# Ax-Cam 3.0 GoPro collar mount



## texasx96

Very cool. I wonder if one of those back mounts would be steadier?


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## alphadude

texasx96 said:


> Very cool. I wonder if one of those back mounts would be steadier?


Already tried it - less steady. Because of the extreme exertion involved, and the way his back muscles move and flex, the camera bobbed around on the mount no matter how tight I made it.


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## CAROLINA MOM

Great picture and videos, love these GoPros.


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## texasx96

alphadude said:


> Already tried it - less steady. Because of the extreme exertion involved, and the way his back muscles move and flex, the camera bobbed around on the mount no matter how tight I made it.



That's disappointing. I've been wanting to get the dog's eye view for frisbee and dock diving. If neither of those work very well I'm not sure what is left to try. Drones?


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## alphadude

texasx96 said:


> That's disappointing. I've been wanting to get the dog's eye view for frisbee and dock diving. If neither of those work very well I'm not sure what is left to try. Drones?


To be clear, I didn't *buy* the doggie mount setup but I used a harness and fabricated essentially the same thing. From the reviews I read on several of them, they were not any more effective than what I made for nothing but a few minutes of my time. If you dog is meandering along, they're fine, but if involved in a max effort activity, you're going to get the wobble.

Actually I was thinking of a drone as well.


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## GoldenCamper

Looking good  Just a thought but how about putting the camera on a tripod at the end of your disc throws? You're good enough to toss it 10' before it I bet. And besides, you get get footage of you and Ax running down the beach together after initial set up.


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## alphadude

GoldenCamper said:


> Looking good  Just a thought but how about putting the camera on a tripod at the end of your disc throws? You're good enough to toss it 10' before it I bet. And besides, you get get footage of you and Ax running down the beach together after initial set up.


Actually I *have* thought about it. That's where I positioned my buddy with the DSLR camera yesterday. Ax was catching the discs right in front of him. 

As far as video of Ax and I running down the beach...he'll *DEFINITELY* win, if he wants to. LOL


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## GoldenCamper

alphadude said:


> Actually I *have* thought about it. That's where I positioned my buddy with the DSLR camera yesterday. Ax was catching the discs right in front of him.
> 
> As far as video of Ax and I running down the beach...he'll *DEFINITELY* win, if he wants to. LOL


Oh, I can see you have thought of it with the pictures  Just wanted to share something creative when you guys are by yourselves.

You mean Ax doesn't just go for a stroll? LOL


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## alphadude

GoldenCamper said:


> Oh, I can see you have thought of it with the pictures  Just wanted to share something creative when you guys are by yourselves.
> 
> You mean Ax doesn't just go for a stroll? LOL



It's actually a very good idea for when I don't have human company which is often. It would solve a lot of issues. The GoPro is a great cam for taking hd video of action close up but not even as good as my cell phone camera for long distance video. I could set it up on a tripod in the probable landing zone and control it with either my smart phone via wifi or the remote it came with. Set it for the highest frame rate enabling me to grab great stills from the hd video, and have the video as well. Also, I could focus more on throwing. I *HATE* when I am preoccupied with trying to film with my left hand and "yank" a throw with my right thereby putting wear and tear on Ax's body for a disc even *he* couldn't possibly catch because it tails to one side or the other. I've been known to call myself some colorful names. LOL Spectators probably think I'm cursing at the dog when I'm in reality talking to myself.

Ax is the energizer bunny, he does EVERYTHING at full throttle. He'd likely just trot along next to me though if I were carrying the discs though.

Took Angus to the beach tonight after I got back with Ax, with the intention of getting some "Puffy cam" video but realized when I got down there I had forgotten the micro SD card. I cut Ax's session down to about 15 mins of very short work tonight because I REALLY worked him hard last night and figured he needed a break. He was acting like he had stiff muscles last night and we're going to try for some great action stills with my friend again tomorrow morning.


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## alphadude

Here's a good shot I got earlier tonight of Ax getting some air time. I was using burst mode on the camera...


