My canoe club has one
18’ long, 3’ rocker - you’d be surpised - it actually paddles pretty well as a tandem, but its way to wide to paddle solo, and it weights a TON. This was during one of our local riverfest events.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2201906460075003331SHnQFL
I’ll bet even the 15’ version would be pretty heavy.
I did a video in my Yellowstone last weekend with my Optio W60 - took 30 minutes of video and edited it down to 6. The battery actually died before I filled the card up. I had the camera on a small tripod in front of me. The only time it fell over was in a couple of waves. Even then, I was never worried about it falling out. Granted, I wasn’t using an expensive camera.
The camera seems pretty stable in the video, although you do see the canoe yawing back and forth when the camera is pointed forward.
http://vimeo.com/11954675
I think you should give Kayamedic the Hemlock – I’ll take the Wildfire.
Have you tried a Mohawk Odyssey14?
We needed a solo to adapt for my physical limitations that could perform reasonably well. It’s not the lightest or the fastest, but it is very forgiving. We talked to several people who bought one specifically to use as a photography platform. The factory is still in FL, I think.
He isnt looking for forgiving
but flat bottomed. Glen can paddle any canoe quite well.
But this video project puts particular constraints on his quest.
Erik Eckilson
That’s a pretty nice video with your Optio.
That’s what I did for 8 weeks throughout Florida, SC, NC and NJ: sat in a canoe by myself and narrated videos. I have hundreds and hundreds of hours, and the thought of editing them daunts me, especially since I don’t know how to do it on a computer.
I attached my Sony HDR-CX300 videocam to the canoes in a variety of ways:
– handheld, but then I couldn’t paddle while shooting.
– full tripod lashed to the floor, which could bring the lens up to head level or above.
– superclamped on the thwarts with extension tubes up to a tripod head. But the single-screwed thwarts are not really strong enough, especially the flimsy Bell’s. I’m going to have to install more secure thwarts.
– clamped on the front or rear decks (but then I can’t control the camera).
– each of these methods either with or without the custom Sony waterproof housing (which also allows me to clamp on the hull underwater). In Sparkleberry, my favorite paddling venue, I took the risk of an unprotected camera on the lashed tripod for the entire day.
Actually, the heeling motion of the boat is not the main problem. My inexperience as a videographer is. One of my special tricks is to film long stretches and then find that the camera is actually off. (But don’t tell Marc Ornstein, the Mravetz’s, the Palmetto Boys of Sparkleberry, or Martha of the Pond.)
I also watched some of you shore videos of my home state’s whitewater. Reminded me of long ago.
Hi Glenn…
Actually a rounder sectional shape with higher secondary stability will tip to the side less than a flatter bottom viv-a-vis a strapped on camera. Rounder bottoms tend to stay more upright in wind and waves than flatter bottoms. Besides, I appreciate a nice round bottom.
Keep the Open Side Up,
Pagayeur