Drift HD170 Camera - My review from a pilots perspective

[mountainmatt]

Every time I look at this picture, I try to see a refueling tanker hose. lol

My trusty 7-year old PC is just getting too slow and is frustrating the daylights out of me. So, I just ordered components to build a PC that should easily be fast enough for HD editing. Heck, I can't even playback HD video with the current PC. This one should do the job with ease. I followed most of the guidelines from this site:

http://www.videoguys.com/Guide/E/Videoguys+System+recommendations+for+Video+Editing/0x4aebb06ba071d2b6a2cd784ce243a6c6.aspx

It will be based on an ASUS P6X58D-E Motherboard running an Intel Core i7 950 processor, 12GB ram, and 1.5TB of hard drive. I'll post once it is up and running .

Does anyone have any recomendations for building (my 1st build in a long time) or tips?

I just built my first computer a few weeks ago. For the most part it's pretty easy. I watched a few youtube videos and had to google some stuff, but the entire build took about 6 hours. Also, I went with the unlocked 3.3ghz i5 -2500K over the locked 3.1 ghz i7-950. Read up on the sandy bridge stuff and you'll see why. If you can afford a i7-2600K, that would be blazing fast. My build consists of: i5-2500K, 8GB RAM, 1TB 7200 HD, CD/DVD, 700W, Radeon HD5750 card and Asus P8P67 Pro mobo for about $750 after rebates. It's pretty fast and handles HD editing with no problems.

If you wanted to spend an extra $500, I would highly recommend a Mac. In the end, I wanted experience, the potential for easy upgrades in the future, and I was on a strict budget.... so I built. Check out Micro Center, if there's one in your area, go there (and bring your credit card).

[blackrock]

Also, I went with the unlocked 3.3ghz i5 -2500K over the locked 3.1 ghz i7-950. Read up on the sandy bridge stuff and you'll see why. If you can afford a i7-2600K, that would be blazing fast.

Thanks for the excellent feedback Matt. It made me go back and do a lot more research. I'm certainly no expert on this stuff, but basically what I've read suggests that the i5 is exceptional for gaming and for video editing using basic software ($100 range) so it is certainly a great choice.

What is pushing me away from the i5 processor is that Sandy Bridge architecture integrates video processing and that appears to create technical difficulties/stability issues for those adding high-end graphics cards. Also adding things like RAID hard drives may be an issue, too (no idea why).

I plan to add a RAID(0) drive and in the future may upgrade software so the i7 makes sense for my application. I'm told the i7 and P6X58 motherboard chipset play much nicer with added components . The term "locked" is really not relevant to anything as the i7-950 can be overclocked just fine.

I do really like the idea of a Mac and between yours and Zane's recommendations, I almost went that route. Because both Rose and I use MS Office at work, and I like the idea of expanding/tweaking components we settled on building an MS based machine, too.

[Grassstrippilot]

Ok, so this all went over my head about 6 posts ago. Now here is my question:

For those of us not building our own super computer but entertaining the thought of owning and working with HD video, how screwed are we going to be with a decent computer from Office Max? Last year we bought a HP 6500 (I think. On the road right now so I can't verify it or its specs). My ambitions don't go beyond the occasional recreational video.

[swixtt]

suggest new thread here for the computer geeks! or hit tom's hardware:)

[blackrock]

Ok, so this all went over my head about 6 posts ago. Now here is my question:

For those of us not building our own super computer but entertaining the thought of owning and working with HD video, how screwed are we going to be with a decent computer from Office Max? Last year we bought a HP 6500 (I think. On the road right now so I can't verify it or its specs). My ambitions don't go beyond the occasional recreational video.

It is really all about what you are willing to accept as far a performance goes. Matt and I were both needing NEW computers so it makes sense to get the best (fastest) we can within our budgets. That may be overkill for what is needed today, however it means they stand a chance of lasting longer before they become obsolete.

