Polaroid Cube video cam

[grue]

thought i'd post up that i got a polaroid cube as an xmas gift from my brother. i like it, the colors are better than competitors, but it is not as "pro" quality overall or options as the others. in fact though it's hard to argue spending $100 more if you're more casual user like i am.

it has a pretty strong magnet on the bottom of it that's best used on flat surfaces. the suction cup accessory sucks, i cannot get it to stick to anything.

anyway, here's what i did. i made a headrest mount for my '13 and i'll have to see if it works in the '16 when i get it (hopefully soon). i ordered the cube's tripod mount, the a ball tripod head from giottos that holds 7lbs i believe. the suction cup mount comes with a 10ft deep water proof case so i don't regret getting the SC mount. you'll see it in the pictures, but it's not needed with my setup as the tripod mount works, but i could use it because there's a universal type clip so you can interchange mounts.

cube comes in two versions: a wifi version and non wifi version. i wish i had gotten the wifi version as it has an app for your phone for live streaming and adjustments like exposure. being in my car with black interior, white snow on the ground and bright sunny sky, the view out the windscreen is somewhat over exposed because the camera is trying to expose for the interior a bit more than the smaller area of video outside. i am going to see if there is a hack to control brightness/exposure or maybe just buy the wifi version? i'm pretty OK with the way it all looks now so i'll likely not do that, but i could.

couple comments on my mount, one guy in the net glued a metal piece to his pvc pipe and stuck the cube on it. that will work for sure and you can somewhat aim it up/down/left/right, but the more solid/permanent mount i have seems better especially if i'm going to do a track day or something. also i went the route of using U shaped bolts to affix to the headrest posts with wing nuts and it's more than stable. finally not pictured here, but i'm in the process of spraying it with plasti-dip which is awesome!

so here's the pics and oh, the cube records MOV files in 1080p or 720p. MOV files don't work the best in my workflow, so i downloaded a free app called MP4Cam2AVI_v2.99 which is affiliated with sourceforge. running the MOV files through this converts them to AVI which can be read by other free editing programs like WAX2.0 from debug mode. in WAX i can convert to xvid mp4 video files. all pretty much universally playable without having to have quicktime player or special software. AVI can even work in windows media player or movie maker.

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[grue]

here's a couple of screen shots from the first test video with this mount. also, i did a version of this mount with the vertical extension and stuck the cube on a piece of metal via the magnet like the other guy on the net, but that was a mini and the mustang doesn't have as much outward visibility, so it was just too low (and my seat back angle). so these are from the mount with the 4-6" extension AND the tripod mount/ball head (which is about 3" in height).

the exposure thing - so you can see where the sky is blown out in both images, again that's because auto exposure is trying to get everything correct. now, it might be different without all the bright white snow on the ground in the spring? otherwise i would like to have a darker interior and normally exposed exterior etc... maybe a firmware update for the cube will allow me to adjust that? but then i'd be adjusting it on my computer at home vs. the wifi version with the phone app. maybe...

 

[Grim_Reaper]

Nice screen grabs and setup. If the camera has spot metering mode try that setting. Should expose correctly for the outside since the camera is centered pretty much on the exterior.

 

[grue]

Nice screen grabs and setup. If the camera has spot metering mode try that setting. Should expose correctly for the outside since the camera is centered pretty much on the exterior.

that would be the best! but otherwise just an exp compensation, but center weighted or spot would be better for various situations.

i haven't found too many hacks yet. there's a "settings.txt" file at the top level in the cube's folder, that can be used to change some settings like bitrate, self-timer time in seconds and recording time. recording time is either 0 = 5min chunks of video or 1 = 15min chunks of video. by chunks i mean that after 5mins a new file will be created vs. 15mins. i record in 720p and every 5mins the file size is about 250-300mb.

 

[grue]

thread update: disappointment

sorry for the long delay in update... i have the new '16 GT with PP and attached this exact rig and did some test drives. first, i drove on a horrible road and then a road that was very smooth feeling.

both videos sucked due to shake. it's not the fault of the cube, it's a bad setup for the mount, it is just not stable. after the rough road, i thought well that road is so rough that it might not be fair, so i went to a couple smoother newer concrete and asphalt roads, any little bounce in the performance pack car were magnified greatly, basically making the whole video unusable.

tapping the camera mount area with my hand revealed a diving-board like reaction. clearly the pvc tubing i've used is not stiff enough.

i will try aluminum square tubing next. i've seen others use that. i could try a larger diameter pvc tube, but my guess is that it wouldn't be much of an improvement.

also, i'm thinking the seat does bounce also so i may not be able to eliminate all of it...

 

[Chameleon]

Nice work. Sub'd

 

[grue]

update - it's working!

ok, i needed more rigidity. i looked at square aluminum tubing which would have been light and nice, but i have no way of creating a 90 deg elbow - i'd have to probably find someone who welds aluminum. we'll see.

i ended up getting 3/4" conduit pipe. it's pretty heavy, the elbow and end-cap where the bolt goes through the top in order to attach the two nuts and ball-head are held on by set screws as opposed to be more permanent. however the set screws dig into the conduit so i think it's pretty well attached and isn't going to go anywhere. in case of an accident? i don't know. - it's exactly the same shape and setup as the pvc picture above.

the extra rigidity worked like a charm! videos are as stable as any on the net, but maybe a little more? this is _even over roads where you clearly see me bounce up out of my seat. we have some pretty crappy roads especially in the winter when the bind up and buckle. i tried smooth concrete roads with expansion joints and bounce out of my seat asphalt roads and all are about equal in quality, nice and stable.

one more note, specifically applies to polaroid cube tripod mount. if you look at the pictures of it on the net, you'll see it come with a little "clip" attachment that attaches to the camera, then to the separate but included "base". the clip has thumb-pressure buttons on the side moves the actual clips in/out of the base indentations.

on my first attchment to this new headrest mount, i noticed the camera still seemed to wiggle, it does - the clip/base from polaroid is not tight! it wiggles forward/back. this probably accounted for 50% of the down-right usability of the pvc pipe attachment, but the diving-board like motion of the pvc made up the other 50%.

i solved this problem by taking a paper receipt from the gas station, folding it over two or three times thick, and overlaying it between the clip and base of the polaroid mount, snapped it together and no more wiggle.

don't have a youtube account, might just do that.

one final bummer which i think i mentioned earlier, i wish i could lower the exposure of the cube so the exterior is not as blown-out. street and most buildings are fine, but white cars and white buildings and the sky are blown out for the most part. but at least with my version of the cube you can't do it. i think wifi version you can, i'm going to research...

all in all and success i'd say and if i do a track day and if the mount is approved for use by the techs, it'll be fantastic!

 

[grue]

ok, created a youtube account. no clue yet on how to get better than 360p. anyway, this is one of the clips from the first test. on a bad road, you can hear it! but there are a couple "smooth" parts, the video is very stable. not as good as original video, i'll figure that out later.

 

[grue]

hm. after watching a couple of the old videos i wonder if that clip/base problem was 90% of the problem. im not sure if im going to make another pvc one at this point but if i did i might make a 3/4" one. i like being able to plasti dip it, cement the pieces together and the fact that its not a heavy pipe. grrr... nothing is ever easy!

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