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## RYAC

Awesome video! I found myself giving Ax commentary as he was running for the disc. I especially liked the part where he headed straight to the water. Very funny to watch it from his perspective.


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## alphadude

RYAC said:


> Awesome video! I found myself giving Ax commentary as he was running for the disc. I especially liked the part where he headed straight to the water. Very funny to watch it from his perspective.



Until he starts getting gassed he will sprint 80 yards make the catch and run back. I have seen him do that as many as 10 times in a row, but I love the fact that he is now smart enough to head to the water and cool off when he is getting overheated. Goldens, can drop from heat exhaustion or dehydration with intense prolonged activity in any season, but especially in the summer. He did exactly that 3 years ago or so. Very scary. He is a sprinter more than a marathoner and Ax doesn't know the meaning of pacing himself. He goes MAX effort ALL the time.

I am pleased with the results but I know with a few tweaks I can get it even better. I have long wondered what it looks like from his perspective and now I have at least a good approximation.


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## pb2b

Love the video. Love getting his perspective but I have to confess, watching him makes me tired.


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## alphadude

pb2b said:


> Love the video. Love getting his perspective but I have to confess, watching him makes me tired.


LOL yeah I hear that. I've worked 25 hours since 10 AM yesterday and Ax got a *very* brief outing to the park/beach this evening. All I wanted to do was lay down but I forced myself to take him since I worked right through his normal workout time yesterday afternoon. Couldn't let my boy miss 2 days in a row. Just watching him made me more tired than I already was...


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## alphadude

Earlier this evening, I fabbed up a new collar mount on a wide collar I got in ChinaMart of all places for $4.99. 

I ordered, received and tested the $35 Kurgo camera mount harness and found it to be *sorely* lacking. The quality of the video was not even as good as the first home made collar mount I rigged up in 10 minutes for free. I made the harness as tight as possible and the side to side motion as Ax sprinted made the video borderline unwatchable. Also, the piece of crap harness came within a whisker of having me lose a 2 week old top of the line $400 GoPro and $50 32gb Lexar micro SD card yesterday. Had the camera fallen off in the bay instead of the beach, I never would have found it. As you can probably tell, I do *NOT* recommend the Kurgo harness.. 

Anyway, I wanted to get some good video from Axl's perspective of him *really* going downtown and catching some Aerobie Pro Rings thrown 100 yards or more. In order to do this, I took him to the huge field in the "pond" where we go to do really long distance work with the rings. Unfortunately, as great as they are, they do not float - their one drawback in my opinion, so the beach was out. Also, Ax and I have had more than our fill of burrs just lately. 

I got the best dog mounted video so far and the side to side stability of my mount is far superior, especially with the wider collar.

I threw him a low, fast, line drive about 10' off the ground and you can actually see it go flying over his head and watch him chase it down making slight course corrections as he goes and make the catch rather routinely. When he turns around with the ring in his mouth, you can hardly even see me off in the distance a few feet from the treeline. I edited the vid to run in slo-mo 50% speed. Make sure to watch it in 1080p mode since it YouTube seems to default it to crappy low res.

100ydproringslmo - YouTube


Below is the pic of the latest version of my collar mount...


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## kellyguy

That was exceptional. Great work.


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## alphadude

Spent some quality time at the pond with Ax yesterday. My wife and Puffy were along too although he was leashed to prevent him from getting in Ax's way.

Got third person as well as "Ax cam" video of the same run that was a monster bomb easily in excess of 100 yards. I'd estimate it at around 110. Ax still has his extreme distance mojo working even pushing 7. The video shows the run from my perspective and then his. I need to get better video editing software than the GoPro stuff to do split screen like I eventually want.

100+8 30 14 - YouTube


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## GoldenCamper

Was that with the wide collar mount? Seems the most stable yet 

What you are trying to achieve is admirable. Your boy is obviously fast which is very hard to get something watchable from his perspective. By far the best you have done yet.