Since your present system is relatively new, there is a very good chance that it will do some light editing just fine. If you find it is too slow, you can always add more RAM and/or a video card to boost performance. While I can't speak for Matt, given that we both just researched this stuff, either of us can give some recommendations when you find out what your system is. Memory (RAM) is relatively cheap right now (I just bought 12GB for $140). A very good video card can be had for around $200 and decent ones for less. Matt, is more current on this stuff than I am and especially on the software side so maybe he'll chime in shortly.

[Grassstrippilot]

Good idea on just buying the increased RAM if needed. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

Hey Mike, I flew with a guy that knows you (or knows of you). I told him I flew recently with a guy that had a Bearhawk out of Elko. He rattled off your name. His name is Wayne Massey. He is a captain here at JetBlue and is building a Bearhawk. Small world! So I had to get the pics out and we talked for at least a couple of states about back country flying, bearhawks, and this site. A great way to make a redeye go by faster.

[mountainmatt]

X2 what Mike said.

If you do limited editing and have a computer 2.0ghz or faster, you should be ok. A lot depends on the software and how much that ties up your computer. As Mike stated, a RAM upgrade would probably help a little.

Mike, I'm not sure I know jack about any of this. All I know is that it looks like a computer and it works like a computer, so I'm happy.

[blackrock]

Cory, please tell Wayne hello from me the next time you see him. If I remember correctly, Wayne is scratch building - my hat is off to anyone who pulls that off! Did he say if he will be out this way for recreational flying anytime soon?

Matt, I'm like you, plug it in turn it on and hope it is fast enough I'm not waiting for it!

[Grassstrippilot]

Yeah, he is scratch building. Pretty amazing. He said that he has about 2 years if he really buckled down, but most likely 3 years. He can't wait to get out to fly in Idaho. I told him he needed to get on this site. He said that he would check it out, but that it would probably just make him mad since he can't get out and fly here yet!

[Marc]

A quick question for the guys that know what they're talking about...

I final got around to getting my Stealth on the plane and took some videos. I tried VLC and it only plays a couple seconds normally before the video freezes. I then tried Quicktime and it runs okay for a little bit (perhaps 15-30 seconds) then it starts dropping frames, and eventually becomes very choppy. My laptop is just over four years old, dual 1.6GHz processors, 2 GB of RAM...I fear this is insufficient to view HD video, let alone edit it, correct? I hate how quickly technology advances...(excluding all the neat new toys I enjoy like my Drift!)

[blackrock]

.I fear this is insufficient to view HD video, let alone edit it, correct?

Unfortunately, you are correct. Smooth HD video playback requires more computer performance. With a laptop you are somewhat limited as to what upgrades can be made. You may be able to add more RAM, but I doubt that would do much for you. Making sure you are running the latest version of Quicktime may slightly improve performance.

I have no experience with this company, but I do hear good things about them from people who do. A laptop in this class will give you the capability to edit short (less than 30min) HD video as well:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230027
(ASUS G Series G53SW-XN1 Notebook Intel Core i7 2630QM(2.00GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M - $1200).

[mountainmatt]

I know a few here have came up with a good way to reduce prop artifacts, but here's my solution with the new underwater case for the HD170 that has a removable lens cover. I placed a Norman ND2 filter inside the lens cover and have had pretty good initial results. I don't think it would work well mounted on a strut (it would catch a lot of wind and shake), but for inside the cabin it seems to work great. It's not the cheapest solution out there, but it's another option.




Cheers,
Matt

[hicountry]

Just got my HD170 Stealth camera. Have a couple of flights testing it out mounted on one of the bars inside the cockpit mounted to the upper left. It takes beaautiful pictures and movies but the prop distortion is something I need to work on. Will post results later.
HC

[Bonanza Man]

I bought a neutral density filter at Best Buy and tried it out yesterday. It helps but I'll go with a darker one next. The rapping you here when I'm on the ground is the ND filter bouncing on and off the camera as it's just propped in front of it.




