A little review of the Magic Arm + Super Clamp

I decided to go out and shoot a small video today so thought it was the ideal opportunity to try out the Magic Arm and Super Clamp I've just purchased off eBay.

 Ok so as stated in an earlier post I opted for the 11"inch Magic Arm, there is also a 7" available. I know women always say the extra few inches don't matter, but I just felt the extra reach would help enable me to get some better shots and angles.

I'll start with the clamp... I'm not sure if there are slightly bigger clamps available (as in jaw size), the one I got opens to 5.5cm's, this is just a fraction to small to fit around the downtube of my bike. Never mind you could always do what I do and just use your GoPro helmet strap for this area. The clamp seems to fit all other places I tried it (well apart from my fork legs which are quite wide). I found the clamp nips up really well and is solid. Down side it is a little bulky I would hate to see anyone have a spill and the clamp dent their frame. I mean this is a solid piece of metal not your usual plastic GoPro type clamp. The jaws of the clamp come with rubber protectors, so this helps with not scratching your frame.

The Magic Arm. I really love how the Arm adjusts. It has 2 swivel heads, one either end of each arm. One arm you pop your GoPro or Contour or whatever camera you use on to. I bought a GoPro camera mount, the type you can fit to say a tripod or GoPro pole. The other end fits into the clamp. In the middle of the 2 arms is a knob that you can turn and hears the really clever bit, you adjust the arm from that one knob. So say the knob is slack the arms move around easily for adjustment. Tightening the knob tightens both arms and both swivel heads. The angles you can get are infinite, really it's just a case of experimenting. You can even do as i did today and fasten the arm to other stuff so you can get a ride by at an unusual angle. I secured it to a tree branch for an overhead shot.

Top tip.....make sure you tighten your Magic Arm into the clamp securely, you can use a small spanner to do this, also make sure you do likewise with your camera mount at the other end, though this can be done by hand using the knurled threaded washer. On today's testing my Magic Arm was keep dropping, nothing to do with the design, it was my own fault I hadn't tightened the clamp to the arm before setting out.

Overall I think this is a great bit of kit.....

Positives +     get some great angles, sturdy design, ease of use.

Negatives -   Watch you don't have this on your bike and take a spill, it could damage your frame depending on where you have it.

If there's anything else you would like to know just drop me a line, like I say I got my Magic Arm off eBay. It arrived in like 2 or 3 days.

GoPro Backpack Pole Mount

Whilst checking out Youtube for new and interesting stuff I came across this....

I've seen various short video's on the making of these backpack mounts, and think they are an excellent way of getting some really neat camera angles.

Rodger Dean has decided to take the idea one step further and try and manufacture and  sell his VuVantage Backpack mount as a complete unit. Rodger is using top end materials and like he says

 "You could buy parts of this product And still, no third person perspective"

I spoke to Rodger via email and he informed me his "Kickstarter project" wasn't going as quick as he planned but he does have a back up plan which is good to hear.

I for one would like to get my hands on one of his designs and go out and make a  movie you would hopefully find interesting, with some unusual camera angles.

Checkout the link below for more info

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vuvantage/backpack-pole-mount-for-action-cameras-gopro-or-co 

11"inch Variable Friction Magic Arm + Super Clamp

I've just ordered one of these off eBay.

It's an 11"inch Variable Friction Magic Arm + Super Clamp. I'm going to use it to attach my GoPro in various positions whilst I'm out taking video's, so hopefully get some nice unusual shots.

Adam the camera man from the BBC recommended it to me, so thanks for that Adam. It's a lot easier than fiddling with my current GoPro set up of attaching various mounts together to get an arm you can adjust. With the magic arm you can pop it where you want a with one turn of the screw it locks the whole arm in position.

Re -Magic Arm + Clamp

WoW that was pretty quick the Magic Arm arrived today. It's a very sturdy bit of kit and should make for some great angles, "watch this space" .My only concern is that the arm is so sturdy when it's clamped in place thatit could possibly dent or bend my frame in the event of a spill. This is something I'm going to have to keep an eye on.

Can't wait to see what angles and interesting shots I can get. I've got a covert movie making session planned  que evil laugh"Muhahahaha".

I will do a full review of the Magic Arm after I test it out, should be fun....

A couple more acquisitions in tools & Accessories

 Quite often I find my backpack is a bit disorganized so when I saw the Lezyne Smart Wallet I thought "Oh that would be handy to keep all my essential stuff in one place" you know bike multi-tool, a puncture repair kit, a place for a little bit of emergency cash and a nice sealed cover for my phone. Thing was when I looked for the Smart Wallet Elite I discovered it had been discontinued. I even contacted the distributors to see if they knew of any shops that may have had the odd one lying around, alas to no avail. Anyhoo I struck lucky on eBay and managed to pick up a brand new one for less than the original retail price so was well pleased.

I've since bought myself a new set of Lezyne alloy tyre levers and an alloy puncture repair case with glueless patches, all I need now is a nice Lezyne multi-tool. Quite fancy one of the blingtastic carbon affairs but wow are they expensive.

       

Lezyne Smart Wallet Elite

I also got myself a handy little Topeak  Samrt Gauge D2. Here's how Topeak describe there nifty little gauge....

"The second-generation digital gauge features a rotating SmartHead™ and works seamlessly with Presta and Schrader valves without changing parts. Precision digital gauge reads up to 250 psi / 17 bar and is designed for use with tires, suspension forks and rear shock units. LCD display can be programmed to show pressure in psi, Bar, or kg/cm2. 

Topeak Smart Gauge D2

 Visit below link for more details

http://www.topeak.com/products/Pumps/smartgauge_d2

Camelbak Rain Cover

What with the current weather we have been having of late I'm finding my Camelbak back pack is getting covered in mud and it's a real pain keep cleaning it. So I have decided to treat myself to a Rain Cover for my pack. It's a simple case of just popping it over your bag and it keeps your bag both dry and clean, it's also handy as it's quite bright so helps you get seen on those murky days. There are a few different brands of covers on the market, some even come with built in lights, one of  the Respo covers I think.

Camelbak Rain Cover

Wasabi GoPro Charger and battery kit

So I got my new GoPro Hero2 back after sending it away for a replacement as the charging circuit wouldn't work in the camera. It looks like the replacement camera is exactly the same. It won't charge the battery through the camera when plugged in to a PC via the USB cable. After checking out various forums it seems this is a common problem with the newer GoPro Hero 2's. Well I don't want to be keep sending my camera back and forth as it means I can't get out there and shoot some videos, so my dad bought me this neat little kit. It's a stand alone battery charger with  2 spare batteries and a car charger all to fit the GoPro Hero 2......Cool..... Now I can have spare batteries ready to go and rather than charge them up in the GoPro just pop them in the Wasabi charger.....Sorted.

Wasabi charger and battery kit (got it from Amazon.co.uk)

A cute little Knog adjustable spanner I bought.