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## kellyguy

Once again, awesome. I love the "thundering paws" audio from the doggie cam.


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## alphadude

GoldenCamper said:


> Was that with the wide collar mount? Seems the most stable yet
> 
> What you are trying to achieve is admirable. Your boy is obviously fast which is very hard to get something watchable from his perspective. By far the best you have done yet.


That was indeed my own fabbed wide collar mount and I agree it is the most stable yet. It is actually *more* stable when he is in all out sprint mode than when he is running at slower speed on the return trip. 

My admittedly biased personal opinion is that he is *very* fast for a golden retriever. In the past 6+ years, I have seen him beaten on a dead sprint by exactly *one* dog. That dog was a whippet that went by him like he was standing still. Of course adult whippets are capable of running 45 mph.

Simply put, I'd bet a pretty fat stack he could easily beat Usain Bolt in the 100 yard dash and that guy sprints slightly faster than 25 mph and covers it in 9 seconds. Based on the distances Ax goes (known quantity) and the elapsed time (also a known quantity from the videos) I'd say he was capable of closer to 30 mph based on my calculations.

This past spring, he easily dusted a very fit 2 year old yellow lab on the beach much to it's owners disappointment considering Ax was 3 times his age at the time.


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## alphadude

kellyguy said:


> Once again, awesome. I love the "thundering paws" audio from the doggie cam.


I love that sound too.


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## GoldenCamper

alphadude said:


> That was indeed my own fabbed wide collar mount and I agree it is the most stable yet. It is actually *more* stable when he is in all out sprint mode than when he is running at slower speed on the return trip.


It makes sense to me, good job. I have made many a Rube Goldberg device in my time for so many things that all worked out better than purchased things 

My boy was fast too, how many times I said to myself he could outdo a greyhound. I'm not kidding the boy could run flat out like very few other dogs I have seen.


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## pb2b

This video made me think of your GoPro adventures with Axl. Also, I'm incredibly jealous of this dog.

Run Walter, RUN!! - YouTube


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## bentleybca123

Have you tried GoPro's Fetch Dog Harness? http://shop.gopro.com/mounts/fetch-dog-harness/ADOGM-001.html

A relative of mine has it for his husky and it stabilizes the video very well. The only problem is, it's a whopping $60!!!:doh:


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## alphadude

pb2b said:


> This video made me think of your GoPro adventures with Axl. Also, I'm incredibly jealous of this dog.
> 
> Run Walter, RUN!! - YouTube


It actually does remind me of Ax the way that dog heads for the water at a dead sprint with seemingly reckless abandon.


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## alphadude

bentleybca123 said:


> Have you tried GoPro's Fetch Dog Harness? http://shop.gopro.com/mounts/fetch-dog-harness/ADOGM-001.html
> 
> A relative of mine has it for his husky and it stabilizes the video very well. The only problem is, it's a whopping $60!!!:doh:


Maybe I'll take the plunge and invest the $60. Fall Pro Ring season is coming with cooler days. Hope to get some ridiculously long distance video of Ax doing his thing.


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## OnMyWay2MyDreams

Omg..seeing that newest video, especially the one on him was amazing! He is sooo fast!! I would love to see him in person!


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## alphadude

OnMyWay2MyDreams said:


> Omg..seeing that newest video, especially the one on him was amazing! He is sooo fast!! I would love to see him in person!


Thank you. I do agree he is one fleet footed golden.

If you're ever up NY way, drop me an IM and Ax and I will put on a jaw dropping show for you. He's a ham and *loves* an audience.


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## alphadude

Took Ax to "the pond" today and he was in *RARE* form.

First a third person/GoPro video of a 100 yard Pro Ring catch

pond bomb - YouTube

A compilation of ~80 yard conventional disc catches minutes later on the beach

ohthatsabomb - YouTube


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## kellyguy

Excellent. However, I'd be careful using the word "bomb" in the title. You never know who's watching.


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