If that doesn't bring up the youtube player here's the link.

http://youtu.be/Pc0yQ9fPJGk

[Matt 7GCBC]

Go to myPOV360.com to buy. They have a father's day sale promo still up on the site. Joan was VERY helpful and nice to work with. Not to mention they donated the cameras for the raffles!
The waterproof case is delayed as there was some issue that needed to be redesigned. Matt, I noticed on the drift videos that there is some snap in feature on the waterproof case that should secure the camera to the outer mount. The way that you were moving the outer mount made me wonder whether the one you had didn't have this or if it just doesn't work? When mounting outside are people now using the ragecamera or whatever it's called to place a filter in front, or does it have the same wobble in the wind problem that Matt described with the waterproof case lens?

[mountainmatt]

Bonanza Man: Which ND filter did you get? I think a ND2 works great in low light and a ND8 for really sunny days.

Matt: On my case, there's no clip. BUT, it doesn't effect it much as you can see in the video (perhaps on the strut it would). I went to Home Depot and picked up some Velcro to wrap around just to it holds it snug, glad to see they are redesigning it though. I haven't tried it on the outside in the wind, so I may need to do that in the future just to see the results.

And X2 about www.myPOV360.com, they are great folks and very supportive to the aviation community (I see they donated a Drift HD170 to the SuperCub.org raffle as well). If anyone wants a Drift from them, I have a promo code "flyingpooch" which is good for free shipping and $30 a Drift camera/package. You may want to check with ChrisG/skymountaingear as he can get a great deal on the Drift too.

[pokette]

This may seem like a simple question, but for you guys that just built your own computer -
what about USB ports?
Internet connection?
sound?
dual monitors?
expandability? more usb ports?
web camera? for skype and such?
Thanks
Diana

[GroundLooper]

This may seem like a simple question, but for you guys that just built your own computer -
what about USB ports?
Internet connection?
sound?
dual monitors?
expandability? more usb ports?
web camera? for skype and such?
Thanks
Diana

I built one to match my grumpy paranoid light gamer web browsing character. Your needs are probably different. Lots of video editing?
You might check TomsHardware.com or AnandTech.com (I think). Newegg is good, particularly looking at user feedback on the huge plethora of hardware choices. The prices are pretty good too. I bought almost everything through Newegg.

I did go with dual Western Digital 750MB "Black" drives. Seemed like the best bang for the buck. I copy important files from one HD to the other.
Went with a BioStar T5 XE CFX-SLI P55 R motherboard. Sounds like they concentrate more on stability than overclocking abilities, which I prefer. People like Asus but I've had a couple and had trouble with them.
Lots of USB ports are good to have. Check your devices, I still needed to install a serial port to be compatible with an old GPS adapter.
Single Large monitor though I could go with duals. I purchased dual SLI cards, more for gaming purposes. Duke Nukem had better come out soon, dammit!
Expandability is a tough one. Mines not that expandable. Seems like the technology changes to fast it's hard to predict where the expandability should be.
Sound, just the onboard sound.
Went with an Intel I3 550. Seemed like the best bang for the buck at the time.
Of course everything I've listed is now months old and woefully out of date.

[akavidflyer]

I went with a Sager laptop (www.sagernotebooks.com) a couple years ago and love it. It was a little spendy at 2800 delivered, but it has never failed to run any of the high end games or stumbled on any of the HD video editing I have done. I have 3 hard drives in it so I am not worried about running out of space anytime soon. I have 4 USB ports, webcam, firewire ports, monitor connection for running dual screen etc. I use my laptop for EVERYTHING and it has functioned without a hicup for a couple years now.

[pokette]

Sounds good thanks for the input. I have been going over my Son's Gamepro rag and it has an article about building your own gaming computer - he is also very interested and wants to "help" me choose the components - -- it says overclocking is pretty pointless....
I will probably do this in the fall - my current "C" drive is almost full - need to clone it to a 1TB drive and then get another for backup and video. Pretty much if its a good gaming computer it is good for video editing. This current one has lasted more than 5 years...
Diana