Gear test of an Insta360 One X2 and GoPro 9 on an S1000XR

[bernhtp]

I’m going to Spain in about two weeks to do a tour of the Pyrenees with buddies. Most of us will be riding the S1000XR through the 30,000 mountain corners over 9 days. A few of my buddies and I will be doing video for the trip. To this end, I decided to test several camera gear setups on the XR.

This video is just a gear setup test. Its only intent is to test various mounts, cameras and reframes. I mounted an Insta360 One X2 on my friend's BMW S1000XR and put a GoPro Hero 9 on my helmet (chin mount). Both cameras have mics attached into my helmet.

Suggestions are welcome. Maybe this will help others.

Here are the setup details:

1. Insta360 One X2

• Attached to the left mirror via
• RAM Mount Clamp into ball mount
• RAM Mount double-socket arm
• Insta360 Vibration Damper (keeps camera from vibrating apart internally)
• Attached to the One X2 is the audio adapter (snugly kept with a rubber band)
• A long mic cable goes to the Purple Panda mic, which is within a dead cat and placed within the helmet atop the chin curtain.
• Normally a USB cable goes into the audio adapter to keep the Insta360 One X2 charged - no battery drain - from the USB ports in the fairing or phone holder. I didn't bother for this short test.

2. GoPro Hero 9 Black

• RiderTechMoto custom mount for the Shoei X-14 that attached a GoPro buckle mount
• A J-Hook GoPro mount attaches to the buckle
• A curved extender arm provides a wide range of angles for the camera. When used on my S1000RR, it is oriented more upward because the helmet points downward in a crouch sportbike position. On the XR, it is oriented more level for the more upright seating position.
• The GoPro is within the Media Mod to provide the analog 3.5mm mic input
• The mic is a Sony ECMLV1 within a dead cat and attached beneath the padding near the mouth/cheek area.

I did a quick edit of the video. First, I quickly reframed the 360 video in Insta360 Studio to give various views. Then I synced it with the helmet cam and switched back and forth between them using Premiere Pro. The purpose is to provide a test and sample of what I plan to do in Spain/France.

Please forgive the insipid narration. I just kept talking about mostly nothing to give a continual test of the audio at different speeds.

 

[Hippo-Drones]

It is definitely a good idea to test out various mounting options and view points before a big trip. The 360 cameras are great fun to play with.

 

[bernhtp]

It is definitely a good idea to test out various mounting options and view points before a big trip. The 360 cameras are great fun to play with.

I like the X2's position there to get so many great angles - front, sides, rider, body position and most of the rear. The ability to change the wide angle is great too. Finally, having it continuously powered via USB is an important usability feature. Battery changes are a big PITA and source of video loss.

But I also like the chine mount and its automatic view of where the rider looks. There's also slightly more clarity in the GoPro, I think.

The big piece of the test was for the mounting of the X2. The clamp, vibration damper, etc. worked better than I thought. I got more rear view than I expected and I have a slightly longer double-socket extension arm that would see further over my shoulder.

I was originally planning on putting eh X2 external mic down nearer the engine and only stuck it into my helmet at the last second. It sounded better than the Sony mic going into the GoPro Media Mod. I don't know if it's due to the mic, the audio adapter, the internal mounting, or the camera. The X2 mic - a Purple Panda inside a dead cat - rested atop the chin curtain in front of my chin. It was a bit more muted but didn't have the gain overload of the Sony. Maybe someone more expert in audio can explain and/or give suggestions. The placement with the wire across to the X2 (surprisingly) didn't bother me at all.

 

[Hippo-Drones]

A lot of folk rave about the Purple Panda mic... I've always used cheap VOIP mics with short leads which do me fine in all my GoPro cameras, I tend to just use one lot of audio, so no need for multiple mics.

 

[bernhtp]

A lot of folk rave about the Purple Panda mic... I've always used cheap VOIP mics with short leads which do me fine in all my GoPro cameras, I tend to just use one lot of audio, so no need for multiple mics.

I didn't intend to have two mics, but it did make syncing the videos easy/automatic.