard to get good quality POV (point of view) footage of the trails. I’ve had every GoPro from the original GoPro Hero all the way up to the GoPro Hero 12. I’ve messed with settings and different editing techniques on the computer in an endless quest to get steady POV shots.

I’ve recently switched over to the DJI Osmo Action 4, and this camera is at the absolute pinnacle of action cameras at this time. The stabilization is amazing, and its ability to go from light to dark areas quickly is a game changer. The video isn’t necessarily why I switched to the DJI, though…

The Microphone

The DJI Mic 2 is a completely wireless, dual microphone setup for your camera. This definitely blows GoPro out of the water in this category because you no longer have to use something like the media mod. You just clip these microphones anywhere on your body or your bike and you get really crisp, clean sounds. In my opinion, the audio on POV footage is just as important as the video. While it may be the reason I switched, the audio is not the real main reason I wanted to talk to you about the DJI Osmo Action 4.

The Video

The point of this post (and the video linked above) is to talk about capturing really good POV footage – especially in darker conditions. There are two good ways to capture good footage after the sun goes down.

LIGHTS – One is to have a good set of bike lights. The more light that you can produce in front of your bike, the more stable the footage will actually be. I’ve been using Magicshine lights for a long time and recently they became a sponsor of my channel. If you use this link and my code RunBikeMike15 you can save 15% on a really great light. The one I’m using in the video is the EVO1700.

MOUNTS – The other important thing is the camera mount. The two main camera mount styles are the chin mount on a full-face helmet and the chest mount. I really like the chin mount if I’m shooting downhill or enduro style footage, but if it’s XC I just find the full-face helmet to be uncomfortable and opt for a chest mount.

The Mount

Now, a typical chest mount has elastic straps and over time, the elastic wears out and it just doesn’t fit as good or stay as stable as when you first get it. Any jiggling in your camera mount will result in less crispy footage, especially in dark conditions. If you’ve watched my channel for a while, you know that I’m a huge budget guy. I’ve also shot a lot of POV footage that has been unusable due to an unstable mount. If you want the best stabilization, you can’t go the cheap route. That led me to my current setup: a USWE hydration pack combined with a USWE action cam chest mount (pronounced you-sweeee). This not only gives me the benefit of a hydration pack and convenient storage for all my gear when I go ride, but it’s also an extremely stable mount for my action camera. USWE uses what they call No Dancing Monkey (NDM) technology to make sure their packs are not bouncing all over the place while you’re riding, and they have really taken hold recently in the off-road cycling community.

The Results

I have been able to capture some of the smoothest night riding shots that I’ve ever captured with a chest mounted camera. Please check out the video linked above starting around 3:40 for example footage from my DJI Osmo Action 4 combined with the USWE pack and chest mount from a recent gravel night ride. The DJI is really good at capturing night footage compared to GoPros I’ve used in the past. The DJI seems to be able to pull out light from the environment even when it seems really dark out. It doesn’t just stabilize the images right in the middle of the frame, but all the way out to the edges of the shot where you sometimes get what I call jitter motion on the sides.

Conclusion

This setup took me a couple of years to really dial in – different cameras, different mounts, different settings on the cameras – and I’m really happy with where I’ve currently landed. So, if you want to start capturing quality POV footage get a good action camera like the DJI Osmo Action 4, pick up a USWE pack and chest mount, and grab some high quality lights from Magicshine.