OT: Speed TV Channel - "SpeedCam" - Oh My God!

Wow... I'm watching the Speed Channel coverage of CART qualifying (Friday Qual) at Long Beach. They have a new camera mounted in the helmet of the driver - called the "SpeedCam" - it is the most incredible in-car footage I have ever seen. Its mounted in the helmet of Paul Tracey. It looks to me to have 99% exactly the FOV of the driver, including the helmet peripheral vision restriction. The bouncing of the head, helmet, car (suspension) is very realistic! Maybe for the first time, many of you will see just how bad your vision is....blurred badly by the movement - even in an open wheel racecar! This is awesome stuff. Tom

I've been waiting for someone to do this... ;) "Tom Pabst" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:cyIt8.4412$[email hidden]... > Wow... > > I'm watching the Speed Channel coverage of CART qualifying (Friday Qual)at > Long Beach. They have a new camera mounted in the helmet of the driver - > called the "SpeedCam" - it is the most incredible in-car footage I haveever > seen. Its mounted in the helmet of Paul Tracey. It looks to me to have99% > exactly the FOV of the driver, including the helmet peripheral vision > restriction. The bouncing of the head, helmet, car (suspension) is very > realistic! Maybe for the first time, many of you will see just how badyour > vision is....blurred badly by the movement - even in an open wheelracecar!

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> > This is awesome stuff. > > Tom > > >

"Tom Pabst" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:cyIt8.4412$[email hidden]... > Wow... > > I'm watching the Speed Channel coverage of CART qualifying (Friday Qual)at > Long Beach. They have a new camera mounted in the helmet of the driver - > called the "SpeedCam" - it is the most incredible in-car footage I haveever > seen. Its mounted in the helmet of Paul Tracey. It looks to me to have99% > exactly the FOV of the driver, including the helmet peripheral vision > restriction. The bouncing of the head, helmet, car (suspension) is very > realistic! Haha, its realistic 'cuz it is real! I know what you are trying to say, I just had to point that out. -Stuart Becktell

that was the coolest incar iv'e ever seen! "Tom Pabst" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:cyIt8.4412$[email hidden]... > Wow... > > I'm watching the Speed Channel coverage of CART qualifying (Friday Qual)at > Long Beach. They have a new camera mounted in the helmet of the driver - > called the "SpeedCam" - it is the most incredible in-car footage I haveever > seen. Its mounted in the helmet of Paul Tracey. It looks to me to have99% > exactly the FOV of the driver, including the helmet peripheral vision > restriction. The bouncing of the head, helmet, car (suspension) is very > realistic! Maybe for the first time, many of you will see just how badyour > vision is....blurred badly by the movement - even in an open wheelracecar!

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> > This is awesome stuff. > > Tom > > >

"Tom Pabst" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:cyIt8.4412$[email hidden]... > Wow... > > Maybe for the first time, many of you will see just how bad your > vision is....blurred badly by the movement - even in an open wheelracecar! > > This is awesome stuff. > > Tom It's very cool, but your eyes will filter out much of the bouncing and blurring when you're in the actual car. The camera will exaggerate the effect. So while it's a great camera shot, it doesn't necessarily represent what the driver sees.

> > It's very cool, but your eyes will filter out much of the bouncing and > blurring when you're in the actual car. The camera will exaggerate the > effect. So while it's a great camera shot, it doesn't necessarilyrepresent > what the driver sees. > Very true. Now if they could just mount a little steady-cam on a driver's helmet.... :-)

"Internet User" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:3cb7a61a$[email hidden]...

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> "Tom Pabst" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:cyIt8.4412$[email hidden]... > > Wow... > > > > Maybe for the first time, many of you will see just how bad your > > vision is....blurred badly by the movement - even in an open wheel > racecar! > > > > This is awesome stuff. > > > > Tom > > It's very cool, but your eyes will filter out much of the bouncing and > blurring when you're in the actual car. The camera will exaggerate the > effect. So while it's a great camera shot, it doesn't necessarily

represent > what the driver sees. Very true. Having driven FF1600 - I can say that the vibration and wobbley helmet-ness does filter away a great deal Doug

Well, I believe this "filter" effect of the driver eyes isn't as much as you state. If you watch the same point down track (on the camera shot) as the driver is doing from the car.....most of the "distraction" of the bouncing is removed from the viewer's eyes as well. I didn't say this new camera shot was perfect......that will probably never happen if compared to your eyes...in the real car. But, in my opinion...its far better than we've ever seen....and "feels" very realistic to me. I've also driven these cars....and that's what my "memory's eye" ...recalls. Tom "Internet User" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:3cb7a61a$[email hidden]...

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> "Tom Pabst" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:cyIt8.4412$[email hidden]... > > Wow... > > > > Maybe for the first time, many of you will see just how bad your > > vision is....blurred badly by the movement - even in an open wheel > racecar! > > > > This is awesome stuff. > > > > Tom > > It's very cool, but your eyes will filter out much of the bouncing and > blurring when you're in the actual car. The camera will exaggerate the > effect. So while it's a great camera shot, it doesn't necessarily

represent > what the driver sees. > >

"Tom Pabst" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:%d1u8.12754$G72.10613@sccrnsc01... > Well, I believe this "filter" effect of the driver eyes isn't as much asyou > state. If you watch the same point down track (on the camera shot) as the > driver is doing from the car.....most of the "distraction" of the bouncing > is removed from the viewer's eyes as well. I didn't say this new camera > shot was perfect......that will probably never happen if compared to your > eyes...in the real car. But, in my opinion...its far better than we'veever > seen....and "feels" very realistic to me. I've also driven these > cars....and that's what my "memory's eye" ...recalls. > > Tom My point is this... If you hold a video camera while walking, the picture is very unstable. If you hold a video camera and run, the picture is even more unstable. But when you are walking or running, you don't see an unstable picture. You see a very stable image. That's simply the way out eyes and brain work. You have the same effect if you place a camera inside your car or a race car. The Speed Channel camera may be very good from a "drivers perspective" but the image captured by the camera is not what the driver sees. His or her brain is stabilizing the image the same way your brain stabilizes an image in every other activity. I've driven open wheel race cars, I've walked, I've run, I've jogged and in no way does a camera process an image the way our brain processes an image. Digital image stabilization can assist in the problem, but the Speed Channel camera was not using this technology.