SoloShot2 - tips? updated use? have questions for other SoloShot-ers

[MR1]

Howdy!

Looking for tips & tricks from other SoloShot2 users. Have been having fun getting used to mine (bday gift!!) and wondering what other folks are doing now that the product has been available for some time. Most recent posts I can find are back from ~December 2014, so at this point there should be more of us in the mix.

My questions (in no particular order):

• Anyone tried moving the base after pairing? I know we are supposed to, but I’m curious if it really doesn’t work… I’m headed to a XC camp for schooling for a few days, and expect we’ll spend some time within each ride in multiple spots - so setting up the base in just 1 place won’t catch the full lesson. Wondering if hubby could relocate the base/tripod while I ride, without having him actually having to do any repairing.

• Covered arena? Instead in who has tested this. Again, I know instructions say outside/clear view of sky, but what about putting the SoloShot outside the arena fence (sky view) but tag is on the rider under the cover (covered arena, not indoor arena). I’m going to try it soon, but curious if anyone else has.

• How long after pairing does the equipment fall asleep/shut down (or will it stay awake as long as there is battery life)? i.e. could I set up before tacking up - which would be awesome since our jumping arena is really far from the barn, so would be great to set up when I first get to the ranch & then it’s all ready when I come back with horse.

• I’ve kept it on Surf&Tuff setting - anyone find benefit in trying “Big Air” setting? (I’m not sure my 2’6" fences really qualify as “big air”!)

• Someone mentioned picking a centering object for pairing that is ~2’ above ground (instead of ground-level). Do you then hold tag at 2’ when doing the final pairing @ the center object, or do you stand up, or hold up the tag up higher at saddle level when pressing the + button?

And…anything else? Tips, tricks, fun facts, interesting “whoops!” moments? Would love to hear how SoloShots are working out!!

And for fun - here is one of my very first attempts at catching my ride with the SoloShot2. It’s SO GREAT to see myself & no longer have to convince friend/hubby/innocent-bystander that they “want” to video tape me for an hour! It’s taken us a year of restarting Ari and me getting back into shape, but it’s fun to see where we are so far.

http://youtu.be/pgGU2ZYx3jE

[Brydie]

I’ll answer your first point. I’ve picked it up and moved it as I bumped it after calibrating and couldn’t be bothered doing it again. Just put the tag in a spot and lined the camera up so it was in the middle. Worked OK.

[flight]

I don’t have any answers for you! Interesting questions though. I’m not sure how you would re-centre the camera, once you move the base around?? Try it and let us know

My base has a bit of play in it. Does anyone else’s?? I’ve tightened everything on it, those weird screws etc, but it has this tiny bit of side to side play, that will sometimes mean it totally misses me out. Very annoying!

I have a good routine with mine now. I turn on the tag to ‘warm up’. Catch horse, saddle up.
Carry everything down to the arena. Throw my whip out onto the arena as the centering object, and I haven’t found any problem with head cutting offness by centering on that. I just stand at the whip and press the + button at my waist height.
I use mine once or twice a week, at least.

Mine occasionally just wont pair. Like you press the + button on the tag/base and they wont flash. I’ve tried turning them off and waiting for the warm up again etc. It usually happens when I want to video a lesson I’m having.
I think it maybe not charged enough?? Not sure.

[atlatl]

I think I was the one who suggested using a centering object 2 feet off the ground. When I do that, I hold the tag around where the top of the saddle will be after doing my walkabout.

My system absolutely will not pair when it is overcast. Let the clouds part and it’s no problem. The directions do say it needs a clear view of the sky.

I believe all the base units have a little bit of play in them. I am just very careful but sometimes do have a little trouble with the tracking being a bit late as a result, but mostly it’s right on target.

Moving the base just a smidge probably won’t be a big deal, like inches, if you are using the widest frame setting. I wouldn’t do it because, gasp, I routinely use the narrowest frame setting. Picking it up and moving it across the field would most likely result in some very interesting video, just not of the rider. I have a second tag so if you need to move the base, I’d suggest doing so, re-pairing and then switching the tag out.

