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Thursday, October 29, 2015

Camera Alignment

By Patrick M. GCHD Staff  Writer


Camera alignment plays no small part in capturing the best video for motion analysis and review of a golf swing. Many swing instructors are very precise as to where they prefer to position a camera. For them, simply standing in the frame of the camera phone or tablet is not quite enough. 

Do a simple Google search on relevant placement terms and you'll return many differing opinions. Now, what is important is that with the right tools at your disposal; you can easily capture relevant and valuable video, regardless of philosophy, regardless of angle. 

And think a moment about this – does your anxiety level rise when you are being watched? What about when hitting the 1st tee ball of a foursome near the restaurant of a clubhouse at noon when...
there’s a table of folks you don’t know overlooking you on the veranda? Are your palms sweating right now just thinking about it? What we have discovered is that when the video camera is on and you know that YOU are watching, over time you will gain a confidence that you just don’t have today. And that is irrespective of the angle the video is taken from. So what follows are some good usage practices that will help you get started, if you are new to golf motion swing analysis.

Perhaps obvious, but make sure you know the exact location of your camera aperture, as it pertains to your phone or tablet. The position might be in a corner or in the middle. This is simple considering it isn’t hard to see where the aperture is located. But what might not be obvious to you is that when taking a video in a landscape position, there may be a top and bottom, That is a right side up way and an up-side-down way for your camera to take a video. It is probably safe to have the camera aperture to the top, and left of the camera when taking a video. Practice with this in mind being sure to review the test video that you take in your cameras gallery. If possible and you have the ability, practice it by casting the video replay to your big screen or computer monitor. If you don’t have that ability, you can get it here. It's no fun seeing yourself hit a bucket of balls up-side down on your 65 inch Smart TV.

Now that you have a good understanding of the right way to take video, the next step might be to place your smart phone or tablet into a holder that you have. When using a PerfectView™ by GCHD there is an iStabilizer™ phone and tablet mount provided in the box.  When placing the device into the mount you use make sure to keep the camera free from any obstruction. Such as the mount itself or golf clubs of course. That’s why we include a flex arm integral to the PerfectView. We like to position it on the right side of the bag in something of a lazy ‘S’. Others bend the arm in a complete upside-down ‘U’ so the video is taken from a lower perspective. Regardless where you decide, be sure that you can pick up your bag with the device still in the holder and sling it over your back without it getting in your way. The mount will hold the device secure as you walk to the car, the putting green, the practice trap or the fairway. That is why we designed it the way we did.


Next, align the camera to where you'll be hitting. When using GolfCamHD™ turn on the alignment grid to aid your camera setup. The alignment grid is a one of a kind feature that you won’t find anywhere else. Think of the grid as virtual alignment sticks. The difference being that you don’t have just one or two sticks, rather you laid out a grid of 25 sticks to help you be on-target. Then keeping that image in mind, walk into the frame of the camera and place your ball. For most people this takes about 8 to 10 steps. I found if I set the camera and then placed my ball. I could go back to the device and check to get a reference as to where I would be in the frame. This took more time in the beginning. But it taught me where I needed to be. So in the long run it saved me time on the range. Of course if you are hitting off a mat, you have a tee reference to use to help in your placement. This will become old hat to you after the first time you do it.

That’s it. Now hit record on the camera and go swing away. If you are using GolfCamHD without a voice control headset, you will just need to touch the shutter button to start and stop your recording. But if you are using voice control, you can simply say "start" and you will be recording your swing. You are free to set things by using your voice like the club you are using, how long to record the swing - 10, 20, 30 seconds at a time. Then rate each shot for cataloging later and much, much more.


As a matter of fact, while any video is better than no video for your golf swing and confidence, voice controlled video is 21st Century.  You can tell that I prefer the voice operation. It allows me to say play and see the last recorded video right then, hands free. Hands free operation saves me time at the range.
  
As with all things, the more you use video, incorporating it into your regime, the easier it will become. I have found it so useful that it has become almost an addiction. I won’t go to the range without it. And with GolfCamHD and PerfectView, I don’t have to. If you are interested in a simple, high quality but entry level setup to put your swing on video, we have a great offer for you. TheHeadset / smartFlex Tri-Pod Bundle - Swing Away!

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