The weathers here in Finland have started to be more bright and sunny, and most of the snow and ice has molten in the central of our city. This has gotten my mind running for taking my bike out of the storage and start cycling again. With the thought, I have also played around with the idea of filming my bike trips with the Pocket 2.

However, as some of you may have read from this forum before, I had an accident with my Pocket 2 last year that caused it to pop out of it's tripod adapter and fall onto concrete, which also caused the ND filter attached to the lens to pop off, and I had lost it for a while. Luckily, after being extremely anxious and cursing myself of losing that expensive ND filter, I was lucky and found it nearby and still intact. I also got a replacement Pocket 2 through the DJi Care Refresh service, and have learnt from my previous mistake in mounting the Pocket 2, so I am certain that by using the Osmo Pocket Accessory Mount with the Pocket 2 and the bicycle handle or the chest harness mount, that fall-off won't happen again.

However, I am a bit uncertain about the ND filters, as they attach to the lens with only a magnet, and I am wondering how much of a risk it is to the attachment to have the usual vibrations and bumps that occur during biking. I have signed up for our community college's bicycle course that will involve two trips, consisting of about 20 to 25 kilometers (12.4 to 15.54 miles) of distance, some possibly involving off-road riding (not probably to the extent of hardcore MTB riding, but off tarmac and possibly on some gravel, sand and mud roads). If I do get a permission to film the trip, I could use the Pocket 2 for that, but have not yet decided if I should use the bike handle mount or the chest harness, nor whether I should take the risk and attach an ND filter to the Pocket 2 or just leave them home and possibly risk having over-exposed or otherwise poor looking footage.

Has somebody else used the Pocket 2 for this and tested how the filters stick to the lens despite bumps and vibrations? If you have, did it go just fine or did the filter end up dropping from the lens?

Thanks in advance for all the insights, experiences and other replies!

Hi there. HGDC. Hope that you could get the best recommendation from our fellow members here that already experienced this kind of setup. Should have other inquiries or concerns about your product, please don't hesitate to reach us. Thank you.

Filming in such sports activity Pocket 2 is not the right choice as its not an action camera. If you still want to do it then you can use fish cord & glue its one end to ND filter & other end  to the camera body. Similarly when ever you mount pocket 2 to face bumpy ride & high winds best to secure it with lanyard to your body or cycle handle so even if the mount breaks it doesn't fall down.

Hope this help.

Ranjan Posted at 4-12 00:01
Filming in such sports activity Pocket 2 is not the right choice as its not an action camera. If you still want to do it then you can use fish cord & glue its one end to ND filter & other end  to the camera body. Similarly when ever you mount pocket 2 to face bumpy ride & high winds best to secure it with lanyard to your body or cycle handle so even if the mount breaks it doesn't fall down.

Hope this help.

Thank you for your insights, I'll have to think about this. Not too keen on the idea of gluing anything extra to my Pocket 2, but thanks for the idea anyway. That lanyard idea does sound good though.

I think it won't fall off by just cycling. Unless you are like really going offroad and it bumps around a lot.

Montfrooij Posted at 4-13 23:43
I think it won't fall off by just cycling. Unless you are like really going offroad and it bumps around a lot.

I'll have to think about it. Some of the roads here are in very bad shape, and the community college course information said the course will involve some off-road riding.

HGDC84 Posted at 4-15 10:24
I'll have to think about it. Some of the roads here are in very bad shape, and the community college course information said the course will involve some off-road riding.

Yeah, be careful. It's not an action camera.

Montfrooij Posted at 4-15 13:04
Yeah, be careful. It's not an action camera.

True that. Will have to see what is the best compromise between the usability and safety.

HGDC84 Posted at 4-15 13:08
True that. Will have to see what is the best compromise between the usability and safety.

I did ride a bike once with the P2. Worked great.
But I was holding it in my hand.

Montfrooij Posted at 4-16 00:15
I did ride a bike once with the P2. Worked great.
But I was holding it in my hand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfNuFPApT60

That was a very nice-looking hyperlapse Was it hard to keep an eye on both the Pocket 2 and the traffic? That is my main concern with filming while riding (along with the fear of the Pocket 2 somehow getting loose and falling while on the move).

The "I must have looked a bit weird" comment was quite funny And I have to agree about the roundabout scene, it looked very fluid and smooth

HGDC84 Posted at 4-16 11:14
That was a very nice-looking hyperlapse  Was it hard to keep an eye on both the Pocket 2 and the traffic? That is my main concern with filming while riding (along with the fear of the Pocket 2 somehow getting loose and falling while on the move).

The "I must have looked a bit weird" comment was quite funny  And I have to agree about the roundabout scene, it looked very fluid and smooth

No, I did not look much at the P2. I was holding it in one hand and only checked every once in a while if the orientation was good.
But since I was biking straight up and had to hold my hand up all the time, it was pretty tiresome.