The only thing that seems to have a sleep mode is the camera display. Mine works fine as the base and tag do not seem to have a sleep mode.

So glad everyone is enjoying their soloshot2

[Brydie]

atatl - does the camera ever miss you when you have it on the narrow setting? I have mine on the medium setting, but haven’t yet tried it on the narrow setting.

Mine has a bit of play in it also which is very annoying. I can never just plug the multi cable in and let it zoom out, I always have to zoom back in and adjust etc.

Never had a problem with it pairing either (even when it’s overcast).

[atlatl]

@Brydie;8190353

atatl - does the camera ever miss you when you have it on the narrow setting?

Not since I updated the firmware.

[flight]

I use the narrowest setting too. And yes I’ve had a complete session where all I’ve seen is the end of my horses tail!! Which I think was related to the play in the movement of the base.

I tend to push the base one way against the play, and centre it holding it there. And generally I’m ok.

Clouds! Well I didn’t think of that ! (not pairing). Maybe that was the problem.
Just had a lesson this morning and it worked! yay!
Even riding right past it, it stayed following ok. It couldn’t zoom out enough as it was right in front of the camera, but got everything in

I have to say I have been really happy with their customer service. I asked quite a few questions with the set up and they got back to me within a few days (I’m in Australia).
Also, I had trouble with my camera controller. I think it was faulty. It wouldn’t connect properly with the base. Anyway, they just sent me a new one.

[flight]

Another thing… does anyone find that when you watch the video back, straight off your memory card or whatever… the footage is pretty smooth.
But when you upload to youtube, it looks jerky?
Just watching your vid MR, you can see it’s a bit stilty going L to R (and R to L). But I don’t tend to notice this on my ‘raw’ video.

I uploaded one of mine to youtube, and it was on a public setting, and one of the Soloshot people messaged me and said to make sure my ‘image stabliser’ was on on my camera. But I swear it was smoother before it was edited (windows movie maker) and uploaded.

Edited to add: Nice jumping MR! I jump my guy too, or try to!

[MR1]

In the case of the video I posted on youtube, the video was choppy on the original (watching via camera monitor & on computer after download), so it wasn’t a result of uploading.

However, I just updated the firmware the other night (hadn’t done that initially). I used the Soloshot the next day & the video is much smoother. I still need to download & view on my computer (have only looked at it through the camera screen) and I was recording in a different spot / different arena - but I’m hoping the firmware update will get rid of the choppiness.

Thanks for the compliment! I still miss how I rode when I was younger / before having a kid / when I got to ride 3 horses a day 6 days a week (!), but we are definitely getting into the groove again.

[MR1]

Another Q:

How are you all storing/carrying around your SoloShot? I need to setup some type of carrying case (totally pain to lug around the box each time, and it’s not very protective). I want something that will fit camera + base + tags + some cords, as well as have a way to strap the tripod on…and the whole thing to be either a backpack or with a shoulder strap. My arenas are a walk from the tack arena, so want to be able to carry the SoloShot while walking (or, ideally, riding) my horse out to the arena).

Ideas???

[MR1]

[subscribing to thread to get email notifications]

[Belair]

The only issue I really have with mine is that I put it right outside of the arena, which means that as I go by, it has to swing around really quickly to follow the tag. The noise it makes as it turns is slightly annoying. I need to find a better spot.

[atlatl]

I carry my camera, base, tags and cords in a old padded camera case. I got mine at Best Buy, I think, years ago. I leave the tripod in the car, but have a Soloshot gear bag that I sometimes remember to put it in.

[greysfordays]

I think the best position for it in order to avoid the super rapid swinging is inside the arena. My best video was with it next to a jump. At points it annoyingly is cut off by the jump but I think the camera does a much better job following me around.

https://vimeo.com/129844552

I have two questions I’m wondering about

1. what’s the best way to update the firmware

2. for people using the camera bundle, is this a super crap camera? I feel like the video quality is pretty poor. I had my brother change the frame rate to 60/s but it still feels pretty noisy in image quality.

