Let’s talk about the Olfi Chest Harness. It’s one of the most popular mounts, probably due to the ease of use and unobtrusive fit.
The great thing about the chest harness is that you barely notice it’s there. It’s not restrictive and usually offers one of the most immersive mounting angles. Simply pop it on, clip your Olfi camera in, hit record and go!
So if it’s that easy to use, why write a blog about it?
Picture the scene… You’re on your way home from an awesome ride, excited to show your friends/family how much you’ve improved or the awesome new perspective that your new chest mount will give. You whip the card out of the camera, pop it into your computer and load up the file, only to see how shaky and unusable your footage is. “What’s happened? The ride didn’t feel that shaky”.
Don’t worry, it can and has probably happened to us all.
The problem here is not the chest mount or the camera. It is how tight the chest harness is fitted. Often the mount will feel tight, but if you give it a pull, it will come away from your chest. The same thing happens when your being bounced around during a mountain bike ride, or even go karting, you’d be surprised.
The solution is simply to tighten the chest harness as tight as possible. Just remember to make sure that it’s comfortable. It sounds like a really simple solution but it is very easy to overlook. Perhaps you’d lent it to a friend or maybe it has just become loose over time. When you clip in, you might not realise it, but when you get home, you certainly will. So, for the sake of a few seconds just tighten the strap as much as possible.
To conclude….When using a chest mounted camera, make sure the straps are super tight. Get a friend to pull the straps on your shoulders (they can do it tighter than you can once you are wearing it).
The result will be some nice smooth footage from your ride, climb, drive etc.
Bonus tip: Try combining this angle with the Gyro Stabilisation for silky smooth shots.
Enjoy!
– The Olfi Team
