EZ Cam or Wakeye or Ski Doc

[blinddog]

I am interested in a camera mount. Seems like the EZ Cam looks pretty good for the price but the most recent comments on here are from 2013. Anyone have an opinion on the more recent EZ Cam (5th generation according to their site) or either of the others? Wakeye is expensive.

[disland]

Like most things, you get what you pay for. +1 for wakeye

[Keith_Menard]

I did the pvc pipe method with a cut noodle inside to absorb some vibration. It might get you by for a bit while you think about which one to get.

[Ed_Johnson]

Been using a Wakeye for years now and it works flawlessly, even with a rather heavy Canon G40 Camcorder. I suggest the shock tube option for Slalom to get the smoothest quality video.

 

[UWSkier]

I have had good results with my Ski-Doc Orbit. Here's a free ski sesh from yesterday morning. Any jumpiness is from the rolling shutter of my cell phone, not the mount. With a real camera it works flawlessly.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVizHyNBJL_/

[ShererSkier]

I was using the ski doc for a year and just bought a wakeye with shock tube option and the videos from the wakeye track a lot better and are smoother.

[Golfguy]

I am beginning my video slalom improvement program and am having some tech problems. I have the Wakeye app installed on my iPad Mini 4 (new) and the slo mo function does not work. Has anyone experienced this? I also loaded it on my iPhone 7 where the slo mo function does work. However the stabilization function on the camera makes the video hard to watch. Thank for any insight.

[Jibbo]

@Golfguy for iPhone 7 use the new feature camera flip to utilize the front camera of iPhone 7. The front camera (selfie camera) doesn't have optical stabilization which causes havoc with high frequency vibrations and gives excellent video quality on the Wakeye mount.

[BlueSki]

I have a Ski Doc for a Nautique available if anyone wants it. PM me if interested.

[moski]

The ez cam was okay for a bit but then broke. Used it for one summer only. Not only did the barrel brake but also the top were my hand held camera went.

 

I'm looking at either the Wakeye or the ski doc orbit. Having trouble deciding.

 

I will plan to use my canon hand held video camera, go pro, and iPhone.

[Golfguy]

I will try that, thank you. I would also like to somehow make my purpose purchased iPad work. Oh well?

[foxriverat]

Poor mans system. Stock gopro mount clamped to malibu swivel pylon. Plastic wire tie around rope to mount. LOL

[blinddog]

@ShererSkier - were you using the Ski Doc Orbit or just the regular Ski Doc tube mount?

[DmaxJC_ski]

@foxriverat I have the same type setup and it works awesome!!!

[UWSkier]

@foxriverat I've considered something similar for the Malibu. Swivel pylon FTW!

 

Orbit on the everyday ski tractor, '08 TT.

[UWSkier]

@scotchipman for playback, are you only watching on your phone? If you have Android and use Google Photos, all of your vids upload automatically (recommend setting: upload via wifi only) to photos.google.com, which has unlimited storage. Once they're up in the cloud, you can use the Youtube player to slow them down. Click the little gear icon in the lower right and set playback speed to .25x or .5x. I do this with my Nexus 6P and it works pretty well.

[foxriverat]

@DmaxJC_ski @UWSkier I was suprised how well it worked. The only pain is you have to unclamp when changing rope length.

[ToddL]

@foxriverat - can you take and post a picture of your setup?

[OldboyII]

+1

[DmaxJC_ski]

@foxriverat I actually use the rope as part of the clamping system I will take a pic later and post it

[BrennanKMN]

I was using my trakker at the beginning of this year and stopped recently. Just became a pain in the butt between shorting the rope and switching the rope for each skier. We only have so much time on the lake each day and wasting it by messing around with a camera quickly became old.

 

Having a less than intuitive boat crew doesn't help me either though... But having a driver is better than having no driver.

 

With that said my vote would be for the system that works best with your crews skiing style. Do you use a shock tube? Switch handle only? Shorten the rope a lot? Different rope for each skier? All of those things can quickly make a camera mount a hindrance when you have limited time on the lake. They all will do good video, get the best one for your style.

[UWSkier]

@BrennanKMN Check out the ski-doc Orbit. It's the best solution I've seen yet for rapid, frequent rope changes, with or without a shock tube.