If anyone has a camera that works with the soloshot 2 that they LOVE please let me know!

thanks guys!

[Belair]

Greys, I like that idea. I think I’ll try setting it up next to a jump next time. Is yours set on the narrowest setting? I have the bundle camera as well and I think the quality looks about like what I’m getting.

[MR1]

Greys / Belair: here’s what I’ve done/know…

FIRMWARE:
Updating the firmware was SUPER easy. The instructions are here (and they have a nice infographic step-by-step):
Soloshot.com --> Support --> Firmware
http://shop.soloshot.com/pages/firmware (if you Register, I think they’ll send you emails when the firmware needs to be updated)
Ultimately, you download the files onto a USB from their website. Then, plus the USB into the Base. Then add the camera controller (if you have one). Then, add the tag. It took me about 10min - next time will be much faster (since I’ll be all ready with my USB and such).

CAMERA BUNDLE:
I got the whole bundle. The video camera isn’t amazing but it’s good. I believe it’s the Sony CX-240. The quality is fine for what I am using it for (video, watch/review, youtube post) - totally fine for sale-ad quality IMO. However, not sure how well it would look if you were really far away from the camera, or really close. I got the bundle to alleviate the headache of buying a video camera separately (we didn’t have a recent one / last camera I had was ~10yrs old), ease of integrating software (since it’s all set out-of-the-box), and having a designated camera for the Soloshot (not having to keep share video camera with my hubby…).

SETTING:
I’ve tried all three zoom settings (1x each so far). I am going to stick with the closest/most zoom. The framing is good for arena/jumping work. It did fine following me and I prefer mostly horse/person and not so much background.

[MR1]

What are you all using for video editing software?

I would like to be able to cut parts / piece things together, but easily. I have access to both a PC and a Mac. The Mac is my home computer, but I’ll be honest…I have yet to figure it out after a couple years (I’m totally a PC person).

[greysfordays]

[QUOTE=MR;8192604]
What are you all using for video editing software?

I would like to be able to cut parts / piece things together, but easily. I have access to both a PC and a Mac. The Mac is my home computer, but I’ll be honest…I have yet to figure it out after a couple years (I’m totally a PC person).[/QUOTE]

I’m using iMovie. It’s $15 in the app store. I was overwhelmed at first. But I watched ten minutes of a 30 minute tutorial (Patience really is NOT one of my strengths) and figured it out pretty quickly after that.

I’m not super great with technology, but once I learn it, I feel like some kind of king of the world. :lol:

The easiest app I’ve ever used on my phone is Videoshop. Awesome for things like instagram where you want to add music and slow-mo. I made this video in exactly 3 minutes flat, it’s super intuitive to use.

https://instagram.com/p/3pHFNjyE_5/?taken-by=jvbiel

[flight]

I just leave all mine set up on the tripod and carry it around like that. Although my horses are at home, and my arena is about 80m away.
Didn’t think of putting it away in a bag!

I wonder how it will go with dust/dirt from the arena over a period of time.

At my instructor’s place, I have to have the camera inside the arena because the fence will be in the way.

I already had a camera, it’s a Sony cx190, and just did an update for it. I’m happy with the quality. I’d say it’s a few models before theirs.

I use windows movie maker. It’s very simple to use.
Not much editing in this one, but the setup is about 5metres from the arena and slightly uphill.

https://youtu.be/KW3Cp1w2Qz8

[roseymare]

I have not used a soloshot----in fact I have to google it!

BUT I carry my video camera and tripods around in a diaper bag. The length is long enough to hold the tripods at a diagonal. It is padded and their are plenty of pockets. Mine was from Pottery Barn but I found it at Goodwill! Lots of the new designs do not even look like diaper bags.