Tree felling vids

Today, technology has made it possible for anyone to become a great movie maker. Let alone all the off the wall and chance moments of rare events to record and share.

The biggest distraction with most videos by amateurs lies in not keeping the camera steady. But amateur video is improving nonetheless.

There is some damn good stuff out there. And a lot of junk to.
 
Technology might be advancing, but quality sure ain't! My wife bought me a VIO POV.HD for my birthday last September. I used it a couple of times, then found out the built-in speaker didn't half work. (In other words, it worked about half the time). Pitiful when you're wanting to watch playback on the camera. Then when the AV cable was plugged in to watch on a TV, the sound continued to sputter sporadically from the camera's speaker, rather than transferring to the TV's speaker. Something wrong with the jack, obviously? I contacted VIO, and they said just send it back, and they'd fix it no problem. Nearly $20 to ship it insured for $500. I got it back in a few days, no note, no nothing. Used it on a big water oak back in January. Filled the SD card up...not sure how much time that is. I watched some of the footage on the computer, via the SD card, but didn't fool with the camera.

Fast forward to today. While tidying up my "office", I picked up the VIO and just turned it on to see if the batteries were dead. They weren't, so I proceeded to play back the last clip. The sound from the speaker was HIDEOUS. Sounded like my 200T was being crushed under a dozer. Screeching, whining noise. Took it in the bedroom and used the AV cable to the TV. No sound from TV......continued screech from tiny built-in speaker. Immediately sent off irate email to VIO. Have no idea what their response will be. Anyone else on here have nay experience with them? Good? Bad? I'll call them in the morning if I don't get to work. It's frustrating that when you spend $500, you can't expect quality anymore....rant finished.:whine:
 
Hey Scott, You have two options with that VIO, either give it a bit more time and tinker with it and try to figure out the quirks or, if that doesnt work just send it on over to Ohio... I am sure I can get it working.

Seriously though, those are top of the line cameras, I would hope that it isnt the camera being that they are pretty pricey. Maybe give it another chance and see if it wasnt just OE or something. I know Jay has a VIO as well as Reg over at the Buzz. Maybe if you dont make progress you could ask Jay for some help..
 
Hey Scott, You have two options with that VIO, either give it a bit more time and tinker with it and try to figure out the quirks or, if that doesnt work just send it on over to Ohio... I am sure I can get it working.

Seriously though, those are top of the line cameras, I would hope that it isnt the camera being that they are pretty pricey. Maybe give it another chance and see if it wasnt just OE or something. I know Jay has a VIO as well as Reg over at the Buzz. Maybe if you dont make progress you could ask Jay for some help..

Ha, thanks Nick! It's great to have folks to help you out in time of need, regardless of the sacrifice!:lol:

Seriously, I know there's a flaw with the camera's AV jack, as well as something wrong with the built-in speaker. The problems could be one and the same, if it's a bad or loose connection at the jack. I sent them an email, havent heard back yet. I'm planning to call them in a little while. The guy I spoke with last time was friendly. He said they would either repair or replace the camera. Before, I would plug the AV cable to it and the sound continued to come from the camera's speaker. The AV jack was not transferring the sound as it should. Then, after jiggling the plug a little, NO sound would come from the camera's speaker. The recording is fine. YOu can put the SD card into the computer and watch the vids. But for a $500 camera, I expect every little feature to work. I'm just picky like that, I guess.:/:
 
Just spoke with Doug at VIO. He's checking on what options are available He said they may just send me a new unit and let me return this one, since it only has 2 hours on it. He looked up the previous return (in January) and said their notes show that I was sent a new unit. I asked, "So you're saying I got 2 defective units in a row?" Hopefully they'll get this sorted out. I haven't used it in a while because it's been hot enough without a backpack. Reg carries his in a pocket sewn on his pants leg. I don't have a pocket there, and the backpack is the simplest option for me.
 
Reg has now got the Drift HD, I much prefer the quality and colour of the drift. I got the Contour, which is cheap and cheerful and does the job well.
 
Scott, no problems here with the VIO, the one Deva defied the world order of things with and sent me. I love it. Their customer service was helpful when I had a question. My only gripe is that the remote switch should have a light on it to tell if the camera is recording or not, the beep is mostly inaudible.
 
Just got home to find Doug had called and emailed to say a new unit is on the way. Hopefully this one will be a winner!

Jay, do you use the built-in speaker for playback? Do you use the AV cable to watch it on TV? Mine does fine as far as recording. It's the playback on the unit or a TV that is aggravating.

I know what you mean about the remote's beep. I wear my remote on a cord around my neck and turn my head to the side so I can hear the beep a little better. The unit is in a backpack so it's easier to hear that way. Another thing I do is press record more than once if I'm not sure it took. At lest it has a STOP and a RECORD button. When you only have one button and press it to start AND stop, it is easy to get out of sync with it and be turning it off when you want it on, or vice versa.
 
Scott, no experience hooking to the tv. I upload to my computer and take it from there with editing software. I haven't much used the playback within the unit, so sound problems haven't been noticed. After uploading, the sound has been ok. Cool they are sending a new unit. Do you get to keep the old one too?
 
Ha! I wish! Nah, I've got to send it back. I was pleased they would handle it this way, though. It speaks highly of the company's customer service.
 
I've been using rechargeable batteries in the unit. I thought I read somewhere that it was advised against, but when I went to find that being said somewhere, I couldn't . I might be mistaken about rechargeable batteries not recommended.
 
I use rechargeables too, Jay. I have 3 sets....one is in the camera, and the other two stay in a little case I keep in the truck, along with a charger. If need be, I can have one set charging while I'm filming, and still have a spare set. I also keep a couple of extra SD cards on hand. My Canon SX20IS uses AA batteries as well, so it's handy to have spares. I use it on a tripod from time to time. Truth be told, I usually forget to set up and film til it's too late.
 
Nice work, Nick. Like the reverse editing, too. Just wondering, it's hard to tell in the vid ... why such high felling cuts? Was the drop zone short?

Good job! :)
 
Yeah, I did that when I cleared my land for the house ... but, I had a dozer coming. Most of the time, in that kind of setting, ALAP is good enough and then a stump grinder if needed.

Just wondering ... :)
 
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