Hahahahahahaha, yeah, especially since they know me......

Montfrooij Posted at 4-16 12:00
No, I did not look much at the P2. I was holding it in one hand and only checked every once in a while if the orientation was good.
But since I was biking straight up and had to hold my hand up all the time, it was pretty tiresome.

I will probably try using some kind of mount myself, either to the handlebar or by using a chest mount. But I'll have to think about it. Not confident enough to only hold it in my hand.

Still ought to think about the setup, but before that I need to know if I'm even allowed to film the ride on our community college trip. I do have thoughts of using two cameras, besides the Pocket 2 I have another camera, a small and cheap 1080p action camera that I could possibly mount on the handlebar or next to the front fork of the bike.

HGDC84 Posted at 4-17 11:20
I will probably try using some kind of mount myself, either to the handlebar or by using a chest mount. But I'll have to think about it. Not confident enough to only hold it in my hand.

Still ought to think about the setup, but before that I need to know if I'm even allowed to film the ride on our community college trip. I do have thoughts of using two cameras, besides the Pocket 2 I have another camera, a small and cheap 1080p action camera that I could possibly mount on the handlebar or next to the front fork of the bike.

Usually those mounts shake like mad.

Montfrooij Posted at 4-17 11:26
Usually those mounts shake like mad.

That is true in many cases, and I will have to think carefully about it. Some do have some elements to dampen the vibrations, but not all of them. I am wondering if having a Z-Axis stabilizer attached to the handlebar mount could dampen the worst of it, possibly resulting in a smoother-looking footage and eliminating at least some of that "jello" effect.

HGDC84 Posted at 4-17 11:35
That is true in many cases, and I will have to think carefully about it. Some do have some elements to dampen the vibrations, but not all of them. I am wondering if having a Z-Axis stabilizer attached to the handlebar mount could dampen the worst of it, possibly resulting in a smoother-looking footage and eliminating at least some of that "jello" effect.

I think you might be on to something. Although that is ment to dampen slower movements I think.
Not like these micro shakes from biking.
Your body is a good dampener, so that is why I just held it in my hand.
Maybe try a chest holder.

Montfrooij Posted at 4-17 22:20
I think you might be on to something. Although that is ment to dampen slower movements I think.
Not like these micro shakes from biking.
Your body is a good dampener, so that is why I just held it in my hand.

Thanks for your insights, will see what I will do with it. Did try mounting the Pocket 2 on a chest mount recently and it turned out to be easier than I thought, so I could well use that option.

HGDC84 Posted at 4-18 09:59
Thanks for your insights, will see what I will do with it. Did try mounting the Pocket 2 on a chest mount recently and it turned out to be easier than I thought, so I could well use that option.

Yeah, I have seen people using that. Mainly for walking, but if you sit up straight, it could work for biking too.

Montfrooij Posted at 4-18 23:08
Yeah, I have seen people using that. Mainly for walking, but if you sit up straight, it could work for biking too.

I guess there's only one way to find out. And recently filled my bike's tires after a winter hiatus, so I guess I'll take a ride with the chest mount in the nearby future.

HGDC84 Posted at 4-19 11:06
I guess there's only one way to find out. And recently filled my bike's tires after a winter hiatus, so I guess I'll take a ride with the chest mount in the nearby future.

That is true

Montfrooij Posted at 4-19 11:10
That is true

Tried out the chest mount solution, and it proved to be an excellent idea After checking the right settings, I got the POV angle and stabilization perfected. Now I just need to consider about what to do with the filters. I tried riding without one using automatic settings, and that, of course, if the safest option, but in the resulting footage, the movement did seem occasionally jerky and the skies were quite badly overblown in some scenes (although the ground and most of the traffic and buildings seen seemed to be exposed properly). I will try to think if there could be some temporary way to strengthen the attachment of the filter to make sure that bumps won't knock it off.

Anyhow, thanks for the excellent suggestion for the chest mount

HGDC84 Posted at 4-23 07:02
Tried out the chest mount solution, and it proved to be an excellent idea  After checking the right settings, I got the POV angle and stabilization perfected. Now I just need to consider about what to do with the filters. I tried riding without one using automatic settings, and that, of course, if the safest option, but in the resulting footage, the movement did seem occasionally jerky and the skies were quite badly overblown in some scenes (although the ground and most of the traffic and buildings seen seemed to be exposed properly). I will try to think if there could be some temporary way to strengthen the attachment of the filter to make sure that bumps won't knock it off.