[foxriverat]

@ToddL I'll get a picture tomorrow. Basically just a long wire tie around middle of gopro mount and loosely around rope. You need a swivel pylon for it to work.

[aupatking]

I used the original Ski-doc and it was ok for the price. The Orbit looks great but I haven't tried one. I have the Wakeye now and with the shock tube, it's flawless. We use the phone mount and as long as we don't take a big slack hit, it stays put. Send a handle towards the boat and we have to readjust

[foxriverat]

@ToddL Couldn't uncover boat because of rain but here's the jest of it.

 

[ToddL]

@foxriverat - OK, now I get it. I couldn't visualize how the GoPro was mounted to the swivel ball of the pylon. Picture is clear!

[ToddL]

One trade off with regards to all of these solutions is the point at which the tracking device is connected to the rope. If the device is connected further away from the pylon, the tracking is more precise but the slack hits are more pronounced on the video. If the device is connected to the rope nearest the pylon, then the tracking may not be as perfect, but slack hits have little to no impact. I assume that a camera with a wide view, low-zoom would not need as precise tracking and would benefit from lesser slack hit impact.

[ShererSkier]

@blinddog I was using the tube mount, sorry forgot to mention, it was the first thing that popped into my head. I have never used the orbit but the wakeye shock tube mount is pretty slick. I was also looking for a camera mount with a view from directly down the rope and the orbit is offset.

[blinddog]

Looks like the Ski Doc Orbit is the only one made in the USA, I just ordered one, I'll let you know how it works. BTW, they told me they are in the final tests of a vibration absorbing device of some kind that will mount on the Orbit and will probably sell for $25-30.

[Golfguy]

I just took delivery of the Ski Doc Orbital and have used it on several occasions. It works perfectly, very unobtrusive on the pylon. Easy to change rope and line length. I have even considered just leaving it attached, but so easy to remove that is not necessary. I'm still experimenting with camera systems as I want to take advantage to my iCloud sharing capabilities. I will try the iPhone 7 selfie camera next. The front camera has a stabilization system that doesn't like waterskiing.

[sodbuster88]

+1 on the orbit. I've had it a year now and provided feedback to ski doc on vibration dampening...especially if trying to use iPhone. Am anxious to see their solution. Also had to tune the rotating clamp a bit to make it smoother, but other than that... great mount.

[moski]

I'm leaning towards the Orbit. I just emailed them since I use a small hand held camera that has a screw hole on bottom.

 

Here is their email to me----- The Orbit is based on the standard tripod screw system, so you will be able to attach your camcorder.

As you probably know, some cameras do not work well for this purpose. Engine vibration can be an issue for some cameras. Action cameras like GoPro work the best. Yes, we are working on a dampening system but it is mainly for smartphones or other small cameras. There will be a limit to weight and size of the camera.

 

The wake eye is expensive. But seems like it works and skiers are happy with it. It seems fragile though and could brake if kid bumps into it.

 

 

[OldboyII]

Are there cameras that have GPS controlled start like WakeEye app - after reaching certain speed?

Or at least - recording starts when camera start moving.

[UWSkier]

@moski I've had my heavy Canon EOS 7D SLR with 300MM zoom on the Orbit before and it worked fine. Your hand-held camera likely won't suffer the vibration issues that smartphones do.

[moski]

@UWSkier So my small canon vixia hf m500 handheld camcorder would be fine. Attached is picture of my camera. I plan on using my iPhone at times and I plan on getting a GoPro to use at times.

 

Thank you for the advice.

 

 

[UWSkier]

For sure, especially if the screw hole is relatively centrally-located for balance.

[Ed_Johnson]

I Love my Canon G-40, best image stabilization ever. Plus the remote lets you plug it into your big screen, sit back in your lazy boy, and watch in normal, 1/8th, or 1/4 speed, freeze, fast forward or back. You can zip right through the sitting in the water, while you shorten the line part. Fits perfect on the Wakeye, with a quick disconnect.

 

[moski]

i bit the bullet recently purchased the the ski - doc Orbit. been very happy with it. kids have bumped it a few times and its sturdy as hell. im sure the wakeye is awesome too, but just can see that getting bumped and snapping....