Anyhow, thanks for the excellent suggestion for the chest mount

Good to hear.
The overblown skies won't benefit from regular ND filters.
They will just reduce the light in all areas of the frame. (making everything darker)

The only reason you 'need' ND filters is to get a slow enough shutterspeed to get some motion blur and prevent stuttering motion.
Still a valid enough reason to put them on I think!
I do feel the connection should be strong enough. There is not much weight to them and they feel quite well connected (at least in my case).
But don't blame me if you lose one
But

Montfrooij Posted at 4-23 23:29
Good to hear.
The overblown skies won't benefit from regular ND filters.
They will just reduce the light in all areas of the frame. (making everything darker)

While it is true that the ND filters reduce the light entering on all areas of the picture, I often do find that the overblowing problem easens up with them (without the filter and attempting to use 1/60 shutter time with 30fps, everything is too bright, but with ND filter it is well exposed, while attempting to use just automatic settings does make the groud look okay but overblows the sky). Also, the part of the reason why I am wondering about using the ND filters, is exactly because of the motion blur and to avoid the stutter. The image with the automatic exposure was tolerable, but did look a bit jerky and unnatural when it came to motion.

And don't worry, I won't blame you if I end up losing them. At that point, I will be the only person to blame for it.

It could be that I just accept the less-than-perfect image quality and play it safe. Having it perfected would be great, of course, but with a limited budget, I am a bit hesitant of taking the risk of losing the filters that are somewaht expensive for what they are. But if I do find out a way to reinforce the connection in a way that feels reliable enought and leaves no permament marks, I could end up using them after all. I'll have to say having found out the perfect stabilization settings and preparations already affect the end result tremendously.

HGDC84 Posted at 4-24 06:03
While it is true that the ND filters reduce the light entering on all areas of the picture, I often do find that the overblowing problem easens up with them (without the filter and attempting to use 1/60 shutter time with 30fps, everything is too bright, but with ND filter it is well exposed, while attempting to use just automatic settings does make the groud look okay but overblows the sky). Also, the part of the reason why I am wondering about using the ND filters, is exactly because of the motion blur and to avoid the stutter. The image with the automatic exposure was tolerable, but did look a bit jerky and unnatural when it came to motion.

And don't worry, I won't blame you if I end up losing them. At that point, I will be the only person to blame for it.

I am curious about the ND filters and this overblown sky, since it does not fit my brain

Montfrooij Posted at 4-24 06:34
I am curious about the ND filters and this overblown sky, since it does not fit my brain

I'll see if I can put some proper comparison on YouTube to demonstrate it better, though I'll have to say that after watching some of the footage, I'm not entirely sure if I'm just imaging it. But I'll have a look in the nearby future about that.

HGDC84 Posted at 4-25 00:21
I'll see if I can put some proper comparison on YouTube to demonstrate it better, though I'll have to say that after watching some of the footage, I'm not entirely sure if I'm just imaging it. But I'll have a look in the nearby future about that.

Yeah, always interesting.

I had some problems with shaky images caused by filters in the past

djiuser_iOlexk6ptk0u Posted at 5-2 09:49
I had some problems with shaky images caused by filters in the past

You mean, that the filters caused degraded image quality? And not that the filters popped off due to shakiness?

I didn't take the filters to the community college trip, but got acceptable video. Decided to do another ride today, sticking to city central and pavement. This time, I put a filter on the lens (tried it out with the fixed polarizer, as that hasn't seen much use and it wouldn't matter as much to lose that one instead of one of the ND filters) and can confirm that using a chest mount and PolarPro filters while riding on a pavement, it is perfectly safe to use them while riding. Will use them in the future while riding in the city, not sure if I'd dare to take it off-road with them though.

I have ND filters on my P2 but I don't take them out when cycling. I use the Pocket 2 for cycling but just use a vertical mount on the handlebar and the exposure comp set to -3. I too don't trust the filters to stay on when cycling, after all, this is how I lost my wide angle lens and never found it again...

Homeyjay Posted at 6-9 01:16
I have ND filters on my P2 but I don't take them out when cycling. I use the Pocket 2 for cycling but just use a vertical mount on the handlebar and the exposure comp set to -3. I too don't trust the filters to stay on when cycling, after all, this is how I lost my wide angle lens and never found it again...

Very sorry to hear about your loss of the wide-angle lens

I can understand why you are wary of using ND filters while cycling after that, and your approach is certainly safer in that regard. What I do think to make a difference is that I was wearing a chest mount instead of attaching the Pocket 2 to the handlebar. The handlebar is more subject to vibrations and bumps of the road (unless the handlebar mount has specific dampening solutions), while the human body itself dampens them when using a chest mount.

Your setting of the exposure comp is telling me you are using auto mode for exposure and shutter speed settings. How is the motion blur in the end result? Is the exposure decent enough? What framerate do you use for that? Even better if you have some footage to share about the end result.

I hope you have better luck on your following cycling video filmings... Have a